BHUBANESWAR: Nearly a crore of people have been affected as the super cyclone Phailin destroyed whatever came in its path along the Odisha-Andhra coastline in south-east India. About three lakh houses have been razed to the ground and crops worth tens of thousands of crores destroyed in five lakh hectares of land, mostly in Odisha, as the storm ripped into the coastal region around Gopalpur port town in Odisha at 9.30 pm Saturday at a terrifying speed of 220 kmph as successfully forecast by the Indian Meteorological Department aided by satellite tracking days in advance, enabling evacuation of nearly nine lakh people from the danger zone in the biggest ever such operation in the country and thereby averting massive human casualties. When a similar powerful cyclone lashed the same region in 1999, 10,000 people had lost their life due to storm surges, building collapses, falling trees and flying debis. This time the toll was put at 20 by the afternoon on Sunday as the cyclone began petering out and escaped into the interiors of Jharkhand and Bihar bringing heavy rainfall and floods there. The devastation was the worst in Ganjam district of Odisha as torrential rain and flood followed the 10-foot high storm surges and winds. Damage to Gopalpur and Paradip port buildings and vessels has been extensive. In Andhra, the storm mainly devastated the crops, with only one casualty being reported. Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsingpur districts in Odisha and Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh reeled under the sway of the cyclonic storm. There was large-scale disruption in power and communication networks and transport and supplies of essential commodities across the region. With relief and reconstruction work starting immediately on Sunday evening, trains began running on Puri-Howrah route and all the 180 suspended trains were expected to start normal operations in the morning on Monday. The displaced people too have quickly begun their trek back to their native places apprehending outbreak of epidemics in relief camps. Emergency Contact Numbers: Orissa: Balasore: +91-6782-262674; Bhadrak: +91-6784-251881; Cuttack: +91-671-2507842; Dhenkanal: +91-6762-221376; Gajapati: +91-6815-222943; Ganjam: +91-6811-263978; Jagatsinghpur: +91-6724-220368; Jajpur: +91-6728-222648; Kendrapara: +91-6727-232803; Keonjhar: +91-6766-255437; Khurda: +91-6755-220002; Mayurbhanj: +91-6792-252759; Nayagarh: +91-6753-252978; Puri: +91-6752-223237; Andra Pradesh: Hyderabad: +91-4023-456005 / +91-4023-451043
