Sikkim will soon have an advance warning system against landslides that would enable authorities to safely evacuate people before disaster strikes, according to agencies reports.
The system, being installed by the Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham which is ranked the country’s eighth best university by the Ministry of Human Resources Development’s National Institute Ranking Framework for 2018.
The system targets the Sikkim-Darjeeling belt, which is among the world’s most prominent ‘landslide hotspots’.
The new Internet of Things (IoT) system for landslides, that is being put in place, is custom developed for Himalayan geology.
The reports quoting experts stated that the system consists of over 200 sensors which can measure geophysical and hydrological parameters like rainfall, pore pressure and seismic activity.
The system will monitor a densely populated area spanning 150 acres around the Chandmari village in Sikkim’s Gangtok area which has witnessed massive landslides before.
The system collects real-time, continuous data from the sensors, performs basic analysis at the Field Management Center (FMC) located on the site in Sikkim, and relays it to the Data Management Center (DMC) at the university centre in Kerala’s Kollam district.
To improve the system’s reliability and enhance the early warning duration, a three-level Landslide Early Warning Model has been developed, the reports added.