The United Nations agency for disaster risk reduction has praised the accuracy of India Meteorological Department’s early warnings that helped authorities in Odisha evacuate people and minimise deaths as Cyclone Fani approached the coastal city of Puri, PTI reported.
At least 12 people were killed in Odisha in the storm, which is the most powerful to hit the country in 20 years. The toll was far less than feared as authorities were able to get people to shelter and away from the cyclone’s path.
“India’s zero casualty approach to managing extreme weather events is a major contribution to the implementation of the Sendai Framework and the reduction of loss of life from such events,” tweeted Mami Mizutori, the UN Special Representative for Disaster and Risk Reduction. “I look forward to hearing more about Cyclone Fani at the Global Platform 2019 from May 13 to 17.”
The Sendai Framework is a 15-year, voluntary and non-binding agreement signed in 2015 that recognises national governments play the primary role in reducing disaster risk. However, according to it, the responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders, including local governments, the private sector and other stakeholders.
Praising the government’s preparedness, UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction spokesperson Denis McLean said, according to PTI, that “the almost pinpoint accuracy of the early warnings from the India Meteorological Department had enabled the authorities to conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan, which had involved moving more than one million people into storm shelters”.
Officials in Odisha said the state had learned its lessons from the tragedy wrought by a powerful super cyclone in 1999 that killed thousands of people and wiped off villages from maps. “We have a very serious commitment on this – there should not be any loss of life,” Bishnupada Sethi, Odisha’s special relief commissioner, told The New York Times. “This is not the work of a day or a month but of 20 years.”
The cyclone entered West Bengal after crossing Odisha and weakened into a deep depression before entering Bangladesh. It is expected to weaken into a depression by tonight. The storm uprooted trees and heavy rainfall lashed in parts of West Bengal on Saturday morning but caused minimal damage.
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