Cyclone Fani: Has Bhubaneswar Lost Its Green Cover?

Bhubaneswar: There is good news and bad news after Cyclone Fani hit Odisha, leaving tell-tale signs of destruction. The good news is that the damage could have been more because the situation was salvaged due to advance preparedness.

The bad news is that, as reported by The Hindu, the green cover over Bhubaneswar has been wiped out. The newspaper reported that the devastation witnessed in as worst as the 1999 Super Cyclone had caused.

The state capital has been virtually battered with major public spaces reporting extensive damage.

The State Legislative Assembly, State Secretariat, Governor’s House and Chief Minister’s residence could not be accessed for a few hours after the cyclone crossed over the city. The two entrance roads to Biju Patnaik International Airport were blocked by huge hoardings, it said.

Normal life has been hit. It will take quite some time for the state to get back to normalcy. Power and telecommunication line snapped and the roads were blocked by uprooted trees.

By now that video of a crane collapsing at the premises of an under-construction high-rise building near the Raghanathpur area has already gone viral.

The AIIMS building also came under the eye of the storm. “Extensive damage to the structure of AIIMS Bhubaneswar reported. All patients, staff, students safe. Many water tanks have blown off, lighting poles are down, air-conditioners damaged. We have enough supplies, ready to support the state,” said Health Secretary Preeti Sudan.

Sitangshu Kar, the Director General of Press Information Bureau posted a video of the roof of an undergraduate hostel in the Bhubaneswar AIIMS when it was being blown off.

Biju Patnaik International Airport was also ravaged with the strong wind virtually dismantling the entry facade and causing damage to the infrastructure.