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The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) launched a report on the Disaster Risk and Resilience Assessment Framework (DRRAF)

The report aims to increase the resilience of the telecommunication sector to natural disasters and forms part of CDRI’s National and Sub-national Disaster Risk & Resilience Assessment study

Deeksha Upadhyay 27 February 2025 15:20

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) launched a report on the Disaster Risk and Resilience Assessment Framework (DRRAF)

The DRRAF stands for Disaster Risk and Resilience Assessment Framework.

Concerning DRRAF: DDRAF, which was created by CDRI, DoT, and NDMA, takes a system-scale approach that encompasses all regions and connectivity levels.

In line with the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) by 2027 initiative, it seeks to lessen financial losses and infrastructure damage while improving emergency connectivity and service restoration.

The United Nations launched EW4All in 2022 with the goal of using early warning systems to protect the world from climate-related disasters by 2027.

It evaluates and suggests disaster resilience strategies in five important areas:

  • Enhancing telecom infrastructure is the goal of technical planning and design.
  • Maintaining service continuity through operations and maintenance.
  • Governance through Policy, Institutions, and Processes (PIPs): Including disaster resilience.
  • Financial Arrangements: Supporting systems for risk-sharing.
  • Expertise: Strengthening knowledge sharing and sectoral capacity.

It assists interested parties in recognizing and addressing disaster risks through targeted resilience measures.

Important Features of the Framework:

At the State Level: Assam, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, and Gujarat are the five states in which the study evaluates the disaster risks associated with the telecom industry.

According to the study, Assam and Uttarakhand's telecom infrastructure was completely vulnerable to earthquakes.

Cyclones affect 83% of towers in Assam and 57% of towers in Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

Assam has 43% of its towers vulnerable to flooding, followed by Tamil Nadu (33%), Odisha, and Gujarat.

Nationally, 75% of the 0.77 million telecom towers surveyed were found to be vulnerable to lightning, followed by cyclones (57%), earthquakes (27%), and floods (17%).

Important Features of the Framework:

At the state level, the study evaluates the telecom industry's vulnerability to disasters in five states: Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Odisha, and Uttarakhand. The DRRI, or Disaster Risk and Resilience Index: To evaluate telecom tower vulnerability across various terrains (coastal, plain, and mountain), a new index (DRRI) has been created. It is based on the intensity, frequency, duration, and spatial extent of hazards.

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