Wrong Track

In the wake of IMD's warning over Titli, Odisha mobilised resources to protect coastal districts. But the cyclonic storm took an unusual turn

- Jyoti Prakash Brahma

FOR A state that takes immense pride in disaster preparedness, severe cyclone Titli, which battered Odisha from October 11-14, came as a rude shock. After the storm subsided and heavy rainfall stopped, the Odisha government realised its fierce nature and unusual behaviour. An overconfident state machinery had initially mobilised its entire resources to minimise destruction in the coastal districts of Jagatsinghpur, Ganjam, and Puri. But after its landfall at Palasa in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh in the morning of October 11, Titli suddenly changed its direction in the next 12 hours and headed towards the southern interior districts of Gajapati, Rayagada and Kandhamal.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning as early as October 5 about the formation of a low pressure area over south Bay of Bengal. By the evening of October 10, the depression had turned into a severe cyclone. This was when IMD predicted that it would most likely move towards Gangetic West Bengal and turn weak. But it did not happen.

The abrupt change in the nature of Titli, which affected some 6 million people, has forced the state to reframe its cyclone preparedness plan. On October 22, the state executive committee on disaster management, a nodal government body, chaired by Chief Secretary A P Padhi met in Bhubaneswar to chalk out cyclone preparedness plan for the interior hilly districts usually not hit by cyclones.