BHUBANESWAR: The possible
onslaught of an impending very severe cyclonic storm called Phailin that would
hit the Odisha coast by October 12 has reminded the Super Cyclone that had
devastated the State’s coastal belt on October 29, 1999.
The Super Cyclone had a maximum
wind speed of 260 kmph in the core area that led to sea-level elevation of more
than 20 feet. It was accompanied with exceptionally heavy rains that resulted
in devastating floods and cut -off the State from the rest of the country.
A tropical depression had formed
over the Malay Peninsula on October 25, 1999 and it moved northwest and
became a tropical storm on October 26. It strengthened into a cyclone on
October 27. On October 28, it became a severe cyclone, ultimately assuming a
peak of 160 mph (260 km/h) winds. It caused death of about 10,000 people and
heavy-to-extreme damages in its path of destruction.
Around 275,000 homes were
destroyed, leaving 1.67 million people homeless. The number of livestock was 4,
06,000. The high number of domestic animal deaths affected livelihoods of
around five million farmers. According to meteorologists, the Super Cyclone was
the deadliest tropical cyclone in the Indian Ocean since
the 1991 Bangladesh
cyclone and the deadliest Indian storm since 1971.
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