Context

• Recently the Odisha government has launched the Early Warning Dissemination System, the first-of-its-kind technology in India, to simultaneously warn coastal communities and fisher folk about impending cyclone and tsunami through siren towers.

About Early Warning Dissemination System:

• The EWDS, a collaborative effort of the Central and State governments, has been implemented under the assistance of World Bank.
• It comprises technologies such as satellite-based mobile data voice terminals, digital mobile radio, mass messaging system and universal communication interface for interoperability.
• The innovative warning system would alert people about disasters such as floods and cyclone.
• Fishermen fishing in deep sea can also be reached via mass SMS on their mobile phones through EWDS.
• It is a part of the last-mile connectivity programme under National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project and aims to inform the last man living near the sea in case of an impending cyclone.
• Six coastal districts —Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri and Ganjam — have been covered under the EWDS.
• Sirens will go off from 122 towers installed along the 480-km-long coast of the State if a button is pressed in the State emergency centre in Bhubaneshwar.

Source:TH