1Cyclone Phailin (2013)
No. 1 — Cyclone Phailin (2013). On the lists of 4 of 4 AIs; median place there: 1. All four AIs put it first: about a million people were moved before a 215 km/h landfall, and deaths fell from 9,887 to 46.
Did you know
Forecasters expected a storm surge of 10 to 20 feet from Phailin, compared with 26 feet in 1999. Winds and rain were expected to hit about 12 million people over 24 to 36 hours.
- What it is
- A 2013 storm that hit Odisha almost as hard as the 1999 super cyclone.
- Its edge
- Strongest winds of the three, yet the lowest death toll: 46 in India.
- Who should know
- Useful for anyone learning how mass evacuation can cut deaths from thousands to dozens.
- People moved vs deaths~1M moved, 46 dead
Why it is here
Odisha's state count says 1,154,725 people were moved out of the storm's path. That is far more than the page's headline of 550,000, so the true size of the evacuation may be bigger than the headline.
IMD measured peak winds of 215 km/h, and the storm hit near its strongest. Even so, only 46 people died in India. The page calls it one of the most intense landfalls in India since 1999.
History
In 1999 a super cyclone killed some 10,000 people in Odisha. Afterwards the state moved more people out, stocked shelters and put the military on alert. When Phailin hit in 2013, at least 500,000 people were moved, and the death toll stayed far lower.
Keep in mind
Lives were saved, but livelihoods were not. Salt water and sand from the sea surge hit farmland. An environmentalist asks how survivors will cope for the 3-4 years before the land can be farmed again.
Odisha was widely praised for its handling of the storm. Even so, the state auditor criticised the relief and restoration work. It found delays of six to nine months in giving relief to affected people.
What people say
There are no farms left. Everything has disappeared into the water, — S. Dillirao, paddy farmer
