Cyclone Phailin: What a Relief!

It was billed as the baap of all cyclones. Weather experts were coming on TV news channels and forecasting that Cyclone Phailin will have a wind speed of 200-plus kilometres. We had a CNN weather reporter hinting it will be the biggest storm of the year all over the world and may be on par with Hurricane Katrina.

Bay of Bengal, the inflicter of all major sea borne tragedies on the country, became restive with heavy rains in coastal areas and it seemed we were in for a disaster with humungous human casualties, mainly in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. In India it is almost given that any cyclone should have casualties running into 1000s and a super-cyclone in 10,000s. Alibis like after all we are like this only! human life is cheap here, our population is unmanageable are made  on a  regular basis after every calamity.

In fact the last super cyclone that had hit Odisha in 1999 had killed more than 10,000. So what way it is going to be different now? Everyone seemed resigned as Phailin made the landfall amidst minute-by-minute TV coverage, live blogs and an excited Twitterati.

Weathermen were spot on, the wind speeds did touch 200 kilometres and the devastation was catastrophic with TV channels airing the images of swollen fields, twisted lampposts, roofs of houses blown away and roads rendered unmotorable with fallen trees.

Everything went as per the predictable script except one vital link. The casualty figures seemed far too diminished. It was rationalized that the clear picture might emerge next day. But even next day it was far too minimal, some 14 killed – even a four storey building collapse in Mumbai brings in more casualties. It all seemed too good to be true. Even Hurricana Katrina when it struck the mighty US had 1,800 casualties – thanks mainly to George Bush jr’s ineptitude.

The secret lay in the large scale evacuation carried out by government agencies and NGOs once it became clear that Phailin was going to strike. In fact it is reported that more than 800,000 were evacuated and those who were reluctant were threatened with arrests. However in the run up to the cyclone it went mainly unnoticed. After all before any impending calamity the governments do parrot out statements such as 'we are fully prepared for any eventuality' and 'taking suitable measure', and people take it with a pinch of salt and a yawn.

Once international news agencies such as BBC and Reuters began reporting that casualty figures were indeed low it dawned on us that for once we have indeed coped with a massive tragedy in an exemplary manner. However, this is only half the battle. The challenge of rehabilitating those who have lost their homes and hearths is going to be an even more uphill and long drawn one.

Tailpiece: Even before we could say three cheers for successfully coping with a cyclone came the news of a stampede at a temple in Madhya Pradesh, allegedly sparked by a rumour, and the casualties have already reached three figures. Looks like though dealing with Phailin was a sterling example of getting our act together, we still have a long way to go with regards to disaster management.

Also Read: Bangalore Beat