Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday praised the efforts of the administration to ensure zero casualties during Cyclone Dana, which struck Odisha coast late on Thursday.
“By the grace of Lord Jagannath and cooperation of all, the government has succeeded in saving human lives. Cyclone Dana made landfall on the intervening night of October 24 and 25 between Bhitarkanika and Dhamra coasts. This process continued till 7 am, today… Rajkanika, Rajnagar in Kendrapada and Dhamra in Bhadrak experienced strong winds of 110 kmph and 40 to 100 mm rain,” he said.
He said that about six lakh people were evacuated to safety for which precious human lives could be saved.
“Timely precautionary measures, administrative promptness, and teamwork helped in successful management of the disaster. The government’s target of ‘zero causality’ has been achieved. Our administrative officers and rescue team were on the ground for over 72 hours,” the CM said after a post-cyclone review meeting.
He also mentioned about 6,000 pregnant women being safely evacuated and birth of 1,600 babies.
Senior ministers and officials are coordinating relief efforts and monitoring the situation closely, he said, adding that 571 families are still in waterlogged conditions due to the cyclone. “Teams have reached the spots where electricity poles and transformers were damaged to restore electricity at the earliest. Uprooted trees from roads will be cleared by 1 pm today, and the situation will be normal soon,” he added.
Majhi has also directed district collectors to carry out damage assessments in affected areas at the earliest to determine the extent of losses.
“There is no report of any casualty. There has been massive damage to electrical installations due to tree falling. Roads are being cleared,” Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj, who was deputed to Bhadrak, was quoted as saying by PTI.
Ajay Mohanty, Tehsildar of Rajnagar in Kendrapada district said that there has been no major damage in the Bhitarkanika area except uprooting of some trees and damage to some thatched houses.