Ravaged to fortified: Odisha's stormy tale

The eastern state of Odisha has been battered by cyclones on a number of occasions. The state has witnessed three major cyclones – the 1999 super cyclone, Cyclone Phailin in 2013 and now Cyclone Fani – in the past two decades. In addition, two more cyclones – Cyclone Hudhud in 2015 and Cyclone Titli in 2018 – also traversed through Odisha, though their effect was limited.

Undoubtedly, Odisha's disaster preparedness and disaster management have evolved since 1999's super cyclone. The change became possible because of efficient planning and handling of the disaster, better evacuation measures by the State, better Centre-State coordination and cooperation from common people.

Those who have lived through the scary October 29, 1999 super cyclone could recall how coastal Odisha, particularly Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada districts, were ravaged for 36 hours with a wind speed of 300 kmph. The super cyclone had claimed at least 10,000 lives. Ersama of Jagatsinghpur district, where the super cyclone had made landfall, is still dotted with the gruesome tales of death and devastation.

The problem was that back then, the state was not even aware, let alone be prepared to handle such a calamity. The state neither had the infrastructure nor the will power to tackle a disaster of such magnitude.

There is a stark difference between the cyclones – of 1999 and of 2019. During the 1999 super cyclone, the sea had come almost 20 km inside Jagatsinghpur district. During Cyclone Fani, which made landfall in the temple town of Puri – triggering a wind speed of up to 190 kmph – there was no such situation even as there was an abnormal rise in the sea level.

During the 1999 super cyclone, the season was that of retreating monsoon and therefore the gale was followed by massive floods. In the case of Cyclone Fani, which hit Odisha in the middle of summer, there was no such risk.

Abysmal administration

In 1999, for weeks together, there was no trace of administration and there was total anarchy in the state. Such was the situation that for days together, no coordination took place between the Office of State Relief Commissioner Office (SRC), which was then based out of Cuttack, and the State Secretariat in Bhubaneswar.

An inept Congress government led by Giridhar Gamang abysmally failed to handle the crisis. The incapable state administration led by the then chief secretary Sudhansu Bhusan Mishra, who chose to fly down to the US leaving the cyclone-ravaged state to its fate and one DN Padhi, the then Special Relief Commissioner, the man who is still being hunted for serious irregularities in the purchase of polythene sheets for cyclone victims.

As soon as the super cyclone struck Odisha, the then Central government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee was trying to reach out to the state for help, but thanks to a lack of coordination from the state, that was not possible. Finally, the central government deployed armed forces and carried out relief and rehabilitation measures. The then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had declared the disaster as a National Calamity. It took months to rebuild Odisha.

From the 1999 super cyclone to now, the state's capacity in terms of cyclone-preparedness has improved significantly. Post-1999, the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) was set up, which is the first state agency focused exclusively on disaster management. The State government has already spent over Rs 2,000 crore in OSDMA, sources said. It also set up the Odisha Fire and Disaster Response Academy (OFDRA), the first of its kind in the country. The entire coastline of Odisha is now dotted with cyclone shelters.

Litmus test

When Cyclone Phailin hit Odisha coast at Gopalpur of Ganjam district in October 2013, the state was more prepared. More than 10 lakh people, mostly from Odisha, were evacuated before it struck. Fatalities back then were 44.

Undoubtedly, it was the preparedness and well-coordinated efforts that helped minimise fatalities. The role of Dr Krishan Kumar, the then Collector and District Magistrate of Ganjam, in evacuating scores of people within a short span of time must be remembered.

When Cyclone Phailin pummeled the southern Odisha district, Kumar and his team had worked overtime to evacuate people living within 10 km of the Ganjam coastline. Kumar had to go to the people with local MLAs and panchayat representatives, accompanied by police officials, to convince them to leave.

"It was a challenging task. We had started preparations as soon as we got the alert about the impending cyclone. From micro-planning to creating makeshift cyclone shelters to convincing people to evacuate to mapping each shelter to readying plans for post-disaster relief, we had to execute everything at breakneck speed," Kumar, who is currently the Cooperation Commissioner of Odisha, told DNA.

This time, before Cyclone Fani made the landfall, an estimated 12 lakh people were evacuated from vulnerable areas in a span of 24 hours, resulting in the biggest human evacuation so far.

Ruben Banerjee, veteran journalist and author of the book 'The Odisha Tragedy: A Cyclones Year Of Calamity', said, "During 1999, the pre-cyclone evacuation was not in the consciousness. Lessons have been learnt and the memories of 1999 are still fresh. When people are aware and much more conscious, it becomes easy for the government to carry out the evacuation drive. At the same time, the government is also far more serious about the exercise."

"While the entire credit is being given to the Odisha government, I feel 50 per cent credit should be given to government's efforts and 50 per cent to public consciousness. Undoubtedly, while the state's capacity to stand up to the disaster is much better now, it is far from perfect," Banerjee, who had covered the 1999 super cyclone extensively as a reporter, said.

The Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended all help to Odisha in braving Cyclone Fani. Apart from releasing an advance Rs 381 crore, the Centre announced additional assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for relief and restoration works. On Monday, PM Modi conducted aerial surveys of cyclone-ravaged areas and lauded the Naveen Patnaik government for the evacuation drive. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is camping in the cyclone-affected areas to oversee the relief and restoration operations. The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), headed by Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha, has reviewed relief measures in the affected areas.

According to sources, the death toll of Cyclone Fani has reached 60 and counting, even as the state government's estimation has put the causality figure at 37. A week after the cyclone battered the coastal Odisha, water, electricity and telecom services are yet to be restored in most parts of the affected districts of Puri, Khordha, Cuttack, Kendrapara and Ganjam.

WHAT CHANGED?

• During the Super Cyclone of 1999, Odisha had neither the infrastructure nor the will power to tackle a disaster of such magnitude
• From the Super Cyclone to now, the state’s capacity in terms of cyclone-preparedness has improved significantly
• IMD scientists, present and former, said that the ability to forecast cyclones was never in question
• Though the quantum of data available has increased exponentially. Since last October, IMD has also been using the coupled ocean-atmospheric models to forecast and track the path of cyclones