Myanmar: India funds flood, earthquake warning systems

India has launched a flood and earthquake early warning systems in Myanmar. The aim is to help the country mitigate the effects of natural calamities.

Vikram Misri, India's ambassador to Myanmar, on Friday, inaugurated this New Delhi-financed project to develop the Long-Lead Flood Early Warning System and Earthquake Monitoring System in Myanmar, Myanmar Times reported.

These systems will provide the government with more information on mitigating the effects of disasters that affect millions of people every year.

According to a statement issued by the embassy on Friday, "Both systems will be housed in the Department of Meteorology and Hydrography (DMH) of the Ministry of Transport and Communications in Nay Pyi Taw."

The systems have already been tested and verified. They are now fully integrated with existing Myanmar disaster mitigation systems.

"Under the Flood Warning System, 12 automatic water level stations and 3 automatic weather stations have been established, and under the Earthquake Monitoring System, 10 telemetered seismic stations have been added to the 8 station network of the DMH," the embassy statement said, as quoted by Myanmar Times.

In 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck the country, killing more than 140,000 people. Cyclone Nargis is described as the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanmar.