Monsoon season, which is currently hitting India, Pakistan and other Asian countries, causes extensive floods and triggers landslides, with detrimental effects for the citizens of the affected countries. A new mathematical model, currently under development, aims in assessing the extent of anticipated damage and improving the civil protection and warning system.
Torrential monsoon rains have recently resulted in flash floods and landslides in northern India and Pakistan, reportedly killing nearly 300 people. In the state of Kashmir, five days of continuous rain have triggered landslides and burried hundreds of villages under mud and water, killing at least 120 people, while in Punjab rivers, rising well above their banks, flooded about 300 villages. Tens of thousands of people living in the affected areas are left homeless and have been displaced, setting a significant humanitarian emergency.
In the meantime, in an effort to improve its response to such emergency events, the Central Water Commission (CWC) is in the process of developing a mathematical model which will rapidly assess the anticipated damage caused by landslides in the Himalayan states of India. Such models are expected to have a two-fold function, namely provide information to authorities and citizens on any imminent threat of floods or landslide risk or prevent panic among people in case no immediate action is required.
The mathematical models are reportedly going to be developed for river basins of Himalayas in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttarakhand, all having heavily suffered from floods and resulting landslides in the past years. Actual application of these models could reduce the authorities' reaction time to future similar events as well as alert residents of the upcoming danger so that human and property loss are minimized.
Sources: TheTimesofIndia, TheWire.com
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