Bhubaneswar, July 6: The state will have two Doppler radar stations by August end to disseminate advance cyclone and weather warning information.

"While the radar station in Paradip will be ready by the end of this month, the other one at Gopalpur is expected to be operational by August end," said secretary of the earth sciences ministry Sailesh Kumar Nayak.

Nayak, accompanied by Indian meteorology department director C.S. Rathore, today attended a meeting with the state's chief secretary Gokul Chandra Pati and other senior state government officials.

The establishment of the radar stations assumes significance as the state with 480-km-long coastline is prone to cyclones. While the 1999 Super Cyclone had its landfall near Paradip, Phailin had hit the coast near Gopalpur in 2013.

After the Doppler radar stations are functional in Paradip and Gopalpur, advance and more accurate information on the upcoming cyclones or storms can be available - which will be helpful in disaster management, said a Met department official.

It had been decided to set up four Doppler radar stations in Paradip, Gopalpur, Sambalpur and Balasore. While installation of antenna and radar has been over, the construction of buildings in Sambalpur and Balasore is also complete. While the radar station building in Paradip has been constructed with full central funding, the state government has provided land and constructed buildings at the other three places.

Rathore said arrangement could be made to obtain meteorological data from the radar installed at the defence establishment at Chandipur in Balasore, till the Doppler radar is functional there.

Pati underscored the need for the reliable advance information on rainfall and flood, so that disaster management could be made effectively. He advised the Met department director to adopt advanced scientific method in this regard.

Apart from the Doppler radar stations, 177 automatic rain gauges and 37 automatic weather stations were also installed across the state by the meteorology department. However, many of them have turned defunct, necessitating their repair and maintenance. Twelve automatic rain gauges sanctioned for Koraput and Malkangiri districts are yet to be installed. The Met department has been requested to initiate necessary steps for their installation.

Official sources said the chief secretary asked deputy relief conmmissioner Prabhat Mohapatra to install automatic rain gauges in all the 314 blocks across the state.

It was informed that digital cyclone warning dissemination system had been sanctioned for 58 locations in the coastal belt and installation of such system has been over in most places.

The state government has also requested the Centre to install 365 more such warning stations at multi-purpose cyclone shelters constructed within 10km along the coast.