The Ministry of Earth Sciences has proposed to set up a cyclone warning centre in Thiruvananthapuram following unprecedented flooding in Kerala. At least 223 people have lost their lives in the rains, floods and landslides in the state since August 8 and more than 360 people have died since May 29.

The India Meteorological Department has cyclone warning centres in Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. The ministry cited “several incidents of tropical cyclones and severe weather events striking over Kerala and Karnataka coasts in the recent times”, and proposed to set up the facility in Thiruvananthapuram within a month.

The facility will be “equipped with all state-of-the-art infrastructure including forecasting tools to issue weather warnings and coastal bulletins”. The ministry also plans to set up another C-band doppler weather radar at Mangaluru by end of 2019. The radar, which is used to monitor rainfall and severe weather events and warn people in advance, will cover the northern parts of Kerala.

Kerala currently has two such radars.

“The India Meteorological Department is also planning to organise an awareness and training workshop for the disaster management authorities of all states and other stakeholders by next month, to brief and train them on the new tools and how to make use of them for effective decision making,” a statement said.