Toll in Cyclone-hit Odisha rises to 57, relief work on: Govt

The death toll in Cyclone Titli and subsequent floods has mounted to 57, including 10 children, while loss suffered due to the calamity has been pegged at over Rs 2,200 crore, the Odisha government said

Wednesday.

The government, earlier in the day, had confirmed 52 deaths due to the calamity that ravaged many parts of the state, mainly the southern region, last week.

Ten people were missing following landslides in Gajapati district and a clearer picture would emerge once information about them is obtained, Chief Secretary A P Padhi said here, after a review meeting with officials.

The state government has information of about 57 deaths from various affected areas so far, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) B P Sethi said.

 

He added the casualties mainly resulted from incidents like landslides, wall collapses and drowning.

While 39 deaths were reported from "worst-affected Gajapati district", 12 casualties were reported from Ganjam district and two from Kandhamal district, Sethi said.

Four persons -- one each from Cuttack, Angul, Keonjhar and Nayagarh districts -- were killed during the disaster, he said.

The dead included 10 children and 19 women, said an official.

"As per preliminary assessment, the loss suffered in different sectors, including infrastructure and agriculture, was estimated at around Rs 2,200 crore. It will take a day or two to get a full report on the total loss incurred due to the disaster," Sethi said.

Noting that restoration and relief work was in progress across the state, the chief secretary said, "95 per cent of the damaged roads have been repaired."

"Almost all thoroughfares have been repaired and power and drinking water supply restored in the urban areas. In rural areas, work is still in progress to bring back normalcy," Padhi added.

He said medical teams were visiting the affected areas and no major health issue has cropped anywhere until now.

The relief material has reached all panchayat areas for distribution among the affected people, Padhi added.

A senior government official said restoration and relief operations were being carried out by using the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

The state will approach the Centre for necessary assistance after "exact assessment" of the damages, he said.

As many as 16 of the 30 districts of the state were ravaged by heavy rain and floods following the landfall of Cyclone Titli last Thursday near Palasa in Andhra Pradesh, southwest of Gopalpur in Odisha.