United Nations: The UN agency for disaster reduction has commended the Indian Meteorological Department’s “almost pinpoint accuracy” of early warnings that helped authorities conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan and minimise the loss of life as extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani made landfall near the coastal city of Puri. The powerful cyclone, strongest to hit India in 20 years, made landfall at around 8 AM in India’s eastern state of Odisha, killing at least eight people.
Large areas in the seaside pilgrim town of Puri and other places were submerged as heavy rains battered the entire coastal belt of the state affecting about 11 lakh people. The Indian Met Dept (IMD) has classified Fani as an “extremely severe cyclonic storm”. UN agencies are monitoring Fani’s movements closely and taking measures to protect families living in refugee camps in Bangladesh, which is on alert. The Cyclone lashed the coast with maximum wind speeds of up to 175 kilometres per hour, heavy rainfall and coastal flooding, with 28 million people living along the route of the massive storm.
“India’s zero casualty approach to managing extreme weather events is a major contribution to the implementation of the #SendaiFramework and the reduction of loss of life from such events,” Mami Mizutori, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction, and head of the Geneva-based UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), said.
Mizutori was referring to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda. It is a 15-year, voluntary, non-binding agreement which recognises that the state has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including the local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.
14 dead, 63 injured as Fani hits Bangladesh
Dhaka: At least 14 people were killed and 63 others injured as cyclonic storm ‘Fani’ barrelled into Bangladesh on Saturday, a day after leaving a trail of destruction in eastern Indian coastlines, media reports said. However, Bangladesh Disaster Management Ministry officially confirmed four deaths — two in Barguna and one each in Bhola and Noakhali — on the basis of “initial reports” from the three coastal districts and said it was yet to compile the details of the casualties and damages caused by the cyclone. “The detailed information from all the affected districts is yet to reach us,” State minister for disaster management Enamur Rahman told reporters here.
