Odisha Super Cyclone that killed 9,843 nonetheless haunts survivors 23 years later
6 min readBy PTI
BHUBANESWAR: Khokan Parmanik can vividly recall what he had seen as a baby 23 years in the past — big tidal waves lashing his village, individuals together with his dad and mom and brothers getting swept away by the turbulent sea and homes being destroyed by a wall of water.
The lives of Pramanik and hundreds of different individuals dwelling in villages and cities close to the coast of Odisha modified on that day, October 29 of 1999.
They misplaced close to and expensive ones and have been rendered homeless as a Super Cyclone barrelled by means of the state inflicting insuperable harm.
“When the tidal surge entered our village, my grandmother and I climbed a banyan tree nearby. My father helped us because I was a child and my grandmother an elderly person,” mentioned Pramanik, now a 29-year-old man.
A resident of Kankana village underneath Erasama block in Jagatsinghpur district, he mentioned, “We were saved. But the next morning, we found my father, mother and brother dead.”
The Super Cyclone made landfall close to Paradip with the very best wind velocity of 260 kmph.
It was probably the most intense tropical cyclone that crossed the Indian coast after satellites began monitoring storms.
Torrential rain, tidal waves as excessive as 6-7 metres and flood wreaked havoc throughout the Odisha coast killing 9,843 individuals formally, principally in Jagatsinghpur district.
Odisha Super Cyclone widow Sulochana Behera (File Photo | EPS)
Rescuers had discovered carcasses of cattle and our bodies of human beings mendacity aspect by aspect in lots of locations.
“I even saw human bodies stuck on trees after tidal water receded. Volunteers of Anandmarg fished out bodies from accumulated water and undertook mass cremation by pouring kerosene oil,” mentioned Biswadas Mohanty, a Physics professor who visited Japa village underneath Erasama block.
There have been no vultures to eat corpses as the massive birds flew away resulting from high-velocity wind, Mohanty mentioned.
“How can I forget the scene of people being swept away in the tidal surge during the cyclone?” mentioned Madhuri Das of Sunadiha village of worst-hit Jagatsinghpur, who was a four-year-old lady then.
She had a sister, and her father advised her mom to maintain one daughter together with her.
“She kept me. I lost everyone else including my grandparents,” mentioned Das, who’s now 27.
Not simply coastal villages, the capital metropolis of Bhubaneswar was additionally severely affected by the Super Cyclone of 1999.
Electricity connection and phone traces have been lifeless for days as poles have been uprooted whereas the town misplaced a lot of its inexperienced cowl.
This correspondent needed to enter the residence of the then chief minister Giridhar Gamang by crawling underneath a tree which fell on the principle gate of the premises.
However, throughout these 23 years, Odisha has witnessed a sea change and the state is now recognised as among the finest within the nation to deal with such pure calamities.
Odisha’s journey to face nature’s fury started instantly after the devastation of the Super Cyclone, although the then chief minister Giridhar Gamag needed to stop and one other Congress chief Hemananda Biswal took over in December 1999.
The Congress was defeated within the Assembly election held the following yr and Naveen Patnaik of the Biju Janata Dal turned the chief minister of Odisha.
“Our geographic location makes us prone to natural disasters. Every life is precious. Nearly 10,000 people died in Super Cyclone in 1999. Then, we did not have safe shelters. During these years, 815 multi-purpose cyclone and flood shelters have been constructed,” Patnaik mentioned on Saturday.
Fifty-five extra such services are developing throughout the state, he mentioned whereas attending a gathering held to look at the twenty third anniversary of the 1999 tremendous cyclone.
After the development of shelters, Odisha witnessed a discount within the variety of human casualties as individuals transfer into them when a cyclone approaches the coast.
Later, the very best variety of human loss of life was 77 when cyclone Titli hit Odisha in 2018, whereas it was 46 in cyclone Phailin in 2013.
Odisha has encountered 10 main cyclones up to now 23 years together with three storms in 2021.
BHUBANESWAR: Khokan Parmanik can vividly recall what he had seen as a baby 23 years in the past — big tidal waves lashing his village, individuals together with his dad and mom and brothers getting swept away by the turbulent sea and homes being destroyed by a wall of water.
The lives of Pramanik and hundreds of different individuals dwelling in villages and cities close to the coast of Odisha modified on that day, October 29 of 1999.
They misplaced close to and expensive ones and have been rendered homeless as a Super Cyclone barrelled by means of the state inflicting insuperable harm.
“When the tidal surge entered our village, my grandmother and I climbed a banyan tree nearby. My father helped us because I was a child and my grandmother an elderly person,” mentioned Pramanik, now a 29-year-old man.
A resident of Kankana village underneath Erasama block in Jagatsinghpur district, he mentioned, “We were saved. But the next morning, we found my father, mother and brother dead.”
The Super Cyclone made landfall close to Paradip with the very best wind velocity of 260 kmph.
It was probably the most intense tropical cyclone that crossed the Indian coast after satellites began monitoring storms.
Torrential rain, tidal waves as excessive as 6-7 metres and flood wreaked havoc throughout the Odisha coast killing 9,843 individuals formally, principally in Jagatsinghpur district.
Odisha Super Cyclone widow Sulochana Behera (File Photo | EPS)
Rescuers had discovered carcasses of cattle and our bodies of human beings mendacity aspect by aspect in lots of locations.
“I even saw human bodies stuck on trees after tidal water receded. Volunteers of Anandmarg fished out bodies from accumulated water and undertook mass cremation by pouring kerosene oil,” mentioned Biswadas Mohanty, a Physics professor who visited Japa village underneath Erasama block.
There have been no vultures to eat corpses as the massive birds flew away resulting from high-velocity wind, Mohanty mentioned.
“How can I forget the scene of people being swept away in the tidal surge during the cyclone?” mentioned Madhuri Das of Sunadiha village of worst-hit Jagatsinghpur, who was a four-year-old lady then.
She had a sister, and her father advised her mom to maintain one daughter together with her.
“She kept me. I lost everyone else including my grandparents,” mentioned Das, who’s now 27.
Not simply coastal villages, the capital metropolis of Bhubaneswar was additionally severely affected by the Super Cyclone of 1999.
Electricity connection and phone traces have been lifeless for days as poles have been uprooted whereas the town misplaced a lot of its inexperienced cowl.
This correspondent needed to enter the residence of the then chief minister Giridhar Gamang by crawling underneath a tree which fell on the principle gate of the premises.
However, throughout these 23 years, Odisha has witnessed a sea change and the state is now recognised as among the finest within the nation to deal with such pure calamities.
Odisha’s journey to face nature’s fury started instantly after the devastation of the Super Cyclone, although the then chief minister Giridhar Gamag needed to stop and one other Congress chief Hemananda Biswal took over in December 1999.
The Congress was defeated within the Assembly election held the following yr and Naveen Patnaik of the Biju Janata Dal turned the chief minister of Odisha.
“Our geographic location makes us prone to natural disasters. Every life is precious. Nearly 10,000 people died in Super Cyclone in 1999. Then, we did not have safe shelters. During these years, 815 multi-purpose cyclone and flood shelters have been constructed,” Patnaik mentioned on Saturday.
Fifty-five extra such services are developing throughout the state, he mentioned whereas attending a gathering held to look at the twenty third anniversary of the 1999 tremendous cyclone.
After the development of shelters, Odisha witnessed a discount within the variety of human casualties as individuals transfer into them when a cyclone approaches the coast.
Later, the very best variety of human loss of life was 77 when cyclone Titli hit Odisha in 2018, whereas it was 46 in cyclone Phailin in 2013.
Odisha has encountered 10 main cyclones up to now 23 years together with three storms in 2021.
