KENDRAPARA: An eerie silence prevails in almost all the seaside villages of the district as people count anxious hours in their homes for super cyclone Amphan to pass. Aman, tipped as the strongest cyclone since 1999 Super Cyclone, is set to cross Odisha coast on Wednesday. On Tuesday, rain under the impact of the cyclone coupled with gutsy wind forced residents of seaside Satabhaya, Magarakandha, Kanhupur and other nearby villages to leave their homes for safer places. In the last three decades, the sea has crept almost two km into Satabhaya, one of the State’s worst coastal erosion-hit villages.
This apart, the fishing villages of Sandakuda, Padmapur, Kharinashi, Batighar, Kansarbadadandua, Ramanagar and Petachela wore a deserted look as residents moved to cyclone shelters fearing the onslaught of Amphan. Villagers also took their cattle, buffaloes and other domestic animals with them.
Padan Maiti, a resident of the seaside village of Bagagahana, said he and his family are taking no chances and have already shifted to the nearby cyclone shelter. Padan, a survivor of the 1999 Super Cyclone, said, “My life changed completely 21 years back.
When the cyclone struck, I was inside the only two-storey Pucca house in the village. While I survived, my father Kalipada Maiti lost his life.” Like Padan, survivors of the Super Cyclone and other storms have moved to safety along with their families before Amphan could unleash its fury along the coasts.
Making the matters worse, vast tracts of dense mangrove forest, which once covered the seaside villages, have been cleared by prawn mafia.
Hemant Rout, a retired school headmaster of Koilipur village, said, “Mangrove forests are the natural barrier against cyclonic storms. With denudation of the mangrove forests, our fate hangs in balance now.”
Kendrapara Collector Samarth Verma said regular coordination meetings are being held while humanitarian agencies have started preparedness activities, including pre-positioning emergency supplies, in areas most likely to be affected by the approaching cyclone.
“We are concerned about the seaside villages, particularly those in low-lying areas. Residents of these areas have been evacuated,” he said. Verma further said the administration has directed owners of mills and warehouses to keep rice bags in safer places. All vulnerable pockets have been brought under safety cordon with multi-purpose cyclone shelters being readied to accommodate people in case of any exigency, he added.