Odisha bags award for using IT in disaster management

Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) has won the IT Excellence Award, 2019 for its innovative conception by using information technology in the field of disaster management, a senior official said.

Odisha, which has come a long way since the 1999 Super Cyclone, has now become a "model state" in disaster preparedness and risk mitigation, OSDMA Managing Director B P Sethi said.

The "SATARK" (System for Assessing, Tracking and Alerting Disaster Risk Information based on Dynamic Risk Knowledge) has been chosen for the award, he said.

Sethi said the application, both in web and mobile, has been developed in the state to provide real time watch, alert and warning information for different natural disasters and hazards such as heat wave,lightning, agriculture risk, flood, tsunami,earthquake, cyclone or storm, road accident and snakebite.

"We give different level of warnings and issue corresponding advisories based on the event scenario. It is available both in Odia and English languages," Sethi said.

Express Computer IT Excellence Awards are given to organisations or government departments that demonstrate innovative use of IT technology for providing benefits to the public.

Express India has invited Sethi to receive the award at Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai on September 18.