BHUBANESWAR: Contrary to forecasts, Montha’s low impact came as a huge relief to Odisha as the cyclonic storm changed its trajectory, leaving behind landslides and fallen houses in southern districts of the state. No loss of life has yet been reported.
About 358 villages in 33 blocks and 11 towns of eight districts were affected by the storm, a preliminary assessment by the state government said.
After a post-cyclone review at Lok Seva Bhavan here, Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari said Montha did not have a severe impact except for landslide and collapse of house walls at several places. District collectors have been asked to start damage assessment from Thursday (October 30).
The minister said Montha triggered heavy rainfall in southern districts. Gosani block in Gajapati recorded the highest rainfall of 150.5 mm in last 24 hours. Two more blocks, Raigarh and Mohana, recorded 119.8 mm and 106 mm rainfall respectively. Patrapur block of Ganjam district received 117.4 mm and Udala of Mayurbhanj recorded 105 mm rainfall.
Over 18k people shifted to cyclone shelters: Min
At least 56 blocks and urban areas recorded rainfall ranging from 50 mm to 100 mm.
Pujari said field officials have been asked to make evaluation of crop loss and submit reports within 72 hours. After the assessment, affected persons will get their compensation directly in their bank accounts as details will be collected during field visits to enable immediate online transfer. He, however, urged people to remain alert till October 31 as weather conditions are still being monitored.
The minister said a total of 171 teams, including 33 ODRAF, five NDRF teams and 133 fire services teams were deployed to deal with relief and restoration. Besides, 2,164 cyclone shelters were operationalised and 18,732 people shifted.
As many as 2,198 pregnant women were safely shifted to health centres and maternity homes. Some of them delivered babies during the period. Special relief commissioner Deoranjan Kumar Singh said the government was fully-prepared for the cyclone and regularly monitoring prevented loss of lives.
