When the 1999 tremendous cyclone struck Odisha, on October 29, the destruction that adopted left the state reeling. Greater than 10,000 individuals had been killed in what stays one among India’s most brutal trysts with pure disasters.
In 2024, the state discovered itself bracing for an additional cyclone — Dana — simply forward of the twenty fifth anniversary of the tremendous cyclone. The times since stand testomony to only how far Odisha has come prior to now two-and-a-half a long time.
There was a distinction in depth between the 2 cyclones — and the location of landfall made a distinction too — however an alert state administration has managed to attain its ‘Zero Casualty’ mission throughout Dana, whilst neighbouring West Bengal reported 4 deaths within the storm.
Aside from large strides in expertise, this was the result of years of planning and coaching by a state that resolved to by no means get caught off-guard once more.
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Two Years, Two Storms
The 1999 storm was a Class-5 cyclone that made landfall at Ersama in Jagatsinghpur district with a wind velocity of 260 km per hour. The ocean got here 20 km inside Jagatsinghpur district. The dearth of an early warning system and no preparedness heightened the catastrophe’s affect.
In the meantime, Cyclone Dana — a Class-3 cyclone — made landfall on the intervening night time of October 24 and 25 between Odisha’s Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary and Dhamra Port, with a wind velocity of 110 to 120 km per hour. The rise of sea degree throughout Dana was not on the identical scale, and the 2000-sqkm mangrove ecosystem in Bhitarkanika helped tame the storm to an extent. As Cyclone Dana moved inland, it encountered elevated land friction and misplaced entry to the nice and cozy waters of the Bay of Bengal and, in consequence, misplaced its depth.
In the course of the 1999 tremendous cyclone, for weeks collectively, there was no hint of the administration. For days on finish, no coordination befell between the Workplace of the Particular Aid Commissioner (SRC), which was then based mostly in Cuttack, and the State Secretariat in Bhubaneswar.
A clumsy state authorities, led by the then Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang, abysmally did not deal with the disaster. The then chief secretary Sudhansu Bhusan Mishra selected to fly all the way down to the US, leaving the cyclone-ravaged state to its destiny. The then SRC D.N. Padhi was accused of irregularities within the buy of polythene sheets meant for cyclone victims.
As quickly because the 1999 tremendous cyclone struck Odisha, the central authorities led by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee tried to achieve out to the state with a proposal to assist. However an absence of coordination from the then Odisha authorities is alleged to have made central intervention troublesome till the Centre declared the tremendous cyclone a nationwide calamity and deployed the armed forces in addition to finishing up different reduction and rehabilitation work.
Neighborhood Participation And Outreach
Lower to the current, Odisha is nearly a special state from what it was in 1999, with its cyclone preparedness bolstered considerably.
In response to the 1999 tremendous cyclone, the Odisha State Catastrophe Administration Authority (OSDMA) was established the identical yr. The OSDMA was created even earlier than the Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Authority (NDMA) was fashioned in 2001 and nicely forward of the passage of the Catastrophe Administration Act by Parliament in 2005.
Odisha has been in a position to develop strong catastrophe resilience with a deal with growing infrastructure, expertise and expert manpower.
In the course of the 1999 tremendous cyclone, Odisha solely had 23 everlasting cyclone shelters — constructed by the Indian Crimson Cross Society — with a capability to accommodate roughly 30,000 individuals. Right now, the state has an in depth community of 870 multi-purpose cyclone shelters alongside its 480-kilometre shoreline, with every shelter able to housing as much as 1,000 individuals.
As many as 450 cyclone shelters have upkeep committees that contain educated native youth in key catastrophe response actions, similar to disseminating cyclone warnings, offering first support to victims, and aiding in rescue and reduction efforts. The community of those cyclone shelters permits the state to actively have interaction your entire group in catastrophe administration, fostering a resilient and responsive system.
In truth, group participation and outreach are the defining components of Odisha’s catastrophe administration mannequin. This strategy ensures the speedy dissemination of cyclone warnings and environment friendly mobilisation of residents in focused areas, facilitating well timed evacuations.
As a part of its catastrophe preparedness technique, Odisha has additionally applied a complete early warning dissemination system (EWDS) with last-mile connectivity. This mechanism permits the state to activate sirens from 122 towers alongside its shoreline, offering prompt alerts to weak communities on the press of a button.
For the reason that 1999 tremendous cyclone, India has made substantial developments in climate science and meteorological forecasting. With enhanced satellite tv for pc expertise and supercomputing capabilities, the India Meteorological Division (IMD) now offers extra exact, correct, and well timed predictions relating to cyclones and their landfall.
IMD Director Basic Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, broadly recognised because the ‘Cyclone Man of India’, has performed a vital position in reworking the IMD right into a world-class forecasting company.
As quickly because the IMD issued an alert about Cyclone Dana, the Odisha authorities wasted no time in entering into motion. Six senior IAS officers, all with earlier expertise in cyclone administration as collectors, had been assigned to weak districts to help the native administration. 9 ministers had been deployed to supervise cyclone administration efforts throughout as many districts, guaranteeing a coordinated response to the upcoming risk.
A complete of 19 Nationwide Catastrophe Response Pressure (NDRF) groups, 51 Odisha Catastrophe Fast Motion Pressure (ODRAF) groups, 95 Odisha Forest Improvement Company (OFDC) groups, and 220 Odisha Fireplace Service groups had been deployed to help with cyclone reduction efforts nicely upfront.
About 6 lakh individuals had been evacuated and brought to cyclone shelters. Round 6,000 pregnant girls had been shifted to healthcare centres, with 1,600 delivering their infants safely through the cyclone. In an unprecedented transfer, livestock within the cyclone-affected districts was additionally evacuated. If there was no lack of human life, there have been no livestock casualties both.
Chief Minister Mohan Majhi carefully monitored Cyclone Dana’s progress in real-time to make sure a swift response. Income and Catastrophe Administration Minister Suresh Pujari actively led on-the-ground reduction efforts, whereas Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja and SRC Deo Ranjan Singh remained totally engaged, overseeing emergency measures and environment friendly reduction distribution.
The central authorities additionally maintained common communication with the state and prolonged full assist and cooperation.
The results of all that is on the market for all to see.
Saswat Panigrahi is a senior multimedia journalist.
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