Discover how AWARE 2.0, Andhra Pradesh’s AI-powered early warning system by Vassar Labs, transformed Cyclone Montha disaster response with real-time alerts, coordinated governance, and data-driven decision-making – minimizing casualties and damage.
When Cyclone Montha hit Narsapuram on October 28–29, 2025, with winds peaking at 110 km/h, it threatened to become yet another disaster amplified by systemic failures.
India’s traditional approach to cyclone management has long struggled with fragmented structures where critical departments – water resources, disaster management, agriculture, fisheries, and municipal services, operated in isolated silos with separate communication channels and decision-making protocols.
The consequences of this fragmentation were severe. Fishermen received warnings hours too late. Agricultural officers couldn’t alert farmers in time to protect standing crops. Water resource managers had limited real-time reservoir visibility, making flood-prevention decisions difficult. Municipal authorities operated slow, resulting in clogged drains, poor power network management, and delayed evacuation logistics.
This reactive model persisted because alternatives seemed technologically impossible. Real-time data integration across departments required massive infrastructure overhauls. Reaching millions of citizens with targeted, multi-language alerts appeared operationally unfeasible.
Recognizing these systemic vulnerabilities, Vassar Labs partnered with the Andhra Pradesh Government to develop AWARE 2.0 (AP Weather Forecasting and Early Warning Research Centre) – a Digital Public Infrastructure reimagining of how governments detect, forecast, and coordinate responses to extreme weather events.
AWARE 2.0 dissolves departmental silos by ingesting data from multiple sources simultaneously:
This data flows into a centralized Data Lake storing over 6 petabytes of real-time and historical information, feeding into a Data Lens dashboard accessible simultaneously by the Chief Minister’s office, district collectors, mandal officials, and village secretariats.
Unlike conventional meteorology relying solely on IMD bulletins, AWARE 2.0 employs AI and predictive analytics to generate forecasts with remarkable precision. During Cyclone Montha, the platform predicted wind speeds of 80-100 km/h at landfall – the observed maximum at Machilipatnam reached 82 km/h, validating the system’s capabilities.
When AWARE 2.0 detects a threat, alerts are automatically disseminated through SMS, WhatsApp, mobile apps, and satellite-connected sirens. During Montha, 9.5 million citizens received targeted, actionable weather alerts on their phones within minutes rather than hours.
AWARE 2.0’s performance during this real-world test validated the platform’s architecture.
The platform detected and began tracking the cyclone 72 hours before landfall, a window that proved invaluable for coordinated preparations. Initial advisories were issued on October 27, triggering the first Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) and SMS alerts to 13 districts.
When the cyclone’s path shifted on October 28 morning, AWARE 2.0 automatically recalculated affected zones, rainfall intensity patterns, and wind severity forecasts, pushing revised advisories to collectors and secretariats within hours.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu conducted nine teleconferences between October 23-29, overseeing disaster management efforts with real-time AWARE data. Officers across water resources, rural development, telecommunications, police, agriculture, and municipal administration reported status updates with geographic specificity and accountability.
Cyclone Montha tested Andhra Pradesh’s disaster preparedness, and AWARE 2.0 delivered. By unifying data across departments, enabling AI-powered forecasting, and reaching millions with timely alerts, the platform transformed a potentially catastrophic event into a managed crisis where preparation and rapid response saved lives.
The lesson is clear: when technology, governance, and human coordination converge around real-time intelligence, even powerful storms need not translate into human tragedy. AWARE 2.0 is not just a technological tool, it’s a blueprint for 21st-century disaster governance.
