BARIPADA: Cyclone Amphan claimed one life in Mayurbhanj district and left behind a trail of destruction in Balasore and Bhadrak districts, damaging hundreds of kutcha houses, destroying crops, felling trees and bending electric poles, before it headed towards West Bengal.
The deceased has been identified as 55-year-old Sumitra Singh of Achyutapur village in Mayurbhanj district. She had taken shelter in the primary school of the village. On Wednesday as the storm raged she tried to go to another room on the school premises. However, she lost her feet due to strong wind and hit her head on guard wall of a drain.
Naib Sarpanch Sumitra Sahoo, who was present at the spot, and other evacuees rushed the woman to Fakir Mohan Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared her brought dead.In Balasore, three members of a family were injured when a tree fell on their house at Soro. A portion of an under-construction bridge over river Budhabalanga near Phuladi panchayat of Balasore district also caved in due to strong water current on Thursday. However, no one was injured.
According to Balasore administration, over 49,000 people of 2898 villages and people in 44 Wards of four ULBs either faced house damage or crop loss due to the cyclone.District emergency officer Rizwana Kawkab said 35 kutcha houses were completely damaged and 705 houses and 294 cattle sheds partially damaged. “We are assessing damage to houses, power and water supply and crops,” she added.
Meanwhile, the NESCO has pegged the damage to electric poles, grids and cables at Rs 45.86 crore. Several villages continue to remain under darkness as power supply has not been completely restored.
In neighbouring Bhadrak, Amphan caused largescale damage in seven blocks. The district received 384.6 mm rainfall during the cyclone on Wednesday and Basudevpur, Bahanaga blocks were severely hit. Emergency officer Jayshree Senpati informed that the district reported death of an infant due to house collapse and 7.5 lakh people of 1373 villages have been affected by the cyclone.
In Mayurbhanj, though, the cyclone did not cause much damage. At least 1500 kutcha houses were partially damaged and 70 electric poles uprooted. Similarly, 250 hectares of vegetable and pulses crops besides, 300 ha of paddy crops have been damaged in 26 blocks of the district.