How Do You Save a Million People From a Cyclone? Ask a Poor State in India. "Biggest Human Evacuation!!!"
By DJ
@Daljinder (23236)
Bangalore, India
May 5, 2019 5:41am CST
The eastern coast of India braced itself for the worst super cyclone earlier this week. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) pin point prediction of the incoming cyclone catapulted Odisha (the eastern coastal State in India) to start preparation in advance.
It is the same State where only 20 years ago, another super cyclone has ravaged the coastal area killing over 10,000 notwithstanding all the damage done to the State.
In its commitment to never let the kind of damage happen again, the State have run and re-run Disaster Management drills and build shelters since then.
Quoting Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik "For me and my Government, every life is precious and we worked with that goal. I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart to all the volunteers, PRI members, officials who worked tirelessly and selflessly to relocate around 1.2 million people to safety."
"a record 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours" after Cyclone Fani hit the coastal state, claiming to have carried out the "biggest human evacuation in history". He is committed to keep a "zero casualty" approach during natural disasters.
Till now, 12 has been reported dead. Restoration work is underway.
14 people like this
11 responses
@moffittjc (121736)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 Jun 19
At first I was going to comment that 1.2 million can't possibly be the record, because last year here in Florida we evacuated 6.8 million people when Hurricane Irma was approaching. However, I see that India evacuated 1.2 million people in 24 hours, no easy feat! We evacuated our 6.8 million people over the course of almost a week! I don't think we could have successfully evacuated 1.2 million people in a day!
4 people like this
@moffittjc (121736)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Jun 19
@paigea We learned the hard way that you cannot evacuate an entire state when there are only two interstate highways leading north out of the state. It proved to be absolute gridlock. We just had our hurricane briefing meeting at work last week, and the state emergency management's direction this year is going to be "evacuate 10's of miles, not 100's of miles." Meaning, find a local hurricane or emergency shelter in your community and hunker down there instead of trying to get out of the state to seek shelter elsewhere.
3 people like this
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
5 May 19
Beautiful story thank you for this and give much much hope that we can all do this kind of thing to help others.
I thought about them but did not know what the organization was behind it.
What a wonderful way for such a person to think.
2 people like this
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
10 Aug 19
You are right. We need hopeful stories more these days to keep faith alive.
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
10 Aug 19
It was a good undertaking and effort. Unfortunately other states haven't learned the lesson.
@paigea (36315)
• Canada
25 Jun 19
@Daljinder so much to deal with, even after the storm.
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
25 Jun 19
@paigea People are alive but property damage was massive. So reconstruction is underway. Besides food, water, and temporary shelters, there is the outbreak of illness due to storms is another thing they are tackling at the moment.
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
5 May 19
It shows what we are really capable of doing when we want to do something. We are capable of anything. We can even stop killing one another if we wanted to.
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
10 Aug 19
Exactly. Where there is a will there is a way.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
5 May 19
wow, that'd be quite the feat fer certain! i'm glad though they've now a plan 'n take these storms seriously. greatly saddened by those who've lost their lives, hopefully that #'ll not grow.
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
10 Aug 19
Yes it is incredible. However its not job finished until people are rehabilitated.
1 person likes this
@VivaLaDani13 (60794)
• Perth, Australia
19 May 19
@Daljinder I've never heard of such a huge evacuation before. That is an enormous amount of people but it touches my heart when people work together like this.
R.I.P to the ones who didn't make it.
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
22 Jun 19
@VivaLaDani13 Yes. We have advanced so much. This is the least the governments can prepare for.
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
10 Aug 19
Sometimes ordinary humans should also pick the mantle.
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
10 Aug 19
Orissa did its job. Cant say the ane about other states facing floods.