Large parts of Bhubaneshwar city and Puri district remain without electricity a week after Cyclone Fani hit Odisha on May 3, even as the government struggles to distribute relief material and assess damage.
Forty-one people are reported to have died so far in the “extremely severe cyclonic storm”, which sustained wind speeds of almost 200 kilometres per hour when it made landfall in Puri district. In all, 1.5 crore people in 159 blocks of 14 districts have been affected by Fani, according to information released by the state on May 9.
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That estimate is likely to be increased as relief workers reach areas that have been inaccessible so far.
As many have pointed out, Odisha has over the years put in place measures that have dramatically reduced the number of potential deaths in cyclones. When the 1999 “super cyclone” hit the state, for instance, 30,000 people lost their lives. However, disaster relief and rebuilding work after Fani will take months to be completed.