Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has pegged damages due to Cyclone Dana, which struck Odisha coast in early hours of October 25, at around Rs 600 crore.
Speaking to the media on Monday about the preliminary assessment, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said that over 41 lakh people in 11,637 villages of 131 blocks were affected by the severe cyclonic storm Dana and subsequent floods. “We have received reports from all 14 affected districts. The total damage caused by Cyclone Dana is around Rs 600 crore. Balasore, Bhadrak, and Kendrapada were the most-affected districts. Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, and Cuttack also witnessed significant damage,” he said.
Pujari further informed that 16,417 houses were damaged. “While 27 house were completely destroyed, 14,680 were partially damaged.”
The Minister said that all departments, except Panchayati Raj, have submitted their damage assessment reports. “We are expecting all reports by this evening following which those from districts and departments will be merged for the final figures. The process for disbursal of compensation for crop and individual damages will begin in the next few days,” he said, adding that the Energy Department sustained maximum damage.
The departments were directed to submit their damage assessment report by November 2.
He added that a detailed damage report will also be submitted to the Centre for financial assistance by Tuesday.