Andhra Pradesh Sunday claimed to have become the first state in India to use space technology in disaster management.

 

 

 With the help of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), it is using latest technology tools to gather firsthand information about the destruction caused by cyclone Hudhud.

 

 The government with the help of NSRC launched an Android app for a crowdsourcing project where people could upload photos from their smartphones. NRSC said that over 3,000 downloads of app were recorded. 

 

 Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has appealed to people to upload pictures and videos of uprooted trees, breached roads, damaged crops and inundated areas.

 

 "The uploaded pictures will be automatically integrated with NRSA data and this will help the government in assessing the damages and mobilising required men and material to reach to the last point," he said here.

 

  Naidu said this would help the government in undertaking rescue and relief operations in a perfect manner.

 

 People having smartphones can download the mobile app from www.bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in and upload the pictures.

 

 Those having cameras and normal phones can take pictures and videos with, time and location and send the same to weblink http://bhuvan-ftp.nrsc.gov.in (user name:hudhud123, password:hudhud123).

 

 Naidu directed NRSC to use GIS, GPS and remote sensing technologies to spot the damage and put them on the satellite through geo-tagging. This will enable the government to have the data on damages on the map.

 

 He added that the government engaged four satellites to monitor cyclone – RI Sat1, RISat2, Radar Sat and Resource Sat2.

 

 Tech-savvy Naidu urged officials to use Facebook, Twitter and Google.

 

 Andhra Pradesh government has also created a Facebook page called AP disaster management. It created #HudhudAP to reach out to people and get information from them on Twitter and Facebook. It is also using Whatsapp extensively.