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Name - Roshan Chellani

Sub -Environment Management

Roll no - 70

Class -F.Y B.M.S

Div - “B”

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INDEX- About super cyclone page 3

Disaster management page 4

1999 orissa super cyclone Meteorological history page5-7 Damage page8

Biggest cyclone of century page9-10

Preparation page11 Impacts and Records page11 Relief page 12 Bibiliography page13

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Super Cyclones studies cyclones as a depression builds up in the Bay of Bengal along the eastern coast of India. A weather depression is the first indication that a cyclone is imminent. When wind speeds go beyond 62 kilometer per hour, it takes the shape of a potentially devastating cyclonic storm.

Due to such weather depressions, Chennai receives 42-cm. rainfall in just 40 hours. Rail and Air services are severely disrupted. But this doesn’t deter Nuncio Murukesh, a researcher with the Indian Institute of Oceanography, to drive through water logged roads of Chennai to intercept and study the weather system.

Similar weather conditions presaged a super cyclone in the eastern coastal state of Orissa in October 1999. The film revisits this catastrophe, which accounted for more than ten thousand deaths and left millions homeless. Inadequate and incorrect prediction of the cyclone’s landfall and intensity led to a staggering toll on human life and property, as areas not affected by the cyclone were evacuated.

Through first person accounts, interviews, never seen before file footage, and powerful recreations, the film shows how the super cyclone devastated the eastern coast of India.

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Disaster Management :

Orissa has a history of recurring natural disasters. While the coastal districts of Orissa are exposed to floods and cyclones, western Orissa is prone to acute droughts; a large section of the State is also prone to earthquakes.

In addition, the State is also affected by disasters like heat waves, epidemics, forest fire, road accidents etc. The history of disasters substantiates the fact that about 80% of the State is prone to one or more forms of natural disasters.

The two successive cyclones in October 1999, the severe cyclone which hit Ganjam coast and the Super Cyclone damaged the infrastructure in 14 districts of the State and disrupted public life. With millions of trees uprooted during the super cyclone, the State, especially the coastal belt has become extremely vulnerable.

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1999 Orissa SUPERCYCLONE

Meteorological historyA tropical disturbance developed in the South China Sea in mid-to-late October. It tracked westward and organized itself enough to have the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issue a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) on October 23. But the system failed to organize itself any further in the Pacific, and the TCFA was cancelled. When the system reached the Andaman Sea on October 25, another TCFA was issued. Shortly after, the convective area consolidated, and it became Tropical Depression 5B on October 25 over the Malay Peninsula. The depression tracked northwestward under the influence of the Subtropical ridge to its north. Warm water temperatures and favorable upper level winds allowed further strengthening, and it became Tropical Storm 5B on October 26, 210 miles (345 km) south-southwest of Yangon, Myanmar.

The storm passed to the south of Myanmar and continued to strengthen, and intensified to a cyclone on the 27th in the open Bay of Bengal. On October 28, the cyclone rapidly intensified to a peak of 160 mph (260 km/h) winds, the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane.The system was the first storm to be given the new meteorological label "super cyclonic storm" by the IMD.

Just prior to its Indian landfall, the cyclone weakened slightly to a 155 mph (250 km/h) cyclone with an estimated minimum central pressure of <912 mbar.[3] On October 29, the cyclone hit the Indian state of Orissa near the city of Bhubaneswar. The ridge to the north blocked further inland movement, and the cyclone stalled about 30

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miles (50 km) inland of the ocean. It slowly weakened, maintaining

tropical storm strength as it drifted southward.

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Orissa is always vulnerable to cyclones in April-May and September-November. Once every few decades a super cyclone strikes Orissa. Recent Super Cyclone that hit Orissa in the last Century were in 1942, 1971 and 1999. The Super Cyclone of 1999 killed about 10,000 and traumatized millions who survived its wrath. Over 15 million people were affected. Throughout India's massive coastline, there area 250 cyclone-warning sets, of which 34 are in Orissa, covering 480 Km of coastline. Orissa Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) promotes Community Based Disaster Preparedness activities so that people can face emergencies in an organized manner. OSDMA was formed to coordinate and implement the reconstruction work after the super cyclone, keeping in mind the need for disaster preparedness to face any future eventuality. During Super Cyclone of 1999, 97 nos. of blocks and 28 ULBs and about 12569000 population were affected. The total agricultural land affected was 1733000 hectares with 9885 nos. of human casualties.

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Damage No. of affected

districts 12

Population 129.22 lakh

Villages 14643

Blocks/ULBs 97/28

Crop Area 18.42 lakh Ha

Houses 16.49 lakh

Loss of Human Life 9887

Persons Injured 2507

Missing 40

Live stock Perished 4.44 lakh

Fishing boats lost 9085

Fishing nets lost 22143

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Biggest cyclone of centuryThe super cyclone of Orissa on 29th October 1999 could be called the biggest of that century. 

About twenty-five to fifty thousand people as well as domestic animals had perished in that cyclone. The wind was approximately 260km per hour. We could imagine the fury of nature on earth. Trees totally uprooted in three districts of Orissa. In Balasore, interior Cuttack, Bhubaneshwar, thousands of homes were washed away by tidal waves, which had entered the land during the storm leaving behind ten meters of seawater. Each year every State would witness cyclone during the rainy season and red-alert would be there each time. But India witnessed the most fearful cyclone of that decade where sea water were seen twisted to a height of a coconut tree and dropped in to the land with high speed. As usual people got the warning of a super cyclone but witnessed the first time in the Country. The wind speed came up to nearly 250 km. Per hour for hours. Nothing could be seen, only devastating sound heard in the dark day of Orissa. Half the State was submerged under sea water. The heavy waves carried the sea water in to the populated land just like, later the tsunami had done in the year 2002, Dec. 26th. There were not a single tree in the interior parts of Balasore, Kendrapara, Bhubaneswar.

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It is Termed as one of the most devastating human disasters ever experienced, Orissa has been completely shattered by the worst-ever cyclones of the present century. Little did the people in the coast know that the frenzied storm would bring their lives to an absolute halt at once.

in the early hours of the 29th October, Black Friday, as it will always be known from now, massive and merciless cyclonic storm hit the coastal belt of Orissa killing thousands and displacing millions as if settling a long standing score with the hapless creatures of the coast. Wind blew at an unbelievable velocity of 250-260 km per hour and the turbulent sea rising upto 5-8 meters high with accompanying continuous rain has swept lakhs of houses out of existence.

“But these numbers and figures tell us nothing about suffering and it is hard to give their pain a statistic. Weeks from now on, Orissa will be an old story, forgotten with time. The concern will vanish like sea did from their homes.’’

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Preparations Tens of thousands of families from the

coastal districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, and Ganjam were forced to evacuate

their homes before the storm's arrival.

More than 44,500 people took shelter in twenty three Red Cross cyclone shelters.

 Cuttack and Khorda further inland were also severely affected.

Impact and RecordsThe cyclone dumped heavy torrential rain over southeast India, causing record breaking flooding in the low-lying areas.

The storm surge was 26 feet (8 meters). struck the coast of Orissa, traveling up to 20 km inland. 17,110 km² (6,600 mi²) of crops were

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destroyed, and an additional 90 million trees were

either uprooted or had snapped. RELIEF

FUNDS

Rs.500.00 crore have been released from the National Fund for Calamity Relief (NFCR) and Rs.450.00 crore as advance plan assistance.

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From all parts of the Country each Indian shared their one day salary for the Orissa people. Foreign Countries and the U.N.O. came to help. India was helped in a war-foot level. Money and materials flowed in. Clothes were distributed. Tents were set up for the survivors.

“Life will never be the same again. None of the blankets, the candles and milk powder sent can make up for the son washed away, a wife still not accounted for. There will be wounds that relief cannot heal”.

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Bibiliography:-

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Orissa_cyclone

www.fsi.org.in/fsi_projects/assessment_of_damage.pdf

orissatimes.net

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