Guwahati, May 15: Assam chief secretary Ravi Kota on Wednesday launched the Disaster Reporting and Information Management System (DRIMS), a digital platform for online reporting of damages incurred during various disasters.
DRIMS is a state-of-the-art initiative of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) for accurate reporting and assessment of damages caused by disasters and disbursal of aid to those affected by them.
The platform, developed in collaboration with UNICEF, efficiently captures critical impact indicators of damages during disasters, which helps deliver relief and rehabilitation grants expeditiously to the affected beneficiaries. It also tracks damages to crops, loss of livestock, etc, expediting post-disaster restoration efforts.
A handbook on financial assistance during disasters was released by the chief secretary on the occasion
Kota also inaugurated the state-level training programme on Incident Response System for responders, being conducted by the National Institute of Disaster Management.
The disaster assistance handbook will empower people to understand their entitlements during and after disasters thereby enabling greater demand and access to assistance specially for children and women in affected communities.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief secretary hailed the efforts of ASDMA in disaster mitigation and response, especially during the floods.
He highlighted that as Assam was prone to multiple disasters, it was a great beginning to have all the information in a single online platform.
Earlier, ASDMA chief executive officer Gyandendra Dev Tripathi welcomed the dignitaries and participants.
Speaking on the features of DRIMS, he said that it was an upgrade of FRIMS with various modern technology features for multi-disaster reporting.
Speaking on the occasion, Arjan De Wagt, UNICEF India’s deputy representative for programmes stated, “What has impressed me the most about this system is the efficiency of data verification and compilation, which helps save the precious time of field workers on the ground.”
Addressing the event, Madhulika Jonathan, chief of field office for Assam and Northeast states, UNICEF India stated “Assam has a complex disaster and climate risk landscape. DRIMS is a groundbreaking digital solution which is built on the Flood Reporting Information System and sets a higher standard for disaster management in India.”
IANS
