Relief, rehabilitation: On India’s east coast and cyclones Politics & News

Historically, October and November mark the period when the Bay of Bengal throws up devastating cyclones. Of the 12 such cyclones during the 18th Century CE-20th Century CE, nine were recorded in these months. They include the severe cyclone which made landfall near Nizampatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on November 19, 1977, and the super cyclone, which crossed the Odisha coast near Paradip on October 29, 1999. The human toll in both disasters was about 10,000 each, according to an India Meteorological Department (IMD) publication in 2021. Memories of such events get rekindled whenever a cyclonic storm develops in the Bay, an example being Cyclone Montha, which began to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm on October 27-28, 2025. Though not as strong as the ones in 1977 and 1999, this does not provide much comfort to the authorities in the three coastal States, including Odisha. Parts of north coastal Andhra Pradesh, especially Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Srikakulam districts, and also Ganjam and Gajapati of Odisha have received significant rainfall. In Andhra’s Kakinada and Konaseema regions, nearly 10,000 people were evacuated. The Odisha government made arrangements for the evacuation of people from vulnerable places amid inclement weather in several southern districts where there was a “red alert”. National Disaster Response Force teams were also deployed.

Over the years, the preparedness of the Union and State governments has improved to an extent where the prospect of thousands dying in cyclones has become a thing of the past, if the last 20-odd years are an indication. However, there is still damage to public and private properties, affecting the livelihood opportunities of the under-privileged sections in particular. Likewise, milch and draught animals and poultry are severely impacted. When Cyclone Gaja struck the Tamil Nadu coast near Vedaranayam in November 2018, Nagapattinam district and Thanjavur saw large-scale losses of cattle and poultry. Several coastal States have been taking measures, structural and non-structural, to mitigate the effect of cyclones. Notwithstanding improvements to their knowledge and skills, the authorities in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha will have to demonstrate in action all that they have learnt so far while undertaking relief and rehabilitation measures. The political leadership should not lag behind and must ensure that all affected people are safeguarded and treated in an impartial way.