After Three Years Of Summer Cyclones In May, This Time Odisha Begins Preparations In Advance
Odisha, which along with other eastern states like Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, has faced the worst of cyclones over the years, is not leaving anything to chance this time around.
According to reports, even as the IMD forecasts no possibility of a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal in a fortnight, Odisha has started preparing for one.
Odisha prepares for summer cyclone
The government decided to open a round-the-clock control room across the districts from May 1 for monitoring the situation, a senior official said.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary P K Jena on Wednesday, where the state government's preparedness was reviewed.
Senior officers of several government departments, the Director General of Police, the Director General of Fire Service, the Special Relief Commissioner, and a senior official of IMD Bhubaneswar were among those who attended the meeting.
Jena asked line departments like Revenue and Disaster Management, Rural Development, Housing and Urban Development, Health, Home, and Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water to prepare for a summer cyclone.
Mock drills and teams on stand by
Discussions were held on information from Doppler radars installed at Paradeep and Gopalpur. These two radars will help track any summer cyclone formed over the Bay of Bengal.
"Cyclone mock drills will be held in each district on June 18 and 19 except Puri, where a festival will be held on June 20," an official said.
The officials of 317 fire stations in the state have been kept ready to face any eventuality.
At least 17 teams of NDRF can be deployed for rescue and rehabilitation work in case of any cyclone hitting Odisha this summer, a statement issued by the chief secretary's office said.
The state has altogether 879 multipurpose cyclone/flood centres to provide temporary shelters to people. The Odisha State Disaster Management Authority has been asked to keep all equipment ready for rescue and rehabilitation work, it said.
The Water Resources Department has been told to introduce the necessary measures to manage flood-like situations during the cyclone.
The statement said that the Health and Family Welfare Department will store adequate medicines, anti-venom injections and other essential items at the district headquarters hospitals.
Summer cyclone, Odisha's new worry
Odisha's geographical location with the Bay of Bengal makes it prone to cyclones.
In the summer of 2019, Odisha was hit by Cyclone Fani, followed by Cyclone Amphan in 2020 and Cyclone Yaas in 2021.
There was no summer cyclone last year.
At that time, Cyclone Fani was described as a rare extreme weather event as it was the first in 43 years that a cyclone hit Odisha in the summer.
While Odisha has regularly been hit by cyclones in the monsoon season, between 1891 and 2017, only 14 severe tropical cyclones formed in summer over the Bay of Bengal, most of which did not make landfall.
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