Odisha 1999: A super cyclone remembered

Saswat Panigrahi

I was barely 19 when the devastating super cyclone of 1999 hit Odisha. I was in my second year of graduation at the prestigious Bhadrak Autonomous College, the largest college of Odisha.

I remember how the cyclone 05B battered and bruised Odisha’s coast on October 29. It was the deadliest Indian storm since 1971. As many as six coastal districts — Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Puri and Ganjam were among the worst-hit. Erasama of Jagatsinghpur district was ground zero for the disaster. The cyclone claimed at least 8,000 people died there.

The devastating super cyclone ravaged Odisha’s coast for 30 hours with winds blowing up to 300 kilometres per hour and claimed at least 15,000 lives.

After the storm blew over, many others died of starvation and disease since rescue efforts could not reach them at the right time. Besides, the storm was followed by massive floods. Property worth crores was damaged.

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