Attachments
Highlights
• Cyclone Dana made landfall shortly after midnight in the early hours of 25th October 2024 as a severe cyclonic storm (with a wind speed of 100 KMPH to 110 KMPH) between Bhitarkanika and Dhamara in Kendrapada and Bhadrak districts of Odisha state, India.
• The impacted area is home to 1,456,934 scheduled tribe communities including more than 360,000 children.
• More than 180,000 Hectares of standing crop was damaged.
• Cyclone induced floods have impacted Mayurbhanj, Balasore,
Kendrapada and Bhadrak districts due to prolonged heavy rainfall. This prolonged the impact of the cyclone and people continued to stay at the cyclone safe shelters. Since sector preparedness was in place there is no reported damage. However, a clear picture will be available after the JRNA.
• A Joint Rapid Need Assessment led by UNICEF, IAG and the local NGO network began on 26 October.
• Media reports based on interviews with researchers suggest that heavy mangrove cover mitigated the impact of the cyclone in the Bhitarkanika area.
• 19 teams (including 570 personnel) of National Disaster Response Force, 54 teams (540 personnel) of Odisha Rapid Action Force, 95 teams(475 personnel) of Odisha Forest Development corporation, 220 teams (1760 personnel) of the Fire services and 158 platoons of police force have been deployed.
• General damage in Odisha includes 2 mobile towers, 121 electric poles and 245 roads. The district administration has deployed their teams to restore these services.
• In West Bengal, low-lying areas in districts of South 24 Parganas, Purba Medinipur and Howrah were flooded due to the prolonged heavy rains, however there was no significant damage reported by the government or the Inter Agency Group of civil society organisations.
There was no significant impact reported due to the windspeed in West Bengal.
• There were two reported deaths in West Bengal. One person who ventured out despite the government instructions to stay home. His family has been compensated as the National Relief Code. The other person died of electrocution after touching a live electrical wire.
Since the cyclone’s landfall coincided with a low tide, water levels did not rise beyond the safety mark. In the Sundarban islands there was no record of embankment breach as per government data.
Overall situation
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Emerged good practice: Since festival time was ongoing many pandals were erected and people would visit to offer prayers. As a preparedness measure the government and local communities jointly decided to dismantle the pandals before the designated time to ensure safety and minimise the damage.
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Over 180,000 hectares of standing crops were destroyed due the cyclone. Government compensation is minimal, and this may push some farmer families into poverty.
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Various sectoral task teams have been formed by the government and they are working currently to clear roads, restoring any WASH services, restoring electricity and communication.
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Cyclone induced rainfall in Odisha and West Bengal made a larger and long-lasting impact, that was larger than the cyclone and its landfall. This is a situation where the depression was there for a prolonged period causing more than 100 to 150 mm rainfall in a span of 24 hours.
Key updates from the ground by West Bengal Inter-Agency Group members:
The IAG partners reported that agriculture damage was minimum government is catering to compensations based on the ongoing government lead assessment. No gaps in provision of shelter were seen. In South 24 Parganas, 42,000 people were affected, with 82,000 evacuated. The government provided food and shelter support.
Based on the updates, the IAG West Bengal decided not to initiate a JRNA but rather advocate with the Government for insurance and crop loss compensation. IAG partners are tasked with developing a crop loss assessment format to collect data to support government initiatives on crop compensation and insurance.