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Over 500,000 people were evacuated from the vulnerable coastal regions of Odisha with Phailin, the very severe cyclonic storm barely 40 km from Gopalpur, unleashing a spell of heavy rainfall and gusty winds that paralyzed train and air services and also disrupted power supply , almost bringing normal life to a halt.
Haunted by the memories of the devastating super cyclone in 1999, the state government took the evacuation job on a war footing, aiming at zero casualty though three lives were lost before the storm actually struck the shores of the state. Two casualties were reported from Ganjam district- Khallikote and Buguda and one from Bhubaneswar, all three were victims of uprooted trees.
"We have completed evacuation of over 500,000 people. This is one of the largest ever evacuation exercises performed anywhere in the country ahead of a natural disaster”, said Special Relief Commissioner Pradipta K Mohapatra.
Surface transportation was severely affected in cyclone hit districts like Ganjam, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara and capital Bhubaneswar with uprooted trees blocking the roads.
Met forecast suggests Ganjam district in south Odisha would be the worst hit by Phailin and accordingly, 120,000 people from the district have been shifted to safe shelters. While wind speed is projected to be in the range of 220-240 km/hr, the pace could grow as the cyclone intensifies, Mohapatra said.
The evacuation work was carried out in other districts identified as cyclone prone- Khurda (16380), Puri (80,000), Jagatsinghpur (56998), Kendrapada (16000), Bhadrak (14205), Balasore (1950), Cuttack (46409), Nayagarh (1235) and Gajapati (8000). High alert was sounded in 21 districts.
The scale of preparedness to tackle the nature's fury is also huge. Around 300 Army personnel have already reached Bhubaneswar, geared up for any rescue and relief work. Also, there are 29 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have taken their positions out of which 26 teams have already been dispersed to Puri, Ganjam and Gopalpur districts.
For post cyclone relief operations, 15 aircrafts have been pressed into service. The aircrafts have reached the Barrackpore airport and can reach the affected spot immediately. The aircraft fleet includes 10 choppers, two AN-32 transport planes, one Avro aircraft and one C17 Sea Hercules.
All domestic commercial flights to and from Bhubaneswar have been cancelled due to inclement weather. Out of 19 scheduled commercial flights operating from the city airport, 17 were cancelled for the day.
Similarly, the East Coast Railway cancelled all trains originating and passing through Odisha on Howrah-Chennai main line after heavy rains and wind lashed coastal areas due to the approaching cyclone.
The cyclone scare also took the Puja festivities for a toss with the pandals wearing a deserted look as people chose to stay indoors.
