PHAILIN 9 LAKH HIT,
RS.2,400 CR CROPS DESTROYED
Eight
persons were killed in Odisha as the very severe cyclonic storm Phailin hit the
State’s coast near Gopalpur in Ganjam district at 8.30 p.m. on Saturday,
government officials said on Sunday morning.Lakhs of people were affected by
the cyclone that caused major damage in Ganjam and other districts.According to
State Special Relief Commissioner P.K. Mohapatra, two persons each were killed
in Ganjam and Khurda, and one each in Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Jajpur and PuriThough
lakhs of trees were uprooted in these affected districts, major roads were
being cleared by the administration with the help of the personnel of National
Disaster Rapid Action Force and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force Chief
Minister Naveen Patnaik was scheduled to review the situation at 11 a.m., Mr.
Mohapatra said.The Special Relief Commissioner informed that the State
government may not use the services of the armed forces for airdropping of
relief materials.
Mr.
Mohapatra said the 18 fishermen who had gone missing off Paradip coast on
Saturday had been rescued.In Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, normal life continued to
remain out of gear as the uprooted trees blocked many roads. Many Puja pandals
had crashed with the heavy winds that swept the coastal region throughout the
night.The cyclone which had its landfall near Gopalpur at 8.30 pm on Saturday
with a speed reaching up to 220 km per hour had moved into the interior parts
of Odisha and lay over Boudh district at around 10 am, Mr. Mohapatra added.Though
it was raining at times since morning, the cyclone was likely to fully subside
by evening.Meanwhile, trains services remained cancelled on
Howrah-Visakhapatnam route. Bhubaneswar airport was likely to function normally
from afternoon.The State administration had evacuated over 8 lakh people to
safer places and that helped save human lives, Mr. Mohapatra said.
Cyclone
Phailin on Sunday left a trail of destruction in coastal Odisha where nearly 9
lakh people were hit and crops worth Rs. 2,400 crore destroyed even as one
person was killed in Andhra Pradesh in a house collapse.The cyclone, which
packed 220 kmph at landfall on Saturday in Odisha, weakened on Sunday morning
and was moving northwards and will settle into a deep depression by the
evening. Under its impact, heavy rains lashed parts of Odisha, Bihar, West
Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.In Andhra Pradesh, a 60-year-old man died in Bulivadu
village of Srikakulam district following heavy downpour unleashed by the severe
storm. A 27-year-old fisherman died in his sleep in the early hours on Sunday
in a relief camp at Kaviti, a State disaster management official said.IMD
Director-General L.S. Rathore said at noon that the wind speed of the cyclone
is now 100 to 110 kmph.A flood warning has been issued in Bihar as widespread
rains are expected in its wake.Giving details of the devastation caused by the
cyclone, Odisha Revenue and Disaster Minister S.N. Patro said in Bhubaneshwar
that 14,514 villages in 12 districts have been affected, hitting a population
of 8,53,620.
There
were no major casualties though Phailin was no less than a super cyclone as
large scale evacuation of people to storm shelters prevented casualties which
were seen in the 1999 super cyclone that left nearly 10,000 dead.The Minister
said 8,73,646 people have been evacuated.Over 5
lakh hectares of standing crops have been destroyed by the gushing waters
causing an estimated loss of Rs. 2,400 crore, he said.Extensive damage has also
been caused to ‘kutcha’ houses besides partial disruption of power,
communication lines and rail and road traffic in various parts of Odisha,
particularly in Ganjam district, which faced the storm’s onslaught.Thousands of
trees and poles were uprooted in Bhubaneshwar and several buildings have got
weakened in Parampur town, above 20 km from Gopalpur, Mr. Patro said.In
Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh, relief operations have been launched in full
swing as heavy rains coupled with strong winds continue to lash most parts of
the coastal areas.Srikakulam Collector Saurabh Gaur said 39 villages in the
cyclone-affected areas are surrounded by water.A cargo ship, MV Bingo is
believed to have sunk in the rough seas caused by Phailin with its crew on a
lifeboat last sighted east of Sagar in West Bengal, Kolkata Port Trust chairman
RPS Kahlon told PTI in Kolkata.In Andhra Pradesh, State Disaster Management
Commissioner T. Radha told PTI that 19.8 cm rainfall had been recorded at
Itchapuram, 15.42 cm at Kaviti, 14.76 cm at Kanchali, 10.8 cm at Kothabommali and
10.7 cm at Sompeta in Srikakulam district, which have borne the brunt of the
cyclone.
“The
sky is clear. We are cutting uprooted trees to clear traffic. Everything is
normal and peaceful,” Radha said.Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy reviewed
the situation with Chief Secretary P.K. Mohanty on Sunday morning and asked the
administration to focus on speedy rescue and relief measures, particularly in
Srikakulam district.Prashant Dar, Commandant, National Disaster Relief Force,
said people, who have been given shelter in relief camps, have been provided
with food, medicine and other essential material.The teams of NDRF, which is
tasked to minimize the loss on all fronts, intensified their operations since
morning while the Indian Navy has also been put on alert.“We have started
rescue operations since 6 am as the weather relented a bit. We have received
reports the 110 people stranded in two locations where our teams are on their
way to rescue them,” he said.Hundreds of trees have been uprooted in
cyclone-affected areas and fell on road causing traffic disruption. NDRF
personnel are trying to remove blockades to clear the way.As a precautionary
measure, power supply to some parts of the district was stopped as tens of
electrical poles in those areas collapsed.
Prof. John Kurakar
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