Damage caused by Cyclone Phailin

Introduction

The Cyclone Phailin was destructive and caused severe damage to mud houses, livestock and agriculture.

The Cyclone Phailin were the very severe tropical cyclonic storms that made a landfall in the coastal area of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh on 12th October, 2013. The wind speed was 120 MPH. The cyclone was followed by very destructive wind and heavy rainfall.

The weather department had given high alert warning ahead of Cyclonic Phailin landfall and the Indian Authorities managed to minimize the death toll. Still, there is report of atleast 36 being killed. A super Cyclone in 1999 took nearly 10000 lives in the same region.

The Cyclone affected nearly 20 million people. The Indian authorities acted swiftly, and around one million people were forced to leave their home and take shelter in relief camps.

The damage

Atleast 43 people have been killed.

Though the death toll is at minimum, the stormy winds of Cyclone Phailin caused severe damage to the mud houses and agricultural land in several districts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in India. Many of the mud houses have been washed away. Flood in several districts further worsen the situation.

The life of the lakhs of people who had deserted their home would not be same again. They have lost their homes and are forced back into poverty and distress. Power and communication lines have been broken in several places. Trees have been uprooted and roads have been blocked.

Around 2.6 million trees have been damaged in the State of Odisha.

Around 30,000 km of electric line has been damaged in Odisha alone.

There is massive loss of livestock. The livelihood of these poor people is dependent of agriculture, fishing activities and livestock. Crops worth more than 2400 crores have been destroyed. Standing crops spread over five lakh hectare of land have been destroyed.

The Disaster Recovery teams in India are trying to estimate the extent of losses and have begun the relief operations. It would take much more time then we think to bring back their live to normalcy.

The Chief Minister and the State Government authorities have assured of Rehabilitation of these people.