Sir — Man has no control over nature’s fury, but the excellent response of various agencies to cyclone Phailin has shown that the damage to human life can be contained to a huge extent by accurate early warnings and timely rescue operations.
The swift evacuation of more than nine lakh people in just three days from the cyclone-affected area, restricted the loss of human life to around two dozen, in contrast to 10,000 deaths in the 1999 Odisha super cyclone.
The way the threat of Phailin has been dealt with demonstrates significant improvement in the country’s disaster management system. However, the major challenge and test of efficiency of the administration will be over the speedy rehabilitation of the displaced population.