Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has advised the media organisations, digital content creators and social media platforms to exercise utmost caution and responsibility while disseminating information on cyclones and other severe weather events.  

The office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) today issued an advisory in this regard for the media as well as digital platforms.

The SRC issued the advisory amid arrangements by the state government to mitigate the impact of impending cyclonic storm ‘Arnab’, which is very likely to cross Andhra Pradesh coast on October 28.  

“The media organisations and digital content creators are advised to refrain from circulating false, misleading, sensationalized or scientifically unsubstantiated predictions that may create public panic,” read the advisory.

As per the advisory, weather-related information intended for public dissemination should be verified against official IMD bulletins and advisories issued by the SRC or other competent authorities.

The state government claimed that some individuals and self-proclaimed weather experts are disseminating speculative cyclone tracks, landfall locations, timelines and impact assessments without adequate scientific validation and reference to official forecasts issued by the IMD.

“Such unverified and sensationalized forecasts have the potential to create unnecessary panic, disrupt normal economic activities and undermine public confidence in the official disaster preparedness and response mechanism,” said the state government.

The government will take appropriate legal action against persons or entities found deliberately circulating false disaster warnings, creating public panic or obstructing official disaster management operations, strictly in accordance with applicable laws and prescribed procedures, said the SRC office.