The low pressure created in the Andaman sea on October 9 which developed into a cyclonic storm called Phailin and hit Gopalpur and Visakhapatnam sea coasts on October 12 creating havoc in the coastal settlements.
The distance between Andaman sea and Gopalpur is 1,500 km on air and roughly 3,000 nautical miles. The storm took nearly 40 hours to reach Gopalpur coast. Initially, the speed of the wind began at 15km per hour but gradually it increased and touched nearly 200 kmph.
Factors like the indigenous eco-systems, altitude and distance of land from sea level, blowing of wind from land mass to sea or the vice versa, presence of hills, deserts and plain lands within a land mass heavily determine the climatic condition of a region. Distance from the hemisphere and presence of water bodies such ocean, sea, gulf and lakes etc determine the climate of a region. The vulnerability of a region to natural calamities heavily depends on its geographical and climatic parameters.
Rivers generally originate from hills and hill ranges. In order to control flood in the rivers, their place of origin, catchment area and eco systems shoud be protected. Rivers like Budhabalanga, Baitarani and Salandi rivers have originated from the Similipal hills. The three rivers flow in north Odisha.
The catchment areas of these three rivers have been thoroughly destroyed on account of mining and other reasons. The natural ecosystems have been considerably damaged. The result has been quite terrific. The horrible floods of the north Odisha are a result of this wanton destruction of the rivers’ catchment areas. So, the natural eco-systems of every river system should be declared as protected zones.
In the sea coast, quite a different type of vegetation is seen, which stands as protective barrier against sea wind and waves including inundation of flood waters of river mouths.
On account of construction of a rising number of ports within sea coast, the situation in the coastal area has grown alarming. Ports, harbours and industries are built on economic consideration.
The removal of natural ecosystems within the sea coast by these developmental activities causes devastating calamities within the landmass. There is an urgent need for proper management of river systems and estuaries. Chilika is a part of the ocean system. Management of the lake is also vital for checking the disasters.
The Eastern Ghat is the lifeline of Odisha, AP, Tamilnadu, and Chhatisgarh. The hill ranges protect the entire landmass right from Tamilnadu to Chhatisgarh.
If there were no Eastern Ghat hill ranges, there would be a large mass of desert as this land mass is close to the tropic of cancer.So the Eastern Ghat enriches the fertility of the landmass irrespective of political boundaries.
The Bay of Bengal runs parallel to the Eastern Ghat range, which controls the climate of the lands. Intensive management of both the Eastern Ghat and Bay of Bengal can help mitigate natural catastrophes to a great extent.
Now, lakhs of people are suffering due to the floods in the north Odisha. Many have also lost their houses, livestock and other properties worth crores of rupees. Preventive measures at right time can avoid disasters.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist)