Ersama/Mahakalpara: Memories of the ‘Super Cyclone’ that devastated Odisha, October 29, 1999 (Friday) are still fresh in the minds of people of the state. It was one of the most intense recorded tropical cyclone in the last century, which completed 22 years Friday. The ‘Super Cyclone’ had caused widespread havoc in many districts of Odisha.
“Approximately 10,000 human lives were lost in the disaster and innumerable domestic animals were swept away in floods that followed the cyclone. Many families went missing. We still shiver in fright when we think of the scary day,” some villagers of Ersama block, especially those who survived the tragedy and witnessed devastation from close quarters, said.
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Echoing the views, residents of Ambiki and Dahibara villages in Jagatsinghpur district namely Shankar Sethi, Subrat Samant, Debadutta Das and Arjun Jena said, “Wind speeds reached up to 260 km/ph during landfall of the cyclone, which remained the same for nearly 36 hours. The 200-kilometre wide ‘Super Cyclone’ ravaged all the coastal districts.”
Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Khurda and Puri districts faced the maximum amount of devastation. Ersama block in Jagatsinghpur district witnessed the worst devastation due to the cyclone.
Cyclone shelters earlier constructed in the block for effective disaster management and to ensure zero-casualty have turned into ruins owing to lack of maintenance and administrative neglect, alleged villagers.
Out of the 92 cyclone shelters, 12 made by the Paradip Port authorities and 29 multi-purpose buildings constructed by Maharashtra government have become unusable, they added.
Likewise, some residents of Panikhia-Santalapada village of Nanjura panchayat under Mahakalpara block in Kendrapara district said, “We got the information about the Super Cyclone from a bulletin of Cuttack radio station just a day before the landfall. We had not witnessed such severity of devastation beforehand. Our village is located in the close vicinity of sea and tides came at a height of over 15-feet.”
“Many villagers were then provided chuda and gur (jaggery) as relief materials by the local administration for three days,” the residents namely Suna Marandi, Suna Tudu, Fagada Marandi, Gajendra Marandi, Suresh Soren, Piru Hembram and Nugur Soren, stated.
PNN