Topic of The Day:-“Surviving Fani: On Odisha Government’s Preparedness”
The Odisha Government Has Shown By Example How To Manage A Natural Disaster
Cyclone Fani has left a trail of destruction across a large part of coastal Odisha, but its management has emergedas a global example of how timely weather alerts, preparedness and informed public participation can dramatically reduce loss of life. The toll from the extremely severe cyclonic storm on May 3 stood, at last count, at 34 deaths. In terms of material losses, several districts were battered, houses flattened and electricity and telecommunications infrastructure destroyed, but the relatively low mortality shows a dramatic transformation from the loss of over 10,000 lives in 1999 when super cyclone 05B struck. Odisha then worked to upgrade its preparedness, which was tested when very severe cyclonic storm Phailin struck in 2013. It was able to bring down the number of deaths to 44 then, in spite of a wide arc of destruction: 13 million people were hit and half a million houses destroyed. The Odisha government and the Centre now have the task of rebuilding infrastructure. They should use the opportunity to upgrade technology, achieve cost efficiencies and build resilience to extreme weather, all of which can minimise future losses. Given the vulnerability of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to cyclones, the frequency and intensity of which may be influenced by a changing climate, the Centre should press for global environmental funding under the UN framework to help in the rebuilding. Both States have received funding from the World Bank in cyclone risk mitigation efforts since 2011.
The priority in Odisha is to restore electricity and telecommunications, which will require massive manpower. This should be treated as a national mission. Public health interventions are paramount to avoid disease outbreaks. The State government has been able to restore some physical movement by opening up highways and district roads; the Centre has relieved tension among students by postponing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test in Odisha. Overall, there is a sense of relief that in the midst of a national election the toll was effectively contained. Looking ahead, India must prepare for many more intense and frequent cyclones along the coastal States. Preparedness has to focus on building resilience and strengthening adaptation. This can be achieved through better-designed houses and cyclone shelters, good early warning systems, periodic drills and financial risk reduction through insurance. Early weather warnings hold the key to better management, and during the Fani episode the India Meteorological Department played a crucial role. Its commendable performance has been recognised by the UN as well. Odisha’s experience, which coincides with similar devastation along east Africa this year, will be keenly followed at the UN Disaster Risk Reduction conference convening on May 13 in Geneva.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
- trail
Meaning: a mark or a series of signs or objects left behind by the passage of someone or something.
Synonyms: series, stream, string, line, chain, row
Example Sentence: “a trail of blood on the grass”
- Destruction
Meaning: the action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired.
Synonyms: Demolition, knocking down, pulling down, tearing down
Antonyms: Creation, Construction
Example Sentence: “the destruction of the rainforest”
- Emerged
Meaning: move out of or away from something and become visible.
Synonyms: come out, appear, come into view, become visible
Antonyms: disappear
Example Sentence: “black ravens emerged from the fog”
- Reduce
Meaning: make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.
Synonyms: Lessen, make less, make smaller, lower, bring down
Antonyms: increase, enlarge, put up
Example Sentence: “the need for businesses to reduce costs”
- Toll
Meaning: the number of deaths or casualties arising from a natural disaster, conflict, accident, etc.
Synonyms: number, count, tally, total, running total, sum total
Example Sentence: “the toll of dead and injured mounted”
- Battered
Meaning: injured by repeated blows or punishment.
Synonyms: Beaten, assaulted, thrashed, hit
Antonyms: Aid, Assist, Create, Build
Example Sentence: “He finished the day battered and bruised”
- Mortality
Meaning: the state of being subject to death.
Synonyms: Impermanence, temporality, transience, ephemerality, impermanency, perishability; humanity; corporeality, earthliness Antonyms: Immortality
Example Sentence: “the work is increasingly haunted by thoughts of mortality”
- Resilience
Meaning: the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness / the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.
Synonyms: Flexibility, pliability, suppleness, plasticity
Antonyms: Rigidity, fragility, vulnerability, weakness
Example Sentence: “Nylon is excellent in wearability, abrasion resistance and resilience”
- Vulnerability
Meaning: The quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.
Synonyms: Susceptibility, Burden
Antonyms: Aid, Asset, Help
Example Sentence: “conservation authorities have realized the vulnerability of the local population”
- Influenced
Meaning: the capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions.
Synonyms: affect, have an effect on, exert influence on; determine, guide
Antonyms: Kept. Non Guided.
Example Sentence: “government regulations can influence behaviour, but often without changing underlying values and motivations”
- Mitigation
Meaning: the action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something.
Synonyms: alleviation, reduction, diminution, lessening
Antonyms: intensification
Example Sentence: “the identification and mitigation of pollution”
- Paramount
Meaning: more important than anything else; supreme.
Synonyms: most important, of greatest importance, of prime importance, of supreme importance; uppermost, supreme, chief, overriding, predominant, cardinal
Antonyms: Inferior, Unimportant, Least
Example Sentence: “the interests of the child are of paramount importance”
- Outbreaks
Meaning: a sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease.
Synonyms: Eruption, flare-up, upsurge, outburst, epidemic
Antonyms: Calm, Peace, Completion
Example Sentence: “the outbreak of World War II”
- Relieved
Meaning: no longer feeling distressed or anxious; reassured.
Synonyms: Glad, thankful, grateful, pleased, happy; put at one’s ease
Antonyms: Worried, anxious
Example Sentence: “Relieved parents who had waited anxiously for news”
- Devastation
Meaning: great destruction or damage.
Synonyms: Destruction, ruin, desolation, depredation
Antonyms: Building, Creation
Example Sentence: “the hurricane passed, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake”
