Quick answers
How can I receive official disaster warnings?
Register for official weather and disaster alerts through government apps and portals, and follow only verified government sources rather than viral social media forwards.
What should I do when a red alert is issued?
Act immediately rather than waiting for confirmation. Keep emergency kits ready before cyclone or flood season and know your district control room numbers and safe shelter routes.
Why do early warnings sometimes fail to save lives?
Alerts may not reach remote areas in local languages, emergency services may not be pre-positioned, people may distrust warnings after false alarms, and poor or disabled households may lack phone access or power.
What makes an early warning system successful?
Warnings work when they reach the last person in time in a language they understand, backed by trained volunteers, school drills and community awareness that turns alerts into action.
Most disasters give some warning. A cyclone is tracked for days, a river rises over hours, and a heatwave is forecast a week ahead. The problem is usually not the forecast. It is whether the warning reaches the last house in time, in a language people understand, and whether they act on it.
India runs national warning services for cyclones, floods, heatwaves, lightning, landslides and tsunamis. Even so, floods, heavy rain, landslides, cyclones and other weather disasters killed 2,849 people in 2023-24 and 2,979 in 2024-25, according to figures reported by States and UTs (provisional, published with a reply to Parliament by PIB in August 2026).
Who warns you about what
| Hazard | Warning agency | Where the gap usually is |
|---|---|---|
| Cyclones | IMD, INCOIS | Late evacuations; no information when the power goes |
| Floods | CWC, IMD | Little local drainage data for towns and cities |
| Heatwaves | IMD | Low local awareness; too few drinking-water points |
| Earthquakes | IMD, IIT Roorkee | Quakes are detected, but the public gets little or no warning |
| Landslides | NRSC, GSI | Few sensors in the hills |
| Lightning and thunderstorms | IMD, IITM | Alerts do not always reach people’s phones |
| Tsunami | INCOIS, NDMA | Few coastal drills, low awareness |
Lead times are different for every event, so always check the issuing agency’s latest bulletin.
NDMA’s Sachet system (CAP-Sachet) carries alerts from these agencies to the public. It is designed to send geo-targeted warnings in several languages across many platforms and devices, and to use satellite links where mobile networks are down.
When warnings worked
- Cyclone Fani, Odisha, May 2019. About 12 lakh people were moved in the 24 hours before the cyclone made landfall. At least 12 people died in Odisha, a small toll for a storm of that strength.
- Cyclone Biparjoy, Gujarat, June 2023. More than one lakh people were moved to shelters from the high-risk coastal belt before the cyclone hit the Kutch coast near Jakhau on 15 June. Officials reported no deaths from the cyclone as of 18 June. Evacuation counts differ by date of report; earlier reports gave about 94,000 to 95,000.
In both cases the forecast was only the start. Lives were saved because shelters were ready, volunteers and officials went door to door, and people trusted the warning enough to leave home.
Where warnings still fail
- The last mile. Alerts do not always reach remote villages, or reach them in a language and form people can act on.
- Warnings without response. An alert goes out, but ambulances, boats and rescue teams are not moved into position.
- Lost trust. After a few false alarms, or when nobody enforces an evacuation, people stop taking warnings seriously.
- Cities that do not react. Drains, pumps, fire services and building managers often carry on as normal after a red alert.
- People left out. Elderly, disabled and poor households may have no phone, no charge or no power when the alert is sent.
The numbers we can stand behind
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CWC flood forecasting stations | 325 | Central Water Commission |
| Reservoirs with CWC inflow forecasts | 128 | Central Water Commission |
| People moved before Cyclone Fani (Odisha, May 2019) | About 12 lakh in 24 hours | Al Jazeera, 4 May 2019 |
| People moved to shelters before Cyclone Biparjoy (Gujarat, June 2023) | More than 1 lakh | PTI via Business Standard, 18 June 2023 |
| Weather-disaster deaths reported by States/UTs, 2024-25 | 2,979 (provisional) | Parliament reply annexure, PIB, August 2026 |
What you can do
- Get official alerts. Use the IMD’s Mausam app, the Damini lightning app and the CWC flood forecast portal, and keep government alerts switched on in your phone settings.
- Trust official sources, not forwards. Before you share a WhatsApp warning, check it against IMD, your district administration or your state disaster management authority.
- Know your district control room number and the way to your nearest shelter.
- Pack an emergency bag before the monsoon and cyclone season, not after the alert.
- When a red alert is issued, act. Do not wait for a second confirmation.
- Look out for others. Tell elderly neighbours and anyone without a smartphone, and help them move early.
What the system needs to fix
- Link every warning to a response: alerts should automatically put 108, 112 and SDRF teams on standby.
- Send alerts in local languages and as voice messages for people who cannot read a text.
- Hold public drills before and after every cyclone, flood and heatwave season.
- Improve forecasting for flash floods and landslides in hill states.
- Teach schoolchildren what each alert means and what to do.
- Put warnings and shelter information on one public dashboard people can actually find.
Before the next monsoon
Open your phone settings tonight and check that emergency and government alerts are switched on. Save your district control room number next to 112. Then ask the oldest person in your family how they would hear about a cyclone or flood warning. If the answer is “someone will tell me”, make sure that someone is you.
What needs attention
- India's forecasts are generally good; the weak link is getting the warning to every person in time and in their language
- Fani and Biparjoy showed that ready shelters, door-to-door officials and public trust turn a forecast into lives saved
- Alerts often go out without ambulances, boats and rescue teams being moved into position
- Repeated false alarms and weak enforcement make people ignore warnings
- Elderly, disabled and poor households may have no phone, charge or power when alerts are sent
- Earthquakes can be detected but the public gets little or no warning
Controls that reduce risk
- Turn on emergency and government alerts on every phone in the family
- Install the IMD Mausam app and the Damini lightning app
- Note your district control room number and the route to your nearest shelter
- Keep an emergency bag packed before the monsoon and cyclone season
- Agree who will check on elderly, sick or disabled neighbours when an alert is issued
- Ask your society, school or panchayat to hold a drill before the hazard season
Common unsafe practices
- Waiting for a second confirmation after a red alert
- Trusting WhatsApp forwards over official IMD and district bulletins
- Leaving the evacuation until water or wind has already arrived
- Assuming elderly or disabled neighbours have heard the warning
- Switching off government alerts on the phone
- Going back home before the authorities say it is safe
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