Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is recognized nationally and internationally as a pioneering institution that informs and supports local and regional governments in climate change disaster risk early warning and real-time monitoring. Through AI-enabled IoT systems, geo-spatial platforms, and multi-level advisory services, Amrita provides governments with actionable intelligence, technical expertise, and scalable technological solutions for disaster preparedness, response, and resilience-building across India’s most climate-vulnerable regions.
Amrita’s most mature and operationally successful early warning initiative is the Sikkim AI-Enabled IoT Landslide Early Warning System, co-developed with the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) and co-funded by India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences. This system represents over a decade of continuous government partnership and has become the regional standard for disaster risk monitoring.
The system utilizes over 200 advanced IoT sensors deployed across the Sikkim Himalayan region to continuously monitor rainfall, soil moisture levels, seismic activity, and slope stability. Real-time data is collected at the Field Management Centre (FMC) located in Gangtok, then transmitted to Amrita’s Data Management Centre (DMC) for AI-driven analysis and decision-support. Government officials from SSDMA receive real-time alerts through integrated dashboards, enabling pre-emptive evacuations and infrastructure protection measures.
On May 10, 2025, Amrita formalized its long-standing collaboration through a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding with SSDMA, signed by Shri Prabhakar Rai, Director of SSDMA and Dr. Maneesha Vinodini Ramesh, Provost of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. Government representatives including M.T. Sherpa, IAS (Relief Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Land Revenue and Disaster Management Department) attended the ceremony.
“This partnership is the culmination of more than a decade of collaboration and mutual trust in Sikkim. We are deeply grateful to Amrita University for their dedicated work in monitoring and assessing the Chandmari landslide, an area that has posed a serious risk since 1987. Their efforts in collecting critical data and installing monitoring systems at ten key locations have been instrumental in our ongoing disaster risk management. Amrita’s timely updates and scientific insights have supported SSDMA’s mission.”
The system provides landslide early warnings 24 hours in advance on average, enabling timely evacuations and reducing disaster impact by approximately 30%. Since 2013, when Amrita first deployed 50+ sensors in Chandmari, Gangtok, the system has saved hundreds of lives and protected critical infrastructure.
Official Partnership Documentation:
https://www.amrita.edu/news/amrita-partners-with-sikkim-state-disaster-management-authority-strengthen-community-resilience-eastern-himalayas/
Government Collaboration Repository:
https://www.amrita.edu/unsdg-25/sdg13/colloborations/
In 2024, Amrita developed an advanced real-time, data-driven, multi-hazard forecasting and early warning dissemination platform specifically for North Sikkim, addressing the region’s unique vulnerability to Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), flash floods, landslides, and land subsidence.
Granular Spatial Resolution (5 km² grid):
The platform operates at approximately 5 km² resolution across North Sikkim’s vulnerable regions, enabling highly localized simulation of hydrological processes and hazard behavior. This granularity allows district and sub-district administrators to make precise, location-specific resource allocation and evacuation decisions.
Multi-Hazard Integration:
Unlike single-hazard systems, this platform monitors complex cascading interactions—such as how heavy rainfall triggers both landslides and flash floods in the same region, or how glacial melt contributes to downstream flooding. Government officials receive integrated risk assessments that inform holistic response strategies.
Heterogeneous Data Integration:
The system combines:
For critical infrastructure at high risk (hydropower dams, bridges, roads), the system deploys site-specific instrumentation including:
These sensors enable government engineers to detect infrastructure instability before catastrophic failure, triggering pre-emptive maintenance or closure of at-risk facilities.
The platform goes beyond hazard forecasting to create impact-based risk maps identifying which specific assets (hydropower dams, schools, settlements, agricultural areas) are at immediate risk within each sub-basin. The system also maps nearby shelters, evacuation routes, and critical service infrastructure, enabling rapid emergency response coordination.
The platform operates across four integrated domains:
Amrita’s research team conducted comprehensive field assessments in North Sikkim, including technical surveys of vulnerable hydropower dams to evaluate structural vulnerabilities and potential cascade failures. Stakeholder interviews with government officials, dam operators, and community leaders informed the design of the platform’s alert dissemination and response coordination mechanisms.
Detailed Technical Documentation:
https://www.amrita.edu/blog/forecasting-disasters-before-they-strike-how-amritas-risk-assessment-models-are-revolutionising-disaster-management-in-sikkim/
Amrita’s pioneering Munnar Wireless Sensor Network, deployed in 2009, was the world’s first wireless sensor network system for landslide detection and early warning. Operating continuously for over 16 years, this system has provided real-time alerts to Kerala State Government authorities and saved multiple lives during critical rainfall events.
In July 2009, during torrential rains in Munnar, the system successfully issued early warnings based on soil movement data, becoming the world’s first such alert system. This success established the template for all subsequent deployments nationally and internationally.
The system’s proven efficacy led to its replication and scale-up:
Kerala State Government continues to utilize real-time data from the Munnar system for emergency response and resource management during monsoon seasons, demonstrating the sustainability of Amrita’s technology-government partnership model.
In February 2024, Amrita initiated formal collaboration with the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) to establish a Landslide Early Warning System in Gajapati District, particularly in landslide-prone areas such as Baraghara and Madha in Rayagada block.
A seven-member expert team from Amrita’s World Centre of Excellence on Landslide, led by Dr. Maneesha V. Ramesh (Provost for Strategic Initiatives, Research & Innovation), conducted a comprehensive two-day field study in collaboration with Chief Administrative Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena and officers from OSDMA.
The collaboration follows a structured advisory model:
Amrita’s pioneering work earned prestigious awards including the International Program on Landslides, Kyoto Landslide Consortium (IPL-KLC) Award for Success and the NABARD Innovation Prize (2012) from then-Finance Minister Dr. P. Chidambaram, recognizing contributions to rural disaster risk reduction and sustainable development.
Official Partnership Documentation:
https://www.amrita.edu/news/odisha-government-collaborates-with-amrita-vishwa-vidyapeetham-to-implement-landslide-early-warning-system-in-gajapati-district/
National News Coverage:
https://amma.org/news/protecting-lives-odisha-government-and-amrita-university-collaborate-for-landslide-early-warning-system/
Following devastating landslides in Wayanad District on July 30, 2024, the Kerala State Government collaborated with Amrita to deploy advanced early warning and relief systems in the region.
On April 3-4, 2025, the Kerala State Government’s Disaster Management Department (G.O. Rt No. 208/2025/DMD) formally approved Amrita’s proposal to install an AI-Enabled IoT System for Real-Time Landslide Early Warning in Wayanad.
Amrita committed a comprehensive aid package of ₹15 crores ($1.8 million USD) comprising:
Sensor placement prioritized based on:
The system provides government administrators at state, district, and sub-district levels with:
Kerala Government Approval Letter:
https://sdma.kerala.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/G.O-RT-208-2025-Permission-granted-to-Amrita-Visha.pdf
Project Announcement:
https://www.amrita.edu/news/ready-to-save-lives-exploring-deployment-of-our-landslide-early-warning-system-in-wayanad-kerala/
The SREE (Sustainability & Resilience Monitoring Platform) represents Amrita’s approach to informing regional governments through community-generated data. Operating in 1,200+ communities across 28 Indian states, SREE aggregates crowd-sourced vulnerability and resilience information and presents it through interactive dashboards accessible to municipal and state administrators.
Municipal-Level Monitoring (Alappuzha, Kerala):
During the “Wave of Change: Water Sustainability Initiative” (March-April 2024), the municipality used SREE data to monitor:
Municipal officials and ward leaders received real-time dashboards showing which specific neighborhoods faced water scarcity risks, enabling targeted allocation of water tankers, repair of distribution systems, and prioritization of rainwater harvesting installations.
State governments access SREE’s aggregated data to:
SREE Platform Overview:
https://www.amrita.edu/news/sree-a-geo-spatial-platform-empowering-villages-for-sustainability-and-resilience/
Amrita provides ongoing, continuous training for government staff on operating the early warning system dashboards and interpreting alert information. Training modules cover:
Amrita offers 24/7 technical support for all deployed systems, ensuring minimal downtime and maximum reliability during critical periods. Government agencies receive:
Quarterly workshops train government officials on advanced risk assessment techniques, including:
Amrita provides regular briefings to senior government officials presenting:
During actual hazard events, Amrita researchers work directly alongside government emergency coordinators to:
Amrita’s early warning systems produce government-actionable alerts with clear escalation protocols:
Level 1 Alert (Green): Normal monitoring conditions; routine reporting to government agencies
Level 2 Alert (Yellow): Elevated risk indicators; standby alerts to district disaster managers; pre-positioning of emergency resources
Level 3 Alert (Orange): High-risk conditions; activation of emergency response teams; public alert dissemination; coordination with neighboring districts
Level 4 Alert (Red): Imminent hazard; immediate evacuation orders; full emergency activation; real-time government-community coordination
Amrita works with government to integrate alerts into:
Amrita has identified over 10 additional states for early warning system deployment, with government feasibility assessments underway in:
Amrita is engaged in discussions with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to integrate its early warning systems into India’s national disaster management framework, standardizing technology deployment and protocols across states.
The Amrita-government partnership model is being adapted for international contexts through collaborations with:
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s comprehensive approach to informing and supporting local and regional governments combines pioneering technology deployment, long-term government partnerships, customized advisory services, and scalable capacity-building programs. Through these integrated efforts, the university has established itself as the preferred technical and strategic partner for disaster risk reduction and climate-resilient development across India’s most vulnerable regions.