Massive cyclone hits Eastern India

[antimony]

Eastern India has been hit by the massive Cyclone Phailin. Around 10 million people have been affected, with crops and property damage of 400 M USD till now.

​Cyclone Phailin hits 90 lakh people; 23 dead, lakhs of homes damaged - The Times of India

The Indian authorities had initiated a massive evacuation, of around a million people from the coastal areas.

I must say I am impressed by the steps taken by the government. Loss of life has been limited to around 23, mostly from collapsing trees and walls

[Doktor]

I hope it will pass with as few casualties as possible.

About the Government... is it her 'fault' or the people wised up?

[bolo121]

Very Impressive preparations by the local authorities. Only 23 dead!

[Minskaya]

Good planning. Hope casualties remain at a minimum.

[dave lukins]

The ordered evacuation must have saved hundreds of lives. Forewarned forearmed. Inevitably there are casualties but thankfully kept to a minimum. Food, water and shelter then eventually rebuilding has to be on the agenda and soon.

[zraver]

23 dead from a cat5 is phenomenal, that 23 is only 6% of the number of people that died in traffic crashes in India alone over a generic 24 hour period...

[Blademaster]

A stampede in an Indian temple has killed more than 4 times the people killed in the cyclone. Go figure. Good work, the civil service that did the evacuation. It was spades and above better than the response the Odidha government prepared in 1999.

[Tronic]

The government's quick response and the systematic evacuation of over 800,000 people came as a pleasant surprise. 23 dead is indeed phenomenal, considering a similar category storm in 1999 in the exact same region had killed over 10,000 people. The disaster management on the East coast seems to have improved by leaps and bounds.

[Firestorm]

A stampede in an Indian temple has killed more than 4 times the people killed in the cyclone. Go figure. Good work, the civil service that did the evacuation. It was spades and above better than the response the Odidha government prepared in 1999.

That 1999 experience was what wizened up the state governments of AP and Odisha. They had built numerous cyclone shelters dotting the coastline after 1999, which came in very handy. And this time, I hear the Army forcibly evacuated people who refused to leave. Many people had remained in their homes despite being told to leave the last time and ended up as casualties.

[cataphract]

Perhaps lessons learned from the 2004 tsunami were applied here as well. 18,000 dead in that disaster in the same area.

[Firestorm]

Perhaps lessons learned from the 2004 tsunami were applied here as well. 18,000 dead in that disaster in the same area.

The Tsunami was a different beast. Cyclones at least give some warning. But the casualties in mainland India due to the Tsunami were about 11,000 and most of them in Tamil Nadu, not Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. There were additional casualties on the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

[Tronic]

Perhaps lessons learned from the 2004 tsunami were applied here as well. 18,000 dead in that disaster in the same area.

It wasn't the same area. 2004 tsunami hit Southern India; this time it was the East coast.

[lemontree]

This is how good disaster management is carried out. Good show by all agencies.

[cataphract]

It wasn't the same area. 2004 tsunami hit Southern India; this time it was the East coast.

It was the eastern coast of Tamil Nadu, not the extreme south.

[cataphract]

The Tsunami was a different beast. Cyclones at least give some warning. But the casualties in mainland India due to the Tsunami were about 11,000 and most of them in Tamil Nadu, not Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. There were additional casualties on the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Agreed that the tsunami was a different beast, but disaster management seems to have improved since. Remember that the National Disaster Management Authority is a Central body. Btw tsunamis have now started giving warnings too, with the new tsunami early warning system in place.