Kerala Faces Delay in Revising Monsoon Safety Guidelines Mid-Season

Quick Summary:

• kerala introduced the ‘orange book’ in 2019 to provide a standardized operations procedure for disaster management during emergencies such as floods, landslides, cyclones, and tsunamis.
• The handbook is meant to be updated annually with lessons learned from previous monsoon seasons and new protocols for enhancing emergency preparedness across departments.
• As of this year (2025), despite the southwest monsoon season being half over, the updated version of the orange book has not been released by the Kerala government.
• In July 2024, Wayanad experienced catastrophic landslides causing many fatalities. One year later, there has been limited progress in strengthening emergency response systems.
• This year’s first two months of monsoon witnessed normal rainfall distribution with four or five extreme rainfall events recorded.Anomalous precipitation may still occur in August-September or during the northeast monsoon period later this year.
• A senior official stated that while KSDMA had prepared an updated version of the orange book for 2025,its approval by government authorities and KSDMA’s State Executive Committee remains pending.

Indian Opinion Analysis:

Kerala’s delay in updating and releasing its critical emergency handbook underscores a important gap between policy formulation and implementation at a time when climate disasters are becoming increasingly frequent. Despite clear evidence from past calamities like last year’s Wayanad landslides about inadequate preparedness measures costing lives, actionable steps remain stalled due to procedural roadblocks. The hesitation over approving an already-prepared ‘orange book’ highlights institutional inefficiencies that could endanger public safety.

With normal rainfall patterns observed so far this season but potential extreme events ahead in August-September as well as during subsequent northeast monsoons, proactive disaster readiness is imperative. By failing to adapt protocols promptly based on prior experiences and scientific forecasts tied to climate unpredictability,Kerala risks compounding future crises if preventive action remains sluggish.

The effectiveness of documents like the ‘orange book’ lies equally in their timely dissemination alongside coordinated execution among State agencies-a lesson crucial not just for Kerala but also other States facing similar vulnerabilities owing to irregular climatic behavior.

Read more: The Hindu