BHUBANESWAR : Even as the cyclonic storm Yaas unleashed a trail of destruction in Odisha on Wednesday, the last 24 hours saw birth of 350 children in the districts that were worst-affected and those which saw rainfall under the impact of the natural calamity.
According to the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), the State government had identified and shifted 6,500 pregnant women with an expected date of delivery (EDD) before June 1 to hospitals and other health facilities for institutional delivery in the cyclone-affected areas in the last two days. The districts that were under government focus are Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal.
The highest 165 births in last 24 hours were seen at Balasore where Yaas wreaked havoc both before and after the landfall. Chief district medical officer (CDMO) Dulalsen Jagatdeo informed that 79 male and 86 female children were born in this period and in the last two days, 384 expectant mothers were shifted to various hospitals, CHCs and PHCs.
Similarly Bhadrak, which witnessed wind speed of 130 kmph to 140 kmph on Wednesday, saw 60 deliveries with 37 male and 22 female children, all normal deliveries except one, informed ADMO Shibasish Moharana, adding that the maximum 23 deliveries were in the Basudevpur block which is close to the Dhamra Port. Here, 209 pregnant women were shifted to CHCs and HWCs.
Mayurbhanj also saw 66 deliveries amid the fury of the storm and CDMO Rupavanoo Mishra said that cyclone had very less impact on the healthcare facilities in the district. “We had shifted 324 such women to various health facilities with strict adherence to Covid norms and none of the deliveries saw any complications”, he said.
While 40 women delivered babies in Kendrapara in this period, the number was 13 in Jagatsingpur. Similarly, Keonjhar and Dhenkanal that saw rainfall under the impact of the cyclonic storm saw three deliveries each. At hospitals where power supply was hit as uprooted trees fell on overhead power lines, the local administrations ensured the facilities were equipped with generator sets.