Before the Cyclone
This article contains information and facts of Cyclone Phailin in Orisha (Orissa).
Landfall: Cyclone Phailin hit on October 12, 2013 near Gopalpur in Odisha at the speed of 200 KMPH and triggered heavy rainfall and strong wind.
High Alert: The Weather Department had issued high alert for the coastal regions of districts of Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Jagatsinghpur, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam.
Swift Response: The state government cancelled the Dusshera holiday requested the officials to stay on high alert and to assist the rescue operations. More than 5 lakh civilians from coastal regions of Orissa were evacuated. Civilians were evacuated for the coastal regions of Ganjam, Jagatsinghapur, Puri and other districts in Odisha.
Food: Over one lakh food packets were kept handy for supply during the rescue and relief activities.
Forces: NRDF forces, Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force, police, press and civilians all came together to minimize the impact of Phailin Cyclone.
Cyclone Phailin aftermath
The Cyclone Phailin and the resultant flood has caused severe damage. The large evacuation of more than 9 lakh people had kept the death toll at minimum.
Unity: The Chief Minister of Orissa have thanked to officials on duty, press, and civilians for kind of unity shown by them during the emergency situation.
Death: Atleast 36 people have been killed as a result of the deadly cyclone. (Last updated: October 17, 2013)
School: Mort than 5000 schools have been damaged. The estimated value of the loss is over 2500 million rupees. ( Last updated: October 17, 2013)
Trees: Around 26 lakh trees have been damaged. ( Last updated: October 20, 2013)
Houses: More than 3 lakh houses have been partially or completely damaged. (Last updated: October 17, 2013)
People affected: Around 20 million people living across more than 16000 villages have been affected. (Last updated: October 17, 2013)
Power: Around 30,000 km of electric line have been destroyed. Thousands of electric poles, grid houses and transformers have been destroyed. Power supply was restored in Behrampur Hospital and MKCG medical college on 16th October, 2013. The damage is extensive and it would take some time to completely restore the power supply.( Last updated: October 16, 2013)
Ganjam: The situation in Ganjam district is still very poor. 13,000 km of electric line got damaged in Ganjam alone.
Relief work: After the cyclone, the Rescue Team have started relief operation at Behrampur, Gopalpur and other affected districts of Orissa.
Rehabilitation: The rehabilitation of lakhs of people who have lost their home and livelihood is a major challenge. It would take much effort and time to bring back the situation to normalcy.
Praise: The World Bank has praised the Odisha State Disaster Management authority and the Odisha Government for their evacuation effort. The press around the world has also praised the Orissan Authorities.
( Last updated: 29th October, 2013)