Govt eyes online disaster management system for real-time response, tracking

Panaji: State govt has decided to develop a comprehensive plan to enable real-time incident management, emergency response coordination, resource tracking, reporting, and inter-agency collaboration. It aims to design, develop, and implement a secure, modular, scalable, and interoperable Disaster Management Information System (DMIS) that will function as a centralised digital backbone and facilitate for the directorate of fire and emergency services.

Additionally, govt plans to design and implement an interactive web mapping application capable of rendering multiple GIS layers simultaneously. “This interface will support dynamic layering, zooming, filtering, and toggling functionalities, allowing users to visualise different aspects of disaster risk and response strategies in real-time,” a senior govt official said.

Floodplain mapping and inundation zones, Apda Mitras (community emergency volunteers - male), Apda Sakhis (community emergency volunteers - female), educational institutions (schools and colleges), heavy machinery and equipment inventory, healthcare facilities (hospitals and primary health centres), panchayat offices and local governance units, tree-cutting and clearance resources, and capacity building and awareness programmes will be incorporated and geospatially represented.

Under the plan, systems such as dam water level monitoring stations, river gauge stations, fire and rescue appliances, and live incident and emergency call tracking will also incorporate real-time and operational datasets critical for rapid emergency response.

In dam water level monitoring, there will be integration of real-time data feeds from dam level monitoring sensors and control stations. “This layer will display the current water levels, reservoir capacity, discharge status, and threshold indicators (eg, alert, warning, danger levels) for major dams and reservoirs. Historical trends and predictive analytics may also be included to facilitate academic research,” a senior official said.

“Each gauge will provide real-time measurements of river water levels, flow rates, and rising trends,” director of fire and emergency services, Nitin Raikar, said.