Cyclone Fani - New Gust Of Wind

Cyclone Fani hits Odisha, bringing back horrid memories of the 1999 super cyclone. The state is better prepared now. But a changing climate the chemistry of cyclones as changed. This poses a bigger threat.

- Akshit Sangomla

They had received it several times before. But the cyclone alert the Odisha government officials received on April 29, just as they were sealing electronic voting machines after the completion of the last phase of elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly, sent chills down their spine. It brought back memories of a cyclone that had battered the state 20 years ago, killing nearly 10,000 people. That too was an election year. This time, climate scientists have already indicated that the rapidly intensifying cyclone over the Bay of Bengal, named Fani, could be the strongest to hit India since 1999.

By April 30, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) was certain that Fani would make landfall in Odisha. “It is very likely to intensify into an extremely severe cyclonic storm...and cross Odisha Coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali, to the south of Puri around 3rd May afternoon with maximum sustained wind of speed 175-185 km/hr (kilometres per hour) gusting to 205 km/hr,” read its press release. Just as the winds started blowing hard over the vulnerable coasts, an unperturbed Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted: “Reviewed @src _ Odisha’s preparedness…Administration is fully geared up to handle the situation”.