Orissa Super Cyclone - October 29 , 1999

Archdiocesan Programme for Relief and Rehabilitation

Our Context:

The Orissa Super - Cyclone of October 28 , 1999 Which has left a trail of destruction of Human lives, livestock and productivity of the land estimated to be at 1,500 billion Rupees (in economic terms), necessitated humanitarian action of relief and rehabilitation. caritas India swung into action with its local, national and international partners. At relief level, CRS and Caritas India have mobilised resources and have assisted the diocese in setting up the entire operations . The big challenge is to realise the long term sustainable integral human development.

Our Concern:
Orissa, a 150 kms (coastal strip) X 20 ms (deep) land area devastated by this 4 stalled 260-300 kms speeded cyclone is the core oncern of Caritas India and all our working partners(India working froup, Asia DOM and our lead partners: Secours Catholique).

First of all , a stretch of 150 kilometers by 20 kilometres coastal belt was inundated by saline sea water. The tidal wave was 28 feet high. The loss of lives and livestock has been very high in this belt . Secondly, we had the cyclone which ripped through a belt destroying all that was on its way. Thirdly, we have floods due to the above factors torrential rains and engulfing waters.

In toto, the cyclone had 4 stalls: It had a stall at the shore for a duration of 3 hours . It had another stall at Paradeep Port for 3 hours . The third stall was at Cuttack . Suprisingly, when the eye of the storm had reached Cuttack, the tail of the storm was still at the shore. Each stall brings changes in the direction and its velocity as well as the speed . The speed was anywhete between 26-300 kms . per hour.

Kendrapada, Paradeep, Jagatsinghpur, Puri , Cuttack -Bhubaneswar, Bhadrak and Balasore are severely devastated, while Berhampur and Govindpur were hit by the first cyclone of October 17.

As on 4th of November 1999, at 4 P.M the official report of casualties is placed at 974 deaths. However, unofficial estimate is different. NGOs from 9 different gram panchayats alone report 1610 deaths. The picture is yet to emerge clearly. At Erasama 1500 dead bodies are discovered . More are being found. A newspaper estimates the death toll to be 15.000 .
The restoration electricity is estimated to take about five to six months

Our Priorities:

Faced with untold tragic trail of devastation of human lives, livestock and agro-based crops of the land; and the survivors are at the risk of beig trapped in the cyclone shelters, starved and are at the mercy of the inundated waters which might at the end of the day turn the entire thing into 'watery graves' from 9th day , the death toll is beginning to be counted down as 15,000 (though official statistics place this at a lower scale); and no one know what the fate of surviviors would be.

The priorities in this situation of disaster are the following:

1. Emergency Relif to be operationalied by the way of mobilising human and material resources in the manner of 'war-footing' which comprises of Food Security, Construction of Temporary Shelters and other Basic Needs.

2. Rehabilitation of all the Displaced People into Permanent cyclone - proof habitations, restoration of agro-based means of livehood along with Community Based infrastructure and institutions.

3. Initiate Long Term Development Interventions which would lead to Sustainable Community Based Actions ensuring resourcefullness and autonomy of the village communities.

1. CATHOLIC MISSION CARITAS/CRS/CHAI RESPONDS TO THE CALAMITY:

Realising the seriousness and the magnitude of the devastating cyclone that struck the coastal districts of Orissa with a vengeance, Archbishop Raphael Cheenath air -dashed to Delhi in order to contact CARITAS India and other agencies and mobilise resources. He flew back with Rev Fr. Ivan Joseph , the Executive Director of caritas India. A coordination committee was formed in order to monitor the relif and rehabilitation work. Dr. Radhakant Nayak a retired IAS Officer , was was nominated as the Deputy Chairman .

2. Coordination Committee:

3. Action Plan:

Many volunteers have been roped in who are formed into teams working in different areas. Accordingly we have 25 team operating in eight bases . Each team consists of a priest(a leader), a doctor , two nurses and more or less, ten volunteers, about 14 or 15 members.

4. Our Teams woking in the fields:
a. 5 teams (70 persons) in Jagatsinghpur(Borikina)
b. 5 teams (70 persons ) in Kendrapara
c. 3 teams in Puri
d. 1 team in Cuttack
e. 1 team in Jokalandi of Khurda District
f. Village reconstruction Organization (VRO) teams in Chandikhol, Jajpur
g. Missionaries of Charity team (MC) at Paradip.
h. 100 volunters are engaged in removal of carcasses and human corps in Ersama and Balikuda in Jagatsinghpur Dt.
i. Catholic Charities, the diocesan Social service society in the Archdiocese is coordinating the activities of NGOs in Puri Dt. specially n Astrang.
j. Good number of young volunteers have come from institution like National Institute of social Work and social scoemces (NISWASS), seminaries and other educational institutions
k.All in all we have 500 volunteers in the field.

5. Rehabilitation:

With the help of funding agencies, Catholic Mission is planning rehabilitation programmes. It envisages:(i) construction of low-cost cyclone proof houses, (ii) repair and reconstruction of damaged buildings,(iii) improvements of agriculture, (iv) saving schemes, health and sanitation, etc. Rehabilitation work will take much longer time than relief which may last for about a month.

6. " Archdiocesan Cyclone Relief Fund ":

Greater efforts are being made to pool together our resources and personnel in order to help the cyclone affected people in the State. In order to rehabilitate the affected people, the Catholic Mission-Bhubaneswar Cyclone Coordination Committee. has constituted the
"Archdiocesan Cyclone Relief Fund":. Your generous contribution could be given in favour of "The Cuttack Roman Catholic Diocesan Corporation."

7. Statistics collected from operating area

Total Population : 3,97,830- Casualty. A. People: 6,090 B- Cattle 30,917
Damage of crops: 87% Destruction of houses: 87%

Types of relief work done:
* Medical Aid
* Sanitation
* Food & other Materials Distibution
* Disposal of corpses and carcasses
* Awareness programme on health and sanitation

8. Patients treated: 89,069

9. Corpses buried or burned: 87 Careasses disposed: 494(by our teams)

10. Areas covered under the Programme:

-Districts:6 Blocks : 24 Villages; 404 Families: 60,921

11. Common Diseases:

Body Pain; Chest Pain; Cough; Cold; Diarrhea; Eye Disease; Fever , Flu; Cholera; Headache; Indigestion; Injury; Joint Pain; Malaria; Scabies; Skin Diseases; Stomachache; Throat Infection; Upper respiratory Tract; Infection ; Vomiting.

12 . Cyclone effected Areas