IMD forecast: A flash-flood guidance system which will forecast the impact of rainfall — and whether a particular spell of rain could lead to flooding — based on assessments of soil condition, moisture level and topography of a particular area, is set to be operational within a month. The system is a project of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

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According to the Director General of IMD, KJ Ramesh, the soon-to-be launched flash flood guidance system will help take precautionary measures in advance in case of a sudden deluge.

“Floods in an area due to a spell of rainfall often depend on an interplay of factors including soil condition, soil depth, antecedent soil moisture conditions, state of the drainage system, topography and the amount of rain. The trial run to account for all these factors is under way,” an official of IMD said. For instance, the soil in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh can absorb 10-20 cm rainfall, but soil in Uttrakhand can’t, so there are chances of a flood-like situation, he said.

“IMD issues warnings for heavy rains but these have mostly failed to prompt state governments to take pre-emptive measures. What needs to be done is to convert the forecast into a flood warning, so we know if the rain will flood a city or not,” he said.

By Sumit Kumar Singh, DNA India