Orissa,
the eastern coastal state of India, famous for the Sun Temple (Black
Pagoda) at Konark frequently faces the ire of one of the worst natural
hazards, the cyclone. In order to understand the gravity of situation it
is necessary to know the geography of the coastal plains of Orissa.
These plains mark the interface between the sea and the land. Bound in
the north-east by Subarnarekha River and on the south-west by Rushikulya
River, they make the most fertile tract also called as the rice bowl of
Orissa. The coast within the jurisdiction of Orissa is less indented
compared to west Bengal and A.P.
Eastern coast
of India is a retreating coast, thus more land is exposed here. Six
rivers from north to south, viz. Subaranrekha, Burhabalanga, Baitarani,
Brahmani, Mahanadi and the Rushikulya drain these plains, rendering them
fertile. Unlike other coasts the coast between Tamilnadu and Orissa
faces a strong sea current, which does not permit formation of a true
delta. Thus more land is available for agriculture. The rivers while
they bring prosperity have also started to spell doom, because the rise
in population has compelled the villagers to settle down close to the
river. Each year the floods take a heavy toll.
Along the
coast in Orissa one can see vast stretches of rice fields. If the
weather god is happy the farmer prospers. But often droughts and
floods and topped by Cyclones take a heavy toll of life and
livestock.
Severe cyclone (numbered 05B) that hit Orissa coast on 29 October,
1999 was according to Meteorologists the strongest cyclone in
India's memory. It was more powerful than the cyclone that hit
Kendrapara in 1971. Depending on intensity and damage potential
cyclones are graded from 1 to 5. The cyclone number 05B by virtue of
its catastrophic intensity falls in the category five.
It became pitch dark in the noon of October 29 at Paradip. The
cyclone struck at least an area of 300 km across with wind speed
varying from 150 to 300 km per hour. Other nearby townships like
Kendrapara, Rajnagar and Mahakalpada faced the worst of the disaster
when seven metre high waves rushed in and at places forged its way
up to 15 km inland. Normally a cyclone spends 6-8 hours on land and
then wanes out. This one preferred to stay at Paradip and
neighboring places for almost 24 hours. The courage of the then
Union Defence Minister must be appreciated who flew in to Paradip
while the storm was still raging. Paradip was a ghost town he told
the reporters. He was heavily mobbed upon landing, survivors wanted
food and shelter. They had lost everything.
The eye of the storm was 190 km away from Bhubaneshwar yet it was
thoroughly lashed by the gale. The roar of the wind was unimaginable
recorded the locals, the high rise buildings shook with the impact
of the wind. Trees and billboards were tossed around like
matchsticks. The winds howled and lashed the city for 11 hours
disrupting communication lines. The rains that accompanied and
followed the cyclone deluged everything.
Telecommunication lines of Orissa were completely damaged by
mid-night. Even the Chief Minister had to resort to a Satellite
Phone to get in touch with the Prime Minister. The state went
incommunicado for next 48 hours.
At Nuagarh, a fishing port on the estuary of the Debi River large
fishing trawlers were picked up by the wind and tossed against the
offices of small fishing companies on the sea front. Boats were
flying like papers and landed in paddy fields.
Meteorology department had issued several timely warnings, but the
poor farmers with small holdings could not dream of evacuating their
abodes to safety. Had it been Dallas or Florida , people would have
moved away in their cars. But unfortunately so is not the case here.
People had to be forcibly moved. Those who stayed back either
perished or became homeless and many continue to do so even now
after eight years.
The worst part of the story is that in 1999 for a coastal state like
Orissa only 21 concrete shelters existed with a capacity to hold
about 2000 persons in each. Yet another problem was felt regarding
timely warning of the cyclone. Satellite perceives the cyclone,
locates the area, tracks its movement and issues warnings through
satellite controlled phones installed at the offices of the District
Magistrates of the coastal districts. These phones have a siren too
which wails in the event of an expected cyclone and also issue
warnings in English and local language. After the cyclone reports
appeared in the news papers that the phones did not buzz before the
storm. The officers of the meteorology department had counter claims
to point that there was an administrative apathy. Whatever might
have been the reason, but the fact remains that before going for the
costly hardware, more cyclone shelters should have been constructed
because these areas face the nature's ire each year. It is worth
mentioning that 250 such hooters are installed all along the coastal
districts of the country, out of which 34 are installed in Orissa.
If the newspaper reports have to be believed the cyclone relief fund
transferred by the central government to the state was not properly
utilized to help the victims. People lose lives, property and cattle
whereas the blame game amongst the governments continues.
A super cyclone of the type that struck Orissa has long ranging
after effects. Emotionally one shudders to think the impact of the
cyclone on the small inconsolably weeping children who were seen
attempting to cremate the bodies of their parents. On the economic
front apart from the loss of house and property and crops the salt
water incursion on the land at times as far as 80 km had ruined the
rice fields and coconut plantations. The sandy beaches are porous
and a good percentage of salt entered the coffers of ground water.
The salinity in drinking water apart from the problems of potability
and health hazard has is highly corrosive. All pipe fittings corrode
fast with saline water, a scenario common in several coastal towns.
Nature has its own ways. Erasma Block in Jagatsinghpur district was
the worst affected area. In this block there are three villages
Kiyada, Ramtera and Ambiki. Of these Kiyada is farthest from the Sea
compared to the other two, yet it faced complete destruction and
loss of lives. Compared to this village the other two escaped the
brunt of the cyclone despite being quite close to the Sea. S.C.
Tewari of Institute of Natural Philosophy, Varanasi after a study of
cyclone affected areas in Orissa in 1999 explained in Current
Science, 'Sand hills and hillocks saved many people in these
villages from the furious surge of the cyclone'. Death and
destruction was less in areas where the storm surge was not able to
reach.
While the cyclone raged in October, followed by floods, the
following summers witnessed intense heat and a drought. Trees that
escaped the human axe had been uprooted by the cyclone. Polythene
covered shelters with practically no vegetation around aggravated
the misery of the cyclone affected masses on the Orissa coast.
Scientists are deeply engrossed trying to work out the possible
causes of cyclones. It is certain that the surface temperature of
the sea has to do a lot with it, but the picture is not yet clear.
J.R. Holton a renowned meteorologist, in his book 'An Introduction
to Dynamic Meteorology says, 'The origin of tropical cyclones is
still a matter of uncertainty. It is not clear under what conditions
a weak tropical disturbance can be transformed in to a hurricane.'
On the other hand the people on the coast realize that while the
whirlwind can force its way through any obstacle, the storm surge is
certainly checked by the mangroves and hillocks. In the name of
development all the coastal states are vying with each other in
converting the mangroves in to a lucrative realty business.
A recent survey to study the coastal processes in the Mahanadi Delta
system by Kaberi Bannerjee and her colleagues from Geological Survey
Of India points out the presence layers of pollen grains of
mangroves in the beach sands at Dhamra. In addition abundance of
pollen grains of Casurina suggest that beach sediments of Dhamra
were deposited more than half a century ago i.e. before the first
Casurina plantation in the area. Alas now only the pollen lie buried
in the layers of sands. The extensive destruction of forests has
exposed the beaches to the brunt of cyclones. The rate of
sedimentation on a beach increases once it is divested of
vegetation. It is time the government starts rejuvenation of the
mangroves.
Cyclones can not be wished away. But yes their fury can be abated to
some extent, if we revive the nature's barriers, the mangroves.
Incidentally in 1956 a commission headed by the then Revenue
Minister of Orissa had strongly recommended the creation of a
mangrove boundary along the coast line to reduce the impact of
cyclones. Had the report been implemented the number of dead would
have been much less.
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Orissa,
the eastern coastal state of India, famous for the Sun Temple (Black
Pagoda) at Konark frequently faces the ire of one of the worst natural
hazards, the cyclone. In order to understand the gravity of situation it
is necessary to know the geography of the coastal plains of Orissa.
These plains mark the interface between the sea and the land. Bound in
the north-east by Subarnarekha River and on the south-west by Rushikulya
River, they make the most fertile tract also called as the rice bowl of
Orissa. The coast within the jurisdiction of Orissa is less indented
compared to west Bengal and A.P. 