Bhubaneswar: A supply assistant on duty at a cyclone shelter at Potara panchayat in Odisha’s Gajapati district tragically passed away after suddenly falling ill on Monday night.
The deceased has been identified as Surendra Gamang.
According to sources, Gamang had been working tirelessly for two days to coordinate cyclone readiness efforts in view of the approaching cyclonic storm Montha. His responsibilities included visiting villages, using a public address system to urge residents of low-lying areas to move to safer places, assisting with their relocation, and ensuring provisions for accommodation, food, and other essentials at the shelter.
On Monday night, after confirming that all evacuees had their dinner, Surendra returned to his room and went to sleep after having his meal. He, however, abruptly fell ill and was rushed to the district headquarters hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.
His family was informed shortly thereafter.
The exact cause of death remains undetermined and will be confirmed following the postmortem, the sources added.
Gajapati is one of seven districts in Odisha, mapped under red zones and is likely to experience extremely heavy rain and strong winds under the influence of the season’s first major storm, which is expected to make landfall near Kakinada by tonight, between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, packing a maximum sustained wind speed of 90–100 kmph, gusting to 110 kmph.
The India Meteorological Department has warned of scattered heavy to very heavy rainfall (7–20 cm), with isolated extremely heavy falls (>20 cm), in the district on October 28, with heavy to very heavy rainfall (7 to 20cm) on October 29.
Authorities are also closely monitoring Gajapati for possible landslides. About 339 locations have been identified as landslide-prone in the district.