The Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) signed two strategic Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and CivicDataLab (CDL) on 2 September 2026 in Bhubaneswar. The partnerships were formalised in the presence of Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, UNDP India Resident Representative Angela Lusigi, and CivicDataLab Director and Co-founder Gaurav Godhwani. Together, they aim to shift Odisha’s disaster management from reactive relief to anticipatory, data-driven and technology-enabled risk reduction across all 30 districts.
What Are the Two New Partnerships Signed in Bhubaneswar?
On 2 September 2026, the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) signed two separate MoUs in Bhubaneswar. One was with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN’s global development agency, and the other was a non-financial MoU with CivicDataLab (CDL), an India-based civic technology organisation that works at the intersection of data, technology, design and social science.
Both agreements were signed on behalf of OSDMA by Executive Director Susmita Behera. The stated objective is to strengthen disaster risk assessment, preparedness and decision making at the grassroots level by using data, technology and innovation, and by fostering institutional collaboration across departments.
Minister Suresh Pujari said disaster management today must move beyond responding after a disaster strikes. He stressed anticipatory action, preparedness and risk assessment based on accurate and timely data as the core of the new approach. He noted that data-driven decision making is critical not only for saving lives and protecting property but also for more effective development planning. He added that the partnerships would further strengthen Odisha’s standing nationally and internationally and support the state’s long held goal of zero casualty and a climate-ready Odisha.
What Will the UNDP Partnership Deliver Across Odisha?
The OSDMA-UNDP partnership is centred on a comprehensive Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (HRVA) across all 30 districts of the state. HRVA is a systematic process to identify what hazards exist, who and what are exposed, and how vulnerable they are, so that risks can be mapped and reduced before a disaster happens.
Assessment will be done at a very granular level. In 10 coastal districts that are highly vulnerable to cyclones and floods, data will be collected at the village level. In the remaining 20 districts, the exercise will be carried out at the gram panchayat level. This distinction reflects Odisha’s risk profile, where the eastern coastline faces repeated cyclone landfalls and storm surges, while interior districts face floods, drought, heatwaves and lightning.
The data generated will feed into a dynamic, GIS-enabled digital platform. GIS, or Geographic Information System, is a computer system that captures, stores and analyses location-based data and displays it on maps. Because it is dynamic, the platform can be periodically updated as climate patterns and vulnerabilities change. It will support the preparation of district-level risk atlases and provide an evidence base for policy decisions, development planning and mitigation investments.
Hazard Risk and Vulnerability Assessment and GIS-Enabled Risk Atlases
A risk atlas is a collection of maps that shows where hazards are likely, which areas and populations are most exposed, and how severely they could be affected. For Odisha, such atlases will bring together physical hazard data, demographic and socio-economic vulnerability data, and capacity data. The HRVA system will create a scientific and reliable foundation for disaster mitigation, preparedness, climate resilience and long term sustainable development planning.
UNDP brings extensive national and global experience in disaster management, community resilience, preparedness and capacity building. UNDP, or the United Nations Development Programme, was established in 1965 and is headquartered in New York. It works in about 170 countries and territories and is the UN’s lead agency for sustainable development. In India, UNDP has partnered with the Government of India, state governments, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and other agencies on disaster risk reduction programmes since 2002, including the GoI-UNDP Disaster Risk Management Programme and the later programme on Enhancing Institutional and Community Resilience to Disasters and Climate Change. Its current Country Programme 2023-27 aligns with India’s national priorities and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2023-27, with a focus on leaving no one behind.
What Will CivicDataLab Build Through Digital Public Infrastructure?
The second MoU, between OSDMA and CivicDataLab, is a non-financial agreement to develop a dedicated Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Disaster Risk Reduction in Odisha. DPI refers to shared digital systems, such as platforms, data exchanges and registries, that are built as public goods to improve service delivery at scale. In this case, the DPI will act as a common backbone for disaster data across the state.
Through its Intelligent Data Solution for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDS-DRR) platform, CivicDataLab will integrate data from multiple departments and sources. Such data is often siloed, fragmented and stored in different formats, which makes it hard to analyse quickly. The IDS-DRR will harmonise data, provide it in a standardised format, and offer real time dashboards and analytical insights to OSDMA and all District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs).
In the initial phase, the platform will focus on riverine floods, coastal flooding and heatwave-related risks. These three hazards are among the most frequent and damaging for Odisha, with floods affecting river basins such as the Mahanadi, Brahmani and Baitarani, and heatwaves becoming more intense across interior districts. The system will help enable more accurate risk assessment and forecasting, faster coordination, and evidence based action before, during and after disasters.
Intelligent Data Solution for Disaster Risk Reduction in Focus
IDS-DRR is an open-access, AI-based platform developed by CivicDataLab that integrates satellite imagery, demographics, losses and damages, government spending and socio-economic vulnerability datasets. It uses AI and statistical modelling to generate actionable insights on risk, help prioritise public funds and improve public procurement for resilience.
CivicDataLab, founded in 2018 and headquartered with a remote-first team in India, works in areas such as climate action, public finance and law and justice. It was co-founded by Gaurav Godhwani. Its IDS-DRR solution has already been tested in Assam and Himachal Pradesh and is being scaled to Odisha, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, with plans to extend to Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia. The platform is supported by partners such as Open Contracting Partnership, the Patrick J McGovern Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, and it is available at drr.open-contracting.in.
The collaboration will address a long standing challenge. Decision makers often have to react with limited evidence, allocating resources on a first come first served basis or based on media attention, without fully accounting for vulnerability. By bringing socio-economic, demographic and other vulnerability data into the same view, IDS-DRR aims to reduce inequities and strengthen long term resilience.
Why Odisha Needs Data Driven Disaster Management?
Disaster management is the organisation and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all aspects of emergencies, from prevention and mitigation to preparedness, response, recovery and reconstruction. Disaster risk management focuses on understanding and reducing the hazard, exposure and vulnerability that creates risk, so that fewer disasters occur or they cause less damage. Disaster risk reduction is the practice of reducing risk through systematic efforts to analyse and manage causal factors.
Odisha, with a 480 km coastline along the Bay of Bengal, is one of India’s most hazard prone states. It has faced about 110 cyclones between 1891 and 2020, including the 1999 Super Cyclone that claimed more than 10,000 lives and devastated half of the state’s 30 districts. The Bay of Bengal accounts for nearly 80 percent of global cyclone related deaths, which makes eastern coastal states especially exposed.
Since 1999, Odisha has rebuilt its system around early warning and community preparedness. The state evacuated more than one million people during Cyclone Phailin in 2013 and kept fatalities under 100 during Cyclone Fani in 2019, compared to the huge loss in 1999. Key investments include more than 800 multipurpose cyclone and flood shelters, the Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS), the SATARK app, and the creation of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF). The state is also a pioneer of community based disaster preparedness, village disaster management plans, and deployment of women’s self help groups and trained volunteers as first responders. During the Covid-19 pandemic, cyclone shelters were repurposed as quarantine centres, showing how this infrastructure can serve multiple resilience functions.
Yet climate change is intensifying risks. Floods linked to storm surges and heavy rainfall, lightning, heatwaves and drought are occurring more frequently. Odisha’s rivers and its dependence on agriculture and fishing increase economic and social vulnerability. In this context, accurate, granular and timely data is essential for anticipatory action, targeted evacuation, resilient infrastructure planning and equitable relief.
How Is Disaster Management Organised in India?
India’s disaster management system is a three tier structure created under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The Act received presidential assent on 23 December 2005, came into force in January 2006, and extends to the whole of India. It contains 11 chapters and 79 sections and defines disaster broadly to cover natural and human-made hazards.
The Act established authorities at the national, state and district levels.
| Level | Authority | Headed By | Key Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) | Prime Minister | Lays down policies, plans and guidelines, approves the National Plan, coordinates implementation |
| State | State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) | Chief Minister | Lays down state policies, approves State Plan, coordinates state departments |
| District | District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) | District Collector / District Magistrate | Implements district plans, coordinates local response, manages early warning at ground level |
Other institutions created under the Act include the National Executive Committee (NEC), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) with 16 battalions, and the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) for training and research. The Disaster Management (Amendment) Act, 2025, notified on 9 April 2025, has added functions such as periodic assessment of emerging climate risks, creation of national and state disaster databases, and enabling states to set up Urban Disaster Management Authorities for large cities.
Odisha State Disaster Management Authority and Its Journey
OSDMA was set up on 28 December 1999, soon after the Super Cyclone, originally as the Orissa State Disaster Mitigation Authority and later renamed. It is the nodal agency for disaster management in the state and functions under the Revenue and Disaster Management Department of the Government of Odisha. OSDMA operates as the state level arm of the SDMA framework and is headquartered in Rajiv Bhawan, Bhubaneswar.
Over two decades, OSDMA has been recognised as a model for community centred resilience. Its interventions span multipurpose cyclone shelters (MCS) and flood shelters (MFS), resilient housing under the Odisha Disaster Recovery Project with World Bank support, Doppler Weather Radar, satellite phones, lightning detection systems, and the One Stop Risk Management System. The state’s zero casualty approach has been cited by international agencies such as the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) as a replicable model for other cyclone prone regions.
What Is Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sendai Framework?
Disaster risk is the potential for loss when a hazard interacts with exposed people and assets that are vulnerable. Disaster risk reduction (DRR) aims to prevent new risk, reduce existing risk and strengthen resilience through economic, structural, legal, social, health, cultural, educational, environmental, technological, political and institutional measures.
The global blueprint for this work is the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. Adopted at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, on 18 March 2015, it succeeds the earlier Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015. It sets seven global targets and four priorities for action.
The four priorities are understanding disaster risk, strengthening disaster risk governance, investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience, and enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to Build Back Better in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. India was the first country to align its National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP), released in May 2016 and revised in 2019, explicitly with the Sendai Framework. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also presented a 10-point agenda on disaster risk reduction at the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in New Delhi in 2016, which called for risk mapping and greater use of technology.
The Odisha MoUs directly advance Priority 1 (Understanding disaster risk) and Priority 2 (Strengthening governance to manage risk) by improving risk information, data sharing and institutional collaboration.
The Way Forward
The two MoUs mark a shift from conventional relief centric approaches to a scientific, digitally empowered and risk informed ecosystem. For Odisha, success will depend on three factors. First, the quality and regular updation of village and gram panchayat level data for the HRVA and the GIS platform. Second, the ability to integrate data from departments such as revenue, agriculture, water resources, health, housing and urban development into a single interoperable DPI. Third, translating dashboards and atlases into decisions that reach the last mile, including early warnings in local languages, village disaster management plans and training of frontline volunteers.
If implemented well, district risk atlases and real time analytics can guide investments in resilient housing, embankments, drainage, early warning systems and heat action plans, and help ensure that the most vulnerable populations are prioritised. This will not only improve cyclone and flood preparedness along the coast but also build resilience to slower onset stresses such as heat and drought across interior Odisha. In the longer term, the data infrastructure created with UNDP and CivicDataLab can serve as a reusable public good for planning across sectors, supporting Odisha’s broader goals for sustainable development and climate adaptation.
Key Takeaways
- Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) signed two MoUs with UNDP and CivicDataLab on 2 September 2026 in Bhubaneswar to create a data-driven disaster risk management ecosystem.
- The OSDMA-UNDP MoU provides for a Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (HRVA) across all 30 districts, at village level in 10 coastal districts and at gram panchayat level in 20 other districts, feeding a GIS-enabled dynamic platform and district risk atlases.
- The OSDMA-CivicDataLab MoU, a non-financial DPI agreement, will build a Digital Public Infrastructure for Disaster Risk Reduction using the Intelligent Data Solution for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDS-DRR) with real time dashboards for OSDMA and DDMAs.
- IDS-DRR focuses initially on riverine floods, coastal flooding and heatwaves and has earlier been tested in Assam and Himachal Pradesh.
- OSDMA was established on 28 December 1999 after the Super Cyclone and functions under Odisha’s Revenue and Disaster Management Department with headquarters in Bhubaneswar.
- India’s disaster framework rests on the Disaster Management Act, 2005 with a three tier system: NDMA headed by the Prime Minister, SDMA by the Chief Minister and DDMA by the District Collector, aligned globally with the Sendai Framework 2015-2030 adopted on 18 March 2015 in Sendai, Japan.
