Uttarakhand to install 500 more sensors for quake alerts

Dehradun: Uttarakhand planned to install 500 additional strong-motion sensors across the state to strengthen its earthquake early warning system, officials said on Monday. Chief secretary Anand Bardhan chaired a high-level review meeting, where officials assessed the progress of disaster mitigation programmes, including earthquake preparedness and glacier lake outburst risk reduction.

Officials said 169 sensors and 112 sirens were already in place under the existing system. To improve real-time alerts, the state also planned to install over 500 additional warning mechanisms, including earthquake early warning system (EEWS) sirens and multi-hazard alert systems. The state signed an MoU with IIT Roorkee for operation, maintenance and dissemination of alerts under the system, which would come into effect this year.

To strengthen seismic monitoring, officials proposed new observatories in Roorkee, Devprayag, Karnaprayag, Ramnagar, Bageshwar, Almora, Kedarnath and Chakrata.

The state also stepped up monitoring of glacier-related risks. Vinod Kumar Suman, secretary, disaster management, said, “Vasundhara Lake, a rapidly expanding high-altitude glacial lake in Chamoli district, is being developed as a pilot site where advanced early warning systems and real-time monitoring mechanisms will be installed.” Officials expected the model to be replicated at other vulnerable glacial lakes to mitigate the risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

In addition, officials identified 48 debris flow-prone locations in Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh districts. These sites, mainly along drainage channels, were categorised into high, medium, and low-risk zones to prioritise mitigation. Bardhan directed departments to speed up implementation, improve coordination among agencies and ensure timely dissemination of warnings to minimise disaster risks.
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