Cyclone
Warnings ( Back
to Cyclone Warning Services )
Cyclone
warnings are disseminated through a variety of communication media,
such as, radio, television, print media, telephones, fax, telex,
telegrams, police wireless network. A specially designed Cyclone
Warning Dissemination System which works via the INSAT
satellite provides area-specific service even when there is a failure
of conventional communication channels. Warnings are issued for
general public, fishermen, farmers and different categories of users
such as central and state government officials responsible for
disaster mitigation and relief, industrial and other establishments
located in the coastal areas, railways, aviation, communications and
power authorities.
The cyclone
warnings are issued two stages.The first stage warning known as
"Cyclone Alert" is issued 48 hours in advance of the
expected commencement of adverse weather over the coastal areas. The
second stage warning known as "Cyclone Warning" is issued 24
hours in advance. A ?Pre-cyclone Watch? may be instituted prior to the
cyclone alert and a post-landfall outlook is issued for areas in the
interior which may be affected by the cyclone as it continues to move
inland and dissipate. Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre
NHAC, New
Delhi, has been designated as the Regional Specialised Meteorological
Centre for Tropical Cyclones. It is one of the five such centres
recognised by the WMO under a global system for monitoring tropical
cyclones. As an international commitment, through the WMO/ESCAP Panel
on Tropical Cyclones, tropical cyclone advisories are issued by RSMC,
New Delhi to the panel member countries during the tropical cyclones
in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
The advisory
messages are issue four to eight times a day. The ESCAP Panel
countries are Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Maldives and Oman.