Odisha’s Cyclone Fani Management Earns Praise From New York Times

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s handling of Cyclone Fani earned praise from experts across the world. The New York Times also showered praise on the Odisha administration for its successful handling of cyclone Fani which is being called the worst in more than 20 years. Odisha had tackled Cyclone Titli earlier with similar presence of mind and dedication. In contrast, its more affluent neighbour, Andhra Pradesh, led by a chief minister who bragged about his competence in handling Titli through technology, had a different story to tell on the ground. Relief efforts were far from satisfactory, according to media reports, and the Telugu Desam Party government relied primarily on certain media outlets to propagate the story that it was hands-on in handling the situation.

When it comes to Odisha’s handling of Cyclone Fani, the NYT report said “government authorities in Odisha, along India’s eastern flank, hardly stood still. To warn people of what was coming, they deployed everything they had: 2.6 million text messages, 43,000 volunteers, nearly 1,000 emergency workers, television commercials, coastal sirens, buses, police officers, and public address systems blaring the same message on a loop, in local language, in very clear terms: ‘A cyclone is coming. Get to the shelters.’ ”

Cyclone Fani hit Odisha on Friday morning winds over 200 km uprooting trees. Lessons from previous such disasters seemed to have been learnt and Odisha stood up to the crisis. For a backward state like Odisha to achieve this feat is a stupendous accomplishment as experts see it. The overriding principle was—safety above all else and this stood the state in good stead.

Meanwhile, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted to say that a record number of 1.2 million people had been evacuated in 24 hours. Take a look at his tweet:

Also Read:Cyclone Fani: 8 Lakh To Be Evacuated In Odisha