Cyclone Dana Causes Extensive Damage in Odisha

Bhubaneswar:26/10/24: Cyclone Dana, a severe cyclonic storm, that struck early Friday, brought heavy rains and winds exceeding 110 km/h, uprooting trees, toppling power poles, and damaging infrastructure and crops.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi confirmed that the state’s “zero casualty mission” was successful, with no reported loss of life. However, the cyclone’s impact on property and agriculture has been significant. The government has initiated a comprehensive damage assessment, expected to be completed within seven days.

As per the preliminary assessment, over 2.80 lakh hectares of agricultural land is submerged in water and standing crops in 1.75 lakh hectares have been severely affected by the impact of severe cyclonic storm Dana.

A joint assessment of the damage will be conducted by the agriculture and revenue departments in the state. Senior government officials informed that a team has been constituted to assess the damage in the affected districts of Odisha.

Principal Secretary of Agriculture Department, Arabinda Padhee informed that the entire assessment will be conducted under the supervision of concerned district Collectors.

Odisha Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari had earlier informed that the damage assessment work would start from October 26. As per the decision, the damage assessment work will be completed within seven days.

The only respite for the people in the affected districts is that the major road blockages due to fallen trees have been cleared.

The severe cyclonic storm Dana has also caused extensive damage to several houses in different parts of Odisha.

As per the provision, people who lost their homes in the cyclone will be provided with pucca houses, informed Odisha Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari.

Apart from causing extensive damage to standing agricultural crops, the severe cyclonic storm Dana has also inflicted damage to the existing power infrastructure in the districts where it made landfall or passed closely.

K.V. Singh Deo, also in-charge of the energy department, said already restoration works are going on in full swing to restore power in the districts affected by the cyclone.

According to Singh Deo, about 95 per cent of the affected 33 KV feeders have already been restored, with the remaining expected to be operational soon.

The restoration of the 11 KV network up to the Distribution Transformer level is progressing well. Despite heavy rainfall creating challenges in isolated areas like Jamboo, Talachua, Kandira, and Bagapatia, Singh Deo assured that ‘teams are working tirelessly to restore power supply and sufficient manpower and materials are available on-site’, he added.