New Delhi [India], September 3 : An advanced survey team of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday arrived in Jammu to inspect the rain, flood, and landslide-affected areas of the region and take stock of the damage caused by the natural calamity, officials said.
Officials suggest that the team will assess the damage and prepare a report based on their inspection, which will be followed by further assistance from the central government.
The move followed the direction of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, asking the MHA to step in this direction with advice to leverage data analytics and Artificial Intelligence.
On September 1, during his visit to Jammu, Shah directed the MHA to take steps towards the issue with an instruction to study the cause behind the calamity in close coordination with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The NDMA and the IMD were instructed to find the relationship between the tendencies leading to cloudbursts in the Jammu division and moisture content in clouds, identify causes, and establish an early warning system.
Shah had met the flood-affected people in Mangu Chak village in Jammu during his visit, and inspected the Tawi Bridge at Bikram Chowk, the Shiv Temple, and homes damaged by floods in the division.
After the visit, the Minister also chaired a high-level meeting to review the latest situation in the region.
Shah had also stressed that a critical analysis of all Early Warning Apps (EWAs), their accuracy, and their reach to the grassroots level is necessary.
He had also announced that a meeting of relevant departments from the central government and the Union Territory administration, along with the Union Home Secretary, would be held within one to two days.
More than 5,000 people have been evacuated to safer places as a precaution. Seventeen teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 23 Army columns, helicopters from the Indian Air Force, the Union Territory Disaster Response Force, the Jammu and Kashmir Police, and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel are still engaged in the entire operation, helping people.