Elderly Woman Dies At Shelter In Odisha, Authorities Say Not Related To Cyclone Dana

Bhubaneswar: An 82-year-old woman died at a cyclone shelter in Odisha’s Kendrapada district, officials reported on Friday

The elderly woman, Hemalata Nayak of Bankual village, is believed to have died of a cardiac arrest on Thursday night after being shifted to a cyclone shelter at Kalyan Mandap Dangamal in Rajnagar block.

“The woman died of cardiac arrest and not related to cyclone-related incident. The government is arranging her cremation at Swargadwar in Puri in accordance with the family’s wishes,” Rajnagar BDO Nishant Mishra told the PTI.

In a separate incident, one Tapan Patra (40) sustained severe injuries when a coconut tree fell on his house in Balasore district on Friday morning. He was rushed to Baliapal Hospital for treatment.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi declared the government’s “zero-casualty” mission a success, having evacuated 5.84 lakh people from the districts, which were likely to be impacted, to cyclone shelters ahead of Cyclone Dana’s landfall.

Th CM had also lauded an ASHA member, Sibani Mandal of Kendrapada’s Rajnagar block, for carrying an elderly woman to cyclone shelter on her shoulder the previous day.

The severe cyclonic storm made landfall between Dhamra and Habalikhati nature camp in Bhitarkanika early on Friday with wind speed of 100-120 kmph. Though no loss of life was reported, heavy rain and strong winds damaged thatched houses, uprooted trees, disrupting road transportation, in some parts of northern districts. Electricity lines were also damaged in some areas.