Revisiting cyclonic storm Phailin

Twin disaster after Phailin hit Odisha hard

Cover story for The Pioneer, October 18, 2013

When Odisha was trying to stand straight after 1999 super cyclone that battered the State badly and had claimed over 10,000 lives, the recent twin disaster (cyclone and flood) after Phailin hit Odisha coast on October 12 night shook the backbones of people of the State. Though the State Government’s well preparedness saved lakhs of lives, but the livelihood of Odias and infrastructure of the State would take years for reconstruction. Hemanta Kumar Pradhan gives a picture of Phailin affected Odisha.

--The cyclonic storm known as Phailin was the deadliest storm after Super Cyclone in the Bay of Bengal that hit Odisha Coast on October 29 in 1999. 

A deep depression formed over the Bay of Bengal on October 8 crossed the Andaman Islands near Mayabandar on October 9 and it strengthened into a cyclonic storm. Then it gradually gained speed and turned into a severe cyclonic storm the very next day. As it gathered speed, it later became a very severe cyclonic storm on October 11 and made landfall at Gopalpur in Odisha at 9 pm on October 12 with a maximum sustaining speed of 210-220 kmph gusting to 240 kmph along and off districts of Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Bhadrak and Kendrapara of coastal Odisha. 

According to prediction of the Indian Meterological Department (IMD), Phailin hit the coastal areas the hardest and indulged in the dance of destruction. Due to the effect storm surge with height of 3.0 to 3.5 metre above astronomical tide entered low lying areas of Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts of the State during landfall. Even water from the Chilika Lake entered several villages situated at the bank of the largest brackish water lake of Asia during the cyclone. Phailin caused heavy-to-extreme damages in its path of destruction by uprooting trees, destroying kutcha and asbestos houses, telephone towers, electric poles and transformers, standing crops, fishermen boats and fishing equipment and roadside vending shops. Many pucca houses were also damaged when uprooted trees fell down on it.

It was a sigh of relief for the State Government that human casualties could be minimised due to large scale evacuation of people from coastal districts which is believed as world’s largest evacuation. The massive evacuation was undertaken by administration, field officers, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), Naval and Army personnel. Before hitting of cyclone all people from vulnerable areas were evacuated for which the human causality could be minimised to 21. Near about 9.84 lakh people had been evacuated to flood and cyclone centers in the affected districts, said Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Surya Narayan Patro.

As per preliminary estimation, 26 lakh trees have been destroyed in the State by the cyclone. As Ganjam district was in the eye of the Phailin, near about 2.4 lakh kachha houses and 2.68 lakh hectares of crops in the district alone have been damaged, said District Collector Dr Krishan Kumar. Schools were severely damaged in the district, he added. 

Official sources estimated the loss at more than Rs 3,400 crore in this district alone. Power infrastructure has been damaged to a great extent at the tune of Rs 900 crore. The entire power infrastructure is totally lost, the Narendrapur Grid, which provides power to five districts, has been damaged severely, said State Energy Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena.

South Odisha’s big city Brahmapur city and nerve centre of education Berhampur University was devastated in storm. Ganjam and various places of its neighbouring districts have been spending life without electricity. It would take three weeks to restore electricity in Brahmapur city, but the rural areas of the affected districts would take more than a month, said Jena.    

One of the most serious problems is huge loss of livelihood. Fishermen of cyclone affected coastal districts including Ganjam, Puri and Khurda lost their boats, fishing nets and catamarans along with their houses. Farmers lost standing crop, betel vine yards, sugarcane, salt farming, kewda grooves and horticulture crops including mango, coconuts and huge cashew plants. “I lost all the cashew plants of my two-acre groove. It shattered my hope to run my family,” said a farmer Gaura Pradhan of Podagada village in Ganjam district.

“I lost my fishing boat, nets during the storm. It left me in a heap of loan and I have to go Tamilnadu in search of labour work to feed my two children,” said Ch Sathiaga of Podampetta village of Ganjam district. 

After devastating coastal districts, cyclonic storm Phailin created flood in North Odisha. Due to the effect of Phailin, heavy down pour occurred at upper areas of Budhabalanga, Subarnarekha, Brahmani and Baitarani and a few small rivers in North Odisha which created flood and inundated Baleswar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Keonjhar and a few areas of Kendrapada, Puri, Khurda and Ganjam. Surprisingly, North Odisha town Baripada engulfed with water, while Baleswar district was severely affected in the flood. Most of the villages of Bhograi, Baliapal, Remuna, Jaleswar and Basta block were submerged in flood water. The condition of these people worsened when water not receded for consecutive three days. 

The relief team failed to enter the cut-off areas. The State Government, who was not allegedly prepared for a sudden flood due to effect of the Phailin, faced a lot of problems and engaged Airforce team to airdrop relief materials. Meanwhile, the administration rescued many people from the flood affected areas by Navy, NDRF and ODRAF personnel. 

In Mayurbhanj, people agitated against the Government for not providing relief materials. In Baleswar and Ganjam district also people expressed anger against the State Government for not supplying relief in time. Relief supply was a difficult task for the State due to lack of enough relief material with the State.  

Though the State Government was lauded by the United Nations Organisation (UNO), World Bank, national and international bodies for successful tackling cyclonic storm Phailin, preparedness for flood a day after the storm exposed Government’s lack of attentiveness. 

Opposition parties criticised the Government for not supplying adequate relief materials and assistance. Thousands of flood affected people stayed at the roadsides in miserable condition. The people could not get drinking water and food materials in time. In some districts were running out of dry foods available with the administration. Poor people were shocked after witnessing their houses washed away in front of them.

“I lost my house in the flood. My family is in problem, but I didn’t get any help from the State Government,” said Purnachandra Pradhan of Charada village of Basta block in Baleswar district. Another villager Upendra Maharana said that they are in fear when they knew that low pressure rain would occur in North Odisha also. “How can I live under open sky,” he lamented.

Though the detailed report is yet to come, preliminary estimation said the twin calamity of cyclone and the resultant floods affected over 1.24 crore people of 17 districts of the State as more than 11.54 lakh people were evacuated to safe places, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Mohapatra said. Cost of total damage was estimated at around Rs 14,500 crore, said the officials.

Due to heavy flood, 27 people died and about 11 lakh hectares of standing crop has been damaged as flood water stayed more than seven days. Near about 5, 41,200 houses in 17 districts have been damaged in twin disaster and out of which around two lakh houses completely destroyed. Around 1500 big domestic animal, 3002 small domestic animals and 1, 71,000 fowls died in the calamities.

Infrastructure including all type of roads, bridges, schools, irrigation projects, drainage channels, canals, community centres and dams were severely damaged in the twin calamities. Preliminary estimation said 5,825 schools have been affected as a result school may take more time to open, sources said. Fishermen have received heavy loss as 10,126 shrimp and fish hatchery, 6209 boats and 9622 fishing nets have been affected in cyclone and flood, official sources said.    

Due to Phailin, official sources said, power connection lost to 45,960 villages. Though the State Government has restored many villages, over 21,000 villages are still in dark. Energy Minister Arun Sahoo said that as many as 222 Feeder line had been damaged, four lakh poles were completely broken or uprooted. In Berhampur area (severely affected by cyclone) as many as 20,000 poles have been damaged, he said.

Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami visited the State on October 20 and reviewed the situation. The State Government submitted a memorandum incorporating the details of damage due to the twin calamity to the Union Government seeking an estimated Rs 4,242.41 crore assistance towards restoration of damaged infrastructure and other assistance. Earlier, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking a preliminary assistance of Rs 1523 crore to expedite relief and restoration work.

It’s not the end of the story. Another flood was waiting for the twin disaster hit Odisha. Under the influence of a well marked low pressure over south coastal Andhra Pradesh adjoining West Central Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood, rain battered the State from October 22 to 27 which caused flood in several districts of the State.

Due to the fresh flood, near about 81.30 lakh of 10,722 villages in 13 districts (Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Khurda, Puri, Nayagarh, Mayurbhanj, Baleswar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur) have been affected. Around 1.98 lakh hectares of crop area has been affected and 4.07 lakh houses have been damaged due to incessant rain and resultant flood. Total 15 people died in the flood, while 1.91 lakh people were evacuated from the affected areas by the State Government.

Fully devastated Ganjam during cyclone became worst hit due to the flood. Near about 22 lakh people have been affected in the calamity. Rain water overflowed on the railway track passing through the district. Eleven rivers in the district witnessed water crossing danger level. Most of the low-lying areas in Berhampur city submerged.

Again the State Government on October 28 submitted a supplementary memorandum to the Union Government seeking Rs 1,590.09 crore of additional assistance out of the National Disaster Relief Fund required for relief and restoration measures, particularly in the flood-hit districts. The memorandum was handed over to Joint Secretary of Union Home Ministry Rashmi Goel who is heading an Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) of nine members to assess the loss due to cyclone and floods in the State.

Most of the political and social organisations raised eyebrow on the Central Government for not sanctioning a single pie to continue relief and restoration work in spite of the State Government’s request.

After two harrowing weeks, sky cleared and sun shined in the affected areas. The hard working people were trying to repair their houses at least to see their children safe. No doubt the damaged houses could be built and the crop could be raised, but the wound may take years to heal.

   

  

Cyclonic storm Hudhud wind speed to be 80-90 kmph in Odisha

--Odisha people relatively relieved

  

BHUBANESWAR: People in most vulnerable districts in the State were a bit relaxed on Thursday after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed that cyclone Hudhud was likely to make its landfall near Vishakhapatnam of Andhra Pradesh with a wind speed blowing at 80-90 km per hour in south Odisha. The cyclone in all likelihood would be of less intensity than the previous ones of 1999 and 2013. 

 

As a result of the storm, Vishakhapatnam, Vizianagram, Srikakulam and several other parts of the coastal areas of Andhra would be affected. It would mostly affect Odisha’s border areas with Andhra like Pottangi, Koraput, Narayanpatna and Jeypore in Koraput district, large parts of Malkangiri district as well as parts of Rayagada and Gajapati districts.

IMD sources said while south Odisha would experience a wind speed of 80-90 kmph, Andhra might experience it at 140 kmph, gusting to 155kmph.

Meanwhile, local Met centre issuing a bulletin at 8.30 pm predicted that the Hudhud over east-central Bay of Bengal moved west-northwestwards and lay centered at 5.30 pm on Thursday about 685 km southeast of Gopalpur. The system would continue to move west-northwestwards and intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm during next 12 hours. The system would cross north Andhra Pradesh coast around Visakhapatnam by Sunday forenoon, it added.

The bulletin also said squally wind speed reaching 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph would commence along and off south Odisha coasts from October 11 morning onwards. The wind speed would increase to 80-90 kmph along and off south Odisha coast from Sunday morning, it added.

Rain or thundershower would occur at many places over Odisha during next 24 hours. Heavy rainfall may occur at one or two places over coastal Odisha over the same period. 

Meanwhile, the Distant Warning Signal Number 2 (DW-II) kept hoisted at the Paradip and Gopalpur Ports. Fishermen were advised not to venture into sea and those who are in deep sea were told to return to coast immediately.