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Disaster Preparedness and Recovery: India’s Tropical Cyclone Hudhud
EXCERPTS
DISASTER MITIGATION MEASURES INITIATED
After being exposed to devastating cyclones, the state government of Andhra Pradesh made some efforts to initiate measures for disaster risk mitigation. Significant steps for disaster mitigation were taken after the cyclone that lashed Andhra Pradesh in 1977. The administration had geared up to respond to large-scale natural disasters in a structural and coordinated manner by emphasizing on reducing loss through evacuation, rescue and relief, and mitigative measures. |
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PREPARING FOR HUDHUD
India in the past had had a disastrous record of responding to natural disasters. However, in the case of Hudhud, India had prepared itself in advance. The Indian government’s disaster preparedness plans were initiated after the cyclone that lashed Odisha in 1999 killed around 10,000 people...
THE DISASTER
On October 12, 2014, tropical cyclone Hudhud made landfall near the port city of Vizag as a Category 4 storm . According to the IMD, Vizag was the first city in India since 1891 to be directly hit by a cyclone...
USING TECHNOLOGY TO ASSESS THE DAMAGE
The Andhra Pradesh government, for the first time in India, used space technology with the help of the space agency of the Government of India, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), and ISRO’s National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC) to assess the damage caused by Hudhud...
THE DAMAGE
Though the state governments of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha were prepared to deal with a cyclonic storm of such magnitude, the havoc caused by Hudhud was huge and devastating. Television footage showed debris, uprooted trees, and downed electrical poles on the streets. Mobile phone services and trains were also disrupted in Vizag and Odisha...
RESCUE AND RESTORATION EFFORTS
A day after Hudhud devastated Vizag and other nearby districts, the Andhra Pradesh state government embarked on the gigantic task of restoring normalcy in the port city and providing access to affected villages. Since communication systems and electricity had broken down in the city, many people depended on the radio to get cyclone updates. People in the cyclone-affected areas stood in long queues at petrol pumps and for buying essential food items like milk...
THE RESPONSE
Many experts commended the state governments of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha for evacuating thousands of residents and placing them in shelters before the cyclone hit the cities. They pointed out that the precautionary measures taken were in stark contrast to the earlier disastrous records held by India in its response to natural calamities...
THE AFTERMATH
Though the death toll of 66 people was lower than expected, a March 2015 report by the United Nations’ (UN) ESCAP, estimated the economic loss caused by Cyclone Hudhud at US$ 11 billion...
LOOKING AHEAD
Industry experts opined that while there was huge infrastructural damage in Vizag due to Hudhud, Vizag would also lose its brand image as the only investment destination in Andhra Pradesh...
EXHIBITS
Exhibit I:Responsibilities of APSDMA
Exhibit II:Disaster Preparedness by IRCS and IFRC
Exhibit III:Personnel Trained for Handling Disasters
Exhibit IV:Economic Losses Caused by Natural Disasters
