Amphan evacuation of people
Amphan evacuation of people
The devastation of the recent super cyclone ‘amphan’ has drawn the attention of not just the people of our country but the global audience as well. It can be considered as one of the most destructive storms to have hit our country and Bangladesh in decades. Thanks to technology, that the proverb ‘prevention is better can cure’ could be brought to life.
The meteorological department had the details of the intensity and the direction in which the storm would move and make its landfall. Accordingly, it immediately issued warnings to the concerned places. The governments of the respective places, namely, West Bengal and Odisha in India and Bangladesh acted with unprecedented promptness and were able to curb the damages to a great extent. This damage control was most felt with regard to the loss of life. Unlike the previous years where the death tolls due to cyclones and other natural calamities could hardly be controlled, this year, at least there was less loss of life.
The people living near the coasts were the most exposed to danger and hence, an immediacy was shown is removing those people to a safer place. In West Bengal, East Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas; while in Odisha, Bhadrak, Balasore, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur, were the precise places that were to be hit the hardest.
The Chief Minister of West Bengal did not waste a minute in thinking; her call to action was emergency evacuation of danger prone areas. Records reveal about 3 lakh people were removed to other places from the coastal and low lying areas that came in the path of the cyclone.
Temporary cyclone shelters were set up; alongside empty schools and other available buildings were used for the purpose. Sources say that West Bengal already had 60 cyclone relief shelters but needed more to maintain social distancing owing to Covid-19 pandemic condition. Even with the chaos setting in with the ensuing disaster, the guidelines for social distancing were strictly adhered to by the people in charge. Evacuation was posed with this big challenge but that too did not dim the spirits of the workers and the government. They did everything in their capacity to maintain the precautionary measures issued by the WHO while keeping the people in a safe place.
The state government of Odisha too showed extreme seriousness and agility in a bid to safeguard its citizens from harm. The schools, colleges, universities, government offices, anything available, were used as relief centres. This approach was taken because the already existing relief centres were all being used as quarantine centres for the workers who had migrated back to their state. The evacuees were shifted to 72 panchayats and 363 district schools; in case that did not suffice, an additional 558 schools were kept ready to accommodate the evacuees.
Though Covid-19 did pose to be an obstacle all the affected people fought very bravely. The relief shelters were stocked with masks, gloves, and sanitizers to maintain the pandemic rules. Several Nodal officers were deployed to keep a close watch over the entire situation to make sure that the people followed the norms set. The authorities of both the states admitted that they faced a never before situation. The special relief commissioner of Odisha said very humbly that the Covid-19 situation was definitely tricky and made things worse. But even at a time of despair such as this, he assured that everything was under control.
In Bangladesh, the number of cyclone relief centres was doubled as an immediate action because here too the issue of social distancing had to be kept in mind. Around 1.4 million people were taken to these shelters from Hatya Island and places surrounding it. Here too masks and other necessary amenities were made available to the evacuees, which included food, drinking water and candles. The government made announcements for the people to not step out of their homes till they received a clearance from the government.
The governments had only about 6 hours to carry out the evacuation drill before the super cyclone made its landfall. The kind of swiftness they exhibited was commendable and par excellence. This remains in history as an example for any other similar or even more dangerous natural calamity that may ever strike in any part of the world.
© Arked
The devastation of the recent super cyclone ‘amphan’ has drawn the attention of not just the people of our country but the global audience as well. It can be considered as one of the most destructive storms to have hit our country and Bangladesh in decades. Thanks to technology, that the proverb ‘prevention is better can cure’ could be brought to life.
The meteorological department had the details of the intensity and the direction in which the storm would move and make its landfall. Accordingly, it immediately issued warnings to the concerned places. The governments of the respective places, namely, West Bengal and Odisha in India and Bangladesh acted with unprecedented promptness and were able to curb the damages to a great extent. This damage control was most felt with regard to the loss of life. Unlike the previous years where the death tolls due to cyclones and other natural calamities could hardly be controlled, this year, at least there was less loss of life.
The people living near the coasts were the most exposed to danger and hence, an immediacy was shown is removing those people to a safer place. In West Bengal, East Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas; while in Odisha, Bhadrak, Balasore, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur, were the precise places that were to be hit the hardest.
The Chief Minister of West Bengal did not waste a minute in thinking; her call to action was emergency evacuation of danger prone areas. Records reveal about 3 lakh people were removed to other places from the coastal and low lying areas that came in the path of the cyclone.
Temporary cyclone shelters were set up; alongside empty schools and other available buildings were used for the purpose. Sources say that West Bengal already had 60 cyclone relief shelters but needed more to maintain social distancing owing to Covid-19 pandemic condition. Even with the chaos setting in with the ensuing disaster, the guidelines for social distancing were strictly adhered to by the people in charge. Evacuation was posed with this big challenge but that too did not dim the spirits of the workers and the government. They did everything in their capacity to maintain the precautionary measures issued by the WHO while keeping the people in a safe place.
The state government of Odisha too showed extreme seriousness and agility in a bid to safeguard its citizens from harm. The schools, colleges, universities, government offices, anything available, were used as relief centres. This approach was taken because the already existing relief centres were all being used as quarantine centres for the workers who had migrated back to their state. The evacuees were shifted to 72 panchayats and 363 district schools; in case that did not suffice, an additional 558 schools were kept ready to accommodate the evacuees.
Though Covid-19 did pose to be an obstacle all the affected people fought very bravely. The relief shelters were stocked with masks, gloves, and sanitizers to maintain the pandemic rules. Several Nodal officers were deployed to keep a close watch over the entire situation to make sure that the people followed the norms set. The authorities of both the states admitted that they faced a never before situation. The special relief commissioner of Odisha said very humbly that the Covid-19 situation was definitely tricky and made things worse. But even at a time of despair such as this, he assured that everything was under control.
In Bangladesh, the number of cyclone relief centres was doubled as an immediate action because here too the issue of social distancing had to be kept in mind. Around 1.4 million people were taken to these shelters from Hatya Island and places surrounding it. Here too masks and other necessary amenities were made available to the evacuees, which included food, drinking water and candles. The government made announcements for the people to not step out of their homes till they received a clearance from the government.
The governments had only about 6 hours to carry out the evacuation drill before the super cyclone made its landfall. The kind of swiftness they exhibited was commendable and par excellence. This remains in history as an example for any other similar or even more dangerous natural calamity that may ever strike in any part of the world.
© Arked