Timely warning

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 24: Tsunami and cyclone-prone Orissa will soon have four Doppler radar stations which will help in effective and accurate disaster warning.

State disaster management minister Surya Narayan Patro said the central government had given its nod to the state’s proposal and the Centre would provide the required equipment and the state would provide the infrastructure support. The radar stations will be set up at Paradip, Gopalpur, Sambalpur and Balasore. Land allotment has been completed and construction work has started.

With the help of the radar, prior information about cyclones, low pressure areas and weather-related data and reports can be collected within a range of 500km from the coastal region of Bay of Bengal.

On October 29, 1999, a super cyclone had hit Orissa, devastating 14 coastal districts, claiming nearly 10,000 lives and crippling its economy. Cyclones are a frequent phenomenon in the state, which has also been identified as tsunami-prone. The tsunami travel time atlas, published by IIT, Kharagpur, has identified Orissa’s coast as a vulnerable area.

As many as 328 villages situated within 1.5km of the coastline in six coastal districts have been identified as tsunami prone. With the installation of the Doppler radars, Orissa will be able to get an early cyclone warning and accordingly take up disaster preparedness measures, said Patro.

The government has mulled proposals to build multipurpose cyclone shelters in a gap of 1km along the 480km coastline, which will cater to villages located on the 10km coastal radius. So far, 203 multipurpose cyclone shelters have been set up (37 build with World Bank assistance, 60 constructed out of Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, another 41 with assistance from Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and 65 built by Red Cross), said the minister. The state has also asked the Centre for a fund sanction to built the 187 multipurpose cyclone shelters.