Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi has questioned the effectiveness of Assam’s flood warning and disaster response system after the Centre informed Parliament that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) provides near real-time flood monitoring for the Brahmaputra basin and shares flood inundation maps with the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) within five to six hours of satellite data acquisition.The issue came up in a written reply by the Department of Space to an unstarred question raised by Gogoi in the Lok Sabha on August 5. According to the reply, ISRO generates satellite-based flood inundation maps and other value-added products and disseminates them to disaster management authorities within five to six hours of acquiring satellite data.
The Centre informed Parliament that ISRO has been providing Near Real-Time (NRT) satellite-based flood monitoring for the Brahmaputra basin. During the 2025 monsoon season, 45 flood inundation maps and related products were supplied to ASDMA. Up to July 28 of the 2026 monsoon season, 33 such products had already been shared with the state authority.The reply stated that the flood maps are prepared using data from EOS-04 (RISAT-1A), Resourcesat-2/2A, Cartosat-2E and Cartosat-3 satellites. These products are disseminated through the National Database for Emergency Management (NDEM), the Bhuvan platform and directly to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority.The government also informed Parliament that ISRO has introduced measures to improve the speed and accuracy of flood monitoring. These include semi-automated flood mapping workflows, district-level flood reports and the use of high-resolution satellite imagery for damage assessment, subject to the availability of cloud-free satellite data.
Reacting to the government’s reply, Gogoi questioned why the availability of near real-time flood monitoring did not lead to timely warnings in districts affected by the flash floods in July.”The Government has confirmed, in response to my question, that ISRO provides near-real-time flood monitoring for the Brahmaputra basin, with flood data reaching ASDMA within 5–6 hours. Yet, the District Commissioner of Sivasagar has stated that the district had barely three hours to respond to the flash floods of July 19, with no prior warning issued. The Government must explain why available flood monitoring data did not result in timely alerts and preparedness on the ground,” Gogoi said in a post on X.