Fani: Massive effort to save lives earns global praise - The Times Of India... https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/PrintArticle.as...

Fani: Massive effort to save lives earns global

praise
Ashok Pradhan & Vishwa Mohan

Bhubaneswar:

The United Nations on Saturday praised India for its early warning systems, rapid evacuation of nearly 1.2
million people and other measures taken in Odisha to minimise the loss of life from cyclone Fani, which
battered the state’s coastal areas on Friday.

In its lead report on Saturday, TOI had highlighted the

superhuman rescue efforts that involved a race against time to evacuate millions of residents from the fury
of the category 4 storm.

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) said the government’s “effective” evacuation had
“saved many lives”. The operation involved 45,000 volunteers and 2,000 emergency workers. Some 3
million targeted messages were sent, with TV commercials, coastal sirens and public address systems
playing in a loop, asking people to get to the shelters.

The death toll in the storm rose to 14 on Saturday, with unofficial sources putting the number at 20. By
contrast, the super cyclone of 1999, which had pummelled Odisha for 30 hours with wave surges reaching
20km inland, had killed 10,000 people.

Fani ravaged through nine districts of the state. Officials said six of those killed were in Bhubaneswar.
Mayurbhanj district reported four deaths in tree collapse. One death was reported from Puri, which bore
the brunt of the cyclone. Sources said the toll in Puri could be higher.

FULL COVERAGE: P 13, 22

Puri railway station after the storm

1 of 2 5/5/2019, 10:43 AM
Fani: Massive effort to save lives earns global praise - The Times Of India... https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/PrintArticle.as...

2 of 2 5/5/2019, 10:43 AM