Abstract

On October 12, 2014, a massive tropical cyclone, Hudhud, lashed the coastal states of southern India, killing around 46 people in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and the eastern state of Odisha. The cyclone had made landfall at Vishakapatnam (also known as Vizag), a port city in Andhra Pradesh, and some districts of Odisha. The cyclone had a devastating impact on the two states, damaging houses and crops, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their homes, and uprooting thousands of trees. With heavy destruction of basic infrastructure in the region, industrial production and business transactions were badly hit. The damage to cell phone towers, telephone lines, and electric poles also contributed to the communication blackout in both the states. The state governments of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha had prepared themselves to handle the cyclonic disaster after the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning on October 8, 2014 about a landfall in Vizag and Odisha. Ahead of the storm, more than 400,000 people – about 250,000 in four districts of Andhra Pradesh and 156,000 in nine districts of Odisha were evacuated and shifted to relief camps, according to government officials. Evacuating so many people was no small task. It took years of planning, forming evacuation protocols, constructing disaster risk mitigation infrastructure, identifying safe buildings to house communities before the disaster, and – most importantly – working with communities and community-based local organizations to set up local champions and volunteers who knew what had to be done when the time came to act. The low casualties were attributable to the proactive steps taken by the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha state governments. In addition to this, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) deployed 44 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams which comprised more than 2,000 rescuers. In Odisha, the NDMA deployed 26 units – 16 of the NDRF and 10 of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) each comprising 40 personnel. Disaster management experts agreed that the years of planning and preparation had paid off. The state governments of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha received appreciation for their disaster preparedness that helped in mitigating the loss of human lives. While the toll was low compared to the past cyclonic disasters in India, the economic losses due to Hudhud stood at US$ 11 billion.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Analyze how disaster preparedness and mitigation are crucial for handling disasters.
• Understand how to strengthen the resilience of local communities who face the risk of natural disasters through awareness raising and training.
• Understand how capacity of communities at risk and local humanitarian workers can be built through training and awareness raising activities for disaster risk reduction.
• Understand how rehabilitation can be linked to long-term sustainable development.
• Understand the significance of technology in improving disaster preparedness.

Keywords

Tropical cyclone, Hudhud, Vishakhapatnam, Indian Meteorological Department, National Disaster Management Authority, National Disaster Response Force, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force, Disaster preparedness, Disaster risk mitigation, Cyclone shelters, Rescue and relief, Restoration,Economic losses