Anna University or AU and Indian Institute of Technology Madras or IIT M etc, are not only responsible for producing high skilled engineers etc but they would also be playing a huge role during flood situations in Chennai.
The news that has emerged out now is that ahead of the NE monsoons, HEI like AU, IIT-M etc would assist the authorities by providing drones and technical support for relief and rehabilitation etc during major flood situations.
Several drones for different sectors have been developed by the AU based Centre for Aerospace Research in association with TN Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Corporation.
Another HEI IIT M has prepared a flood risk map to track areas in Chennai that get flooded during the monsoon. It is really amazing to mention here that the students belonging to NCC and NSS of these HEIs have been trained to assist the revenue officers who would be engaged in the rehabilitation works during the monsoon season. This was explained by a senior officer from the Higher Education Dept.
To coordinate various disaster relief efforts and rescue operations etc, AU has developed a mobile command and control station. It must be recalled that during the floods in 2015 and in the Vardah cyclone in 2016, unmanned aerial vehicles or UAV developed by AU came in handy. This was brought to light by a senior professor from AU. It is now said that various deemed universities present across the state of TN would also be providing assistance during the flood situations etc.
The data from the previous floods and supporting pictures were important for the response teams during the floods. This was as per some officials belonging to State Disaster Management Authority and Information Dept.