Cyclone Dana: How Odisha model helped it achieve 'zero casualty mission'

Cyclone Dana news: Odisha is no stranger to deadly cyclones striking its coasts in October. Over the years, Odisha's expertise and resilience in dealing with disasters and minimising casualties have come in for praise. Here is how it tackled Cyclone Dana.

In Short

• Odisha Chief Minister says no loss of human life or injury due to cyclone
• Flags massive pre-disaster planning by the state government
• Over the years, Odisha's expertise in dealing with disasters have been praised

"Our zero casualty mission has been successful," said a beaming Mohan Charan Majhi, Odisha Chief Minister, hours after severe cyclonic storm Dana crashed into its coast on Thursday night. The cyclonic storm, which coincided with the 25th anniversary of the 1999 super cyclone that killed 10,000, could have led to huge casualties but for the massive pre-disaster planning undertaken by the state government.

Odisha is no stranger to deadly cyclones striking its coasts in October. In fact, over 100 tropical cyclones have hit Odisha -- the highest among other coastal states -- so far. Over the years, Odisha's expertise and resilience in dealing with disasters and minimising casualties have come in for praise.

The outcome has been that from over 10,000 deaths in the 1999 cyclone, the fatalities have mostly been in double digits in most of the cyclones that have struck recently, including Phailin (2013), Hudhud (2014), Titli (2018) and Fani (2019).

HOW ODISHA WEATHERED THE DANA STORM

Ever since Odisha was alerted about the likely formation of a cyclonic system in the Bay of Bengal five days ago, the administration has wasted no time in getting into the act. A meeting was held and rescue teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), fire service, and Odisha Police were pressed into service.

According to the Chief Minister, about six lakh people were evacuated and taken to rescue shelters in just four days. "About 6,000 pregnant women were also shifted to health care centres. Of them, 1,600 women gave birth to babies," Majhi said.

The cyclone, however, left a trail of destruction, with several trees uprooted, blocking roads, and causing massive damage to electrical installations. Here too, the communication from the government on restoration of power in affected districts was swift and clear-cut.

The government said all the roads blocked by uprooted trees would be cleared by afternoon and electricity would be restored in the affected Kendrapara, Balasore and Bhadrak districts by 6 pm.

Behind the success of the "zero casualty mission" was early planning and pinpointing of the 10 districts that might be affected. Twenty NDRF and 51 state disaster teams were sent to the districts well in advance to evacuate people from vulnerable areas.

The government also zeroed on the districts that might bear the maximum brunt -- Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Baleswar, Mayurbhanj -- and deputed six IAS officers who had prior expertise in managing cyclones while serving as collectors.

To mitigate any post-landfall mishaps, hoardings were removed in coastal districts as a precautionary measure. Also, instructions were issued to keep overhead water tanks filled in private and public buildings.

HOW ODISHA EMERGED AS PIONEER IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Odisha's steadfast approach to disaster management has been shaped by the steps taken by the state government following the 1999 tragedy, which not only killed over 10,000, but also severely damaged the economy.

After the 1999 super cyclone struck, Odisha established a disaster management authority -- becoming the first state to do so. In fact, it was set up well before the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was set up in 2005.

The government has also involved local communities and trained volunteers at gram panchayat level for rescue and relief operations. Even now, the ODRAF conducts two community-led mock drills across the state twice annually.

Building disaster-resilient infrastructure, with help from the World Bank, has also been a key element of Odisha's disaster management. With help from central agencies, the state disaster authority has built over 800 multi-purpose cyclone shelters along with evacuation roads along the entire coastline.

Embankments have also been built on a large scale. Families of fishermen living in vulnerable areas have also been shifted to disaster-resilient houses from straw huts, according to a World Bank report.

Most importantly, Odisha was also one of the first states to put in place an early warning system for spreading disaster-related information to the very last mile. Presently, more than 1,200 villages in the coastal districts receive cyclone warnings through sirens.