Fourteen years after the first super cyclone hit Odisha in 1999 claiming 22,000 lives and destroying property worth crores, the state waits with bated breath, another one to strike the state on October 12.

While there have been many false alarms since 1999 super cyclone, there has not yet been a disaster to compare with the magnitude and horror of the last one. 

However, after the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) warning of a “very severe cyclonic storm” with a maximum sustained wind speed of 175-185 kmph to hit Odisha coast in next 72 hours, the state government on Wednesday tightened its belt and sounded a high alert for the impending calamity.

The Director of IMD,  Odisha, Sarat Sahoo informed that there is a deep depression over North Andaman Sea and was moving west north-westwards and crossed Andaman Islands near Mayabandar between 12.30 PM and 1.30 PM and lay centered at 2.30 PM on Wednesday over east central Bay of Bengal and remained about 950 kms southeast of Paradip in Odisha.

“The system would intensify into a cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours and continue to move west-northwestwards for some time and then northwestwards and cross north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast between Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Paradip, Odishaon the night of October 12,“ Sahoo said.

According to Sahoo, under the influence of the system, heavy rainfall would occur at one of two places in Odisha during the next 24 hours.

Distant Cautionary Signal Number One (DC-1) kept hoisted at Paradip and Gopalpur ports in Odisha.  Fishermen who are in the deep sea have been asked to return to the coast immediately and the sea will become rough in next 12 hours, he added.

With IMD warnings and keeping the super cyclone of 1999 in mind, the chief minister Naveen Patnaik spoke to the district collectors of 14 coastal districts and asked them to ensure safety of the people. The state government has cancelled Dusshera holidays for the employees of 14 districts. The government has asked the concerned officials of 14 costal districts to remain alert to meet any eventuality. The districts where maximum alert has been issued are Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati.

“The Revenue Department also decided to deploy Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) teams in the 14 districts from Thursday,” said Revenue and Disaster Mitigation Minister Surya Narayan Patro. The minister also directed that a mock drill of ODRAF and fire personnel will be held.

Moreover, the Odisha government has asked the Union Ministry to keep helicopters ready for relief and rescue operations.  Patro appealed to people not to panic over the situation as the state government has been taking all possible measures to face the cyclone.

After the last cyclone, the state government had set up Odisha Disaster Mitigation Mission (ODMM) to handle such a catastrophe.

The Special Relief Commissioner P. K. Mohapatra said that the Odisha government was all set to face the eventuality. “We have asked all the mobile service providers to ensure that their towers are repaired immediately if they get damaged in the cyclone. All district collectors have been provided with satellite phones so that they remain in touch with the state government officials in Bhubaneswar,” he said.

“We have asked all concerned authorities to store adequate food material and other relief materials at cyclone and flood shelters so that immediate requirement of the people are met, Mohapatra added.

The state government has also ordered deployment of the personnel of ODRAF and Fire Services at vulnerable points. The NDRF centre at Mundali near Cuttack has also been alerted, the SRC informed.

Official sources said the cyclone situation is likely to be discussed in the cabinet meeting scheduled to held on Thursday.