Massive evacuation operation across six coastal districts

Bhubaneswar, Oct 12:

With cyclone Phailin expected to make landfall in Odisha today, the state government mounted a massive operation to evacuate two lakh people from six coastal districts.

The cyclone is 320 km southeast of Gopalpur in Ganjam district where it is expected to make landfall at 6 pm and 355 km south-southeast of Paradip, the latest IMD bulletin said.

The wind speed has reached 45-55 kmph and gusting to 65 kmph already along and off the Odisha coast, it said.

“It will increase in intensity with gale wind speed reaching 210-220 kmph along and off coastal districts of south Odisha at the time of landfall,” the IMD said.

It said many parts of coastal districts experienced rain, including heavy to very heavy, which would progress to interior areas from October 12 night.

Chief Secretary J K Mohapatra said that two lakh people would be evacuated from six districts.

Nearly a lakh of people have already been evacuated from Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts, he said.

The state government which has targeted zero casualty this time in the backdrop of 9885 deaths during the 1999 cyclone, has decided to evacuate people much ahead, he said.

He said that the state government does not consider the impending calamity as less than the super cyclone of 1999.

Around three columns or 300 personnel of the army’s engineering wing are en route to the state and 12 air force helicopters are ready at the Barrackpore airbase in neighbouring West Bengal, Special Relief Commissioner P K Mohapatra said.

Also 29 marine rescue teams and 30 navy doctors are headed to the state for rescue and relief operation with the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRF), he said. (PTI)