The coastal state of Odisha has confronted the wrath of cyclones virtually yearly. Over the past 20 years, the state has confronted a large number of devastating cyclones together with the Tremendous Cyclone (1999); Phailin (2013); Hudhud (2014); Titli (2018); Fani and Bulbul (2019); Amphan (2020); Yaas, Gulab, Jawad (2021); and Asani (2022).
Amongst those cyclones, the 1999 Tremendous Cyclone ranks a few of the worst herbal screw ups within the nation. It took the lives of over 10,000 other people within the state. Reduce to 2022, no lives had been claimed to be misplaced because of the most recent cyclone Asani.
A number of the key staff at the back of this radical trade is IAS officer Pradeep Kumar Jena, who has controlled 10 cyclones, seven of that have been within the remaining 4 years.
“Odisha is a coastal state and is sure to have cyclones. However that doesn’t imply hundreds of other people will have to die. It’s our accountability to verify each lifestyles is protected. We followed a zero-human casualty undertaking and it took us twenty years to succeed in that,” he tells The Higher India.
We sat down with the IAS officer to grasp his dealing with of catastrophe reaction control, preparedness, and a type that different cyclone-vulnerable states may undertake with Odisha’s learnings.
twenty years of studying
Born and raised in Balijhati village of Dhenkanal district, Jena has been within the carrier since 1989.
All through his tenure, he has been a collector, most important secretary of the Water Useful resource Division, particular reduction commissioner and most important secretary of the Rural Building Division, and managing director of Odisha State Crisis Control Authority (OSDMA). These days, he’s serving because the Leader Secretary to the state executive. Via those years, he has been intrinsic to the state catastrophe reaction.
The 1999 Tremendous Cyclone marked a turning level in catastrophe preparedness and evacuation mechanism within the state. “Again then, we misplaced such a lot of lives. The following cyclone that hit Odisha was once in 2013. Just about six lakh electrical energy poles and 34,000 kilometres of energy line were given broken. For the primary time in Indian historical past, we had been in a position to mobilise 7,500 other people to revive energy in six weeks,” says the 59-year-old.
“Each cyclone is other. One can’t have a textbook strategy to managing any cyclone reaction. After each cyclone, we analyse what went mistaken and what went proper. We speak about the ones to additional get ready ourselves for screw ups,” he says.
As an example, the yr 2020 introduced a double whammy when the state was once struggling with COVID-19 and cyclone Amphan. “We didn’t have earlier wisdom of managing a cyclone all through an epidemic scenario. There was once no one to be informed from. All through the duration, at the one hand, we requested other people to stick at house, a couple of months later, we had been all of sudden asking them to come back out and keep within the not unusual refuge,” he says.
In keeping with OSDMA knowledge accessed via The Higher India, there are 879 devoted multi-purpose cyclone shelters within the state. Jena says every refuge has a capability to deal with as much as 3,000 other people.
“However we had been very frightened as there was once a prime likelihood of a upward thrust in instances. Along with those shelters, we transformed faculty and school structures and mobilised 2,400 abnormal shelters in order that individuals are in a position to observe pointers. We requested creditors to accommodate best 20-30 other people in a room. In consequence, the an infection didn’t unfold and we controlled the cyclone with none causality,” he provides.
Recalling an incident all through Cyclone Fani, he says, “I used to be in Kendrapara district. At round 7 pm when it was once pitch darkish as the facility provide was once disconnected, we heard a girl crying and we realized that she had long past into labour. We couldn’t have a pregnant particular person in a village the place a cyclone was once about to hit. We didn’t need to be a mute spectator of the conceivable disaster, the kid or the mummy, or each may have died.”
“We right away directed all creditors and Anganwadi employees to shift all pregnant girls with an anticipated date of supply inside seven days to district and sub divisional hospitals. We shifted about 2,500 pregnant girls in 11 districts inside 8 hours. At the day of the cyclone, 754 youngsters had been born, all wholesome. It was once this kind of large pleasure. Now, it’s same old observe,” he smiles.
Jena believes that Yaas was once essentially the most difficult cyclone. “The IMD was once no longer certain the place the cyclone would make landfall even 18 hours prior to it was once estimated to hit Odisha. It was once anticipated to be a hurricane surge of 2-3 metres. We attempted to grasp which villages have the danger of having affected essentially the most in order that shall we behavior the evacuation. As quickly because the cyclone made landfall it introduced heavy rainfall, so we right away switched to flood motion and dispatched boats from all devices. The benefit with which we shifted to water rescue was once clean,” he informs.
Kamal Mishra, the district Justice of the Peace of Nabarangpur, has labored carefully with Jena because the 1999 Tremendous Cyclone. In a dialog with The Higher India, he remembers how Jena’s paintings has been one thing for everybody to seem as much as.
“I’ve noticed him as a catastrophe control officer from the core. He displays even the best process, from regulatory frameworks to the meals reduction to be equipped to electorate. We’ve noticed him behavior conferences into the wee hours of the day. All through the tremendous cyclone when our meals subject material was once being looted, it was once an excessively tough time for us. He’s an officer with a young middle, I’ve noticed him damage down. We’ve got immense recognize for him.”
‘Cyclone saviour’
Jena says his paintings couldn’t had been conceivable with a collective effort of communities, district creditors, and beneath the management of the federal government. “We’ve got been in a position to minimise lives misplaced as we achieve all block headquarters inside 24 hours, gram panchayats in 48 hours, and all villages in 72 hours all through the emergency. This guarantees that destruction is minimum,” he says.
“As a senior IAS officer of the state, I’m anticipated to be accountable and that is the minimal of what’s anticipated that I’ve accomplished. This paintings additionally offers me non-public pleasure. On the finish of the day, other people recognize you in your paintings,” he provides.
Mishra notes, “Through the years, he has ready himself with guy, gadget, and subject material. He redefined catastrophe control with this mixture. He labored on plans in order that paintings can start inside 24 hours of the abetment of a cyclone. Of this, recovery is step one. In this day and age, that is the usual running process (SOP) of Odisha Crisis Control, due to him. He’s nonetheless operating like a collector at the flooring. He actually is a cyclone saviour.”
Learnings for different cyclone-prone states
Except for Odisha, the coastal states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and the union territory Puducherry are susceptible to cyclone hazards. The IAS officer believes that even if different states also are doing smartly, Odisha is usually a little forward with extra enjoy in catastrophe control.
The IAS officer stocks 5 tips for higher catastrophe control and reaction in states susceptible to cyclones. “We wish to observe a reaction, restoration, and rehabilitation means. There’s a wish to spend money on bodily and monetary sources, construct human capability, and spend money on communities like self-help teams. They wish to be reinforced because the district creditors can’t do the entire paintings by myself,” he says.
Construct a reaction capability of the state: Even supposing NDRF, Military, and Army are doing a perfect activity, each state will have to increase its personal catastrophe reaction pressure, suggests Jena.
Construct capability of gram panchayats: On the village stage, PIRs (Panchayati Raj Establishments) like gram panchayats should be empowered to regulate a herbal catastrophe. “All through cyclones, we give sure powers of creditors, similar to freeing some price range, to sarpanch in gram panchayats. This is helping them in taking instant motion and shouldn’t have to look forward to orders from upper officers,” he says.
Construct the capability of human communities. Create a limiteless community of volunteers. You gained’t be capable to make products and services to be had all over the place. Those volunteers will also be very useful in such eventualities. We ourselves have a community of over one lakh volunteers around the state, informs the IAS officer.
Lengthy-term making plans is needed: “Get started mainstreaming catastrophe possibility aid within the governance, which may be very sluggish in our nation. When cyclone Phailan devastated the facility provide within the state, we had been in a position to arrange six lakh poles inside six weeks. You can’t get such a lot provide available in the market all of sudden, long-term making plans is needed,” he says.
Center of attention on disaster-resilient belongings: The central and state governments will have to paintings in combination on having disaster-resilient belongings to minimise affect post-cyclone. “With expanding dangers because of local weather trade, cyclones and floods are going to be common and extra extensive. We wish to get ready ourselves to paintings on catastrophe resilience infrastructure,” he provides.
Not too long ago, Odisha Crisis Control has additionally been decided on for Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2023 for excellence in catastrophe control within the institutional class.
Edited via Divya Sethu