Sphere India Unified Response Strategy
SITUATION REPORT 26th May 2009
PART 1: SITUATION REPORT:
The cyclonic storm “AILA” over Gangetic West Bengal Bengal & adjoining Bangladesh moved further in a northerly direction and lay centred at 0530 hours IST of today, the 26th May 2009 over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and adjoining Bangladesh, near Malda. The system is likely to move in a near northerly direction and weaken into a deep depression during next six hours.
Squally winds speed reaching 50-60 kmph likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim, Assam & Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh during next 24 hours. No adverse weather is likely along and off north Orissa and West Bengal coasts. Cyclone Aila spawned from a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal to hit West Bengal on Monday leaving twenty three persons dead and affected 1.10 lakh. "The cyclone, now lying stationery 50 km west of Kolkata, hit the West Bengal coast at 1:30 pm near Sagar Island. It is moving in a northerly direction and will weaken gradually, Regional Meteorological Centre Director G C Debnath told PTI tonight. "Rains, however, will continue throughout tomorrow," he said. A severe storm with a windspeed of 110 kmph accompanied by heavy rainfall preceded the cyclone ripping through Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly. Meteorologists said the cyclone made landfall in south-western Bangladesh on Monday afternoon. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated in Bangladesh and India to temporary shelters after wind speeds of 70km/h to 90km/h were reported.
The West Bengal state's disaster management minister Mortaza Hossain told the BBC that more than 100,000 people had become homeless.
"We have rescued more than 100,000 people and send them to safer places. We are now arranging dry food packets and drinking water pouches for them," he said. Rescue and relief
Sphere India Secretariat, New Delhi (May 26, 2009) |Page 1
Fierce winds, measuring 100km/h (65mph), ravaged parts of Calcutta and adjoining districts. "We were in the eye of the storm," Mr Hossain said. The army and border guards were called out to rescue people and join the civil administration in providing relief in eight districts of the state hit by the cyclone, he said.
Twelve people died in the South 24-Pargana district that straddles the Sundarbans delta south of Calcutta. Most deaths occurred when the cyclone flattened mud houses. Six people died in Calcutta when huge trees uprooted by the cyclone fell on buses, cars and auto-rickshaws.
The rest of the casualties were reported from the districts of Howrah, Hooghly , Nadia , Bankura, North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore. Calcutta Police Chief Gautam Moham Chakrabarty said teams from the municipal corporation were working to clear roads blocked by uprooted trees. Calcutta Metro and train services were suspended after water flooded tracks in many places.
Massive tidal waves ravaged scores of coastal villages and the seaside resorts of Digha, Mandarmoni and Kanthi throughout Monday. In Bangladesh, flooding and tidal surges hit coastal areas, with strong winds forcing the closure of the main ports of Chittagong and Mongla.
About 400,000 people were moved from five districts to cyclone shelters and schools before the storm hit, Bangladeshi officials said. A further 300,000 people were stranded in coastal villages, they said .
"About 400,000 people remained marooned in Sundarbans." No assistance could be reached to them because of stormy conditions and turbulent rivers," said Kanti Ganguly, state minister for the Sundarbans ."Our village is submerged, we are living in camps and have no clue what further calamity awaits us," Anil Krishna Mistry, a villager, told Reuters by telephone from Bali in Sundarbans. Heavy rains caused flooding in the streets of state capital Kolkata as strong winds uprooted trees and communication lines. Television pictures showed rescue workers struggling to free a man trapped in his car. Tourists were asked to stay in their hotels in West Bengal's southern coastal resort of Digha, four hours drive from Kolkata.
Sphere India Secretariat, New Delhi (May 26, 2009) |Page 2
The status of East Medinipur, Panchayat Sabhadhipati: (Save the Children SITREP, May 25, 2009)
Many mud houses in development blocks Khejuri 1 and Bhagabanpur 1 in East Medinipur are reported to have been destroyed.
Both Egra and Contai Sub-Divisions of East Medinipur district are affected.
· In Egra 1 block, the Egra Municipality area is badly hit, with 4600 mainly Muslim families affected. In the same area 56 houses are completely damaged and 703 houses are partly damaged. In total 17 villages are affected in this block and 4000 hectares of vegetables crop are feared damaged.
· In Patashpur 1 block, 140 villages are reportedly affected. Details not yet available.
· 33 rescue centres have been opened by the district administration in 2 sub- divisions (3 in Egra and 30 in Contai). They are being used by people whose homes have been destroyed by the winds (rather than by flooding).
o In Contai 2 blocks, 2540 families are in a rescue shelter. o In Nij Kasba Gaon panchayat 900 families are in rescue shelters.
Wind & Rainfall Situation:
Rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy falls at a few places and isolated extremely heavy falls (= 25 cm) is likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim and Assam & Meghalaya during next 24 hours.
Rain/thundershower is also likely at many places with isolated heavy falls over Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura during next 24 hours.
Sphere India Secretariat, New Delhi (May 26, 2009) |Page 3
Path of Cyclone Aila:
Sphere India Secretariat, New Delhi (May 26, 2009) |Page 4
Sphere India Secretariat, New Delhi (May 26, 2009) |Page 5
Sphere India Secretariat, New Delhi (May 26, 2009) |Page 6
Human Deaths:
The highest number of fourteen deaths, according to official sources, was reported from South 24 Parganas district, followed by five in the metropolis, three in Howrah and one in Bankura district. Media reports (NDTV) state that 26 are feared dead and over 1 lakh are affected.
Situation in 24 Paraganas, West Bengal:
A report on Cyclone & Overflow of sea water affected areas of South 24 Paraganas Report Prepared by : Halderchak Chetana Welfare Society Address : Madhabnagar, Kakdwip, South 24 PGS. Ph : 9734688757, 9732955645
Name of GP Name Village Name Affected Affected Affected Affected Block Embank Bittle House People vine Hold Kakdwip Ramgopalpur Ut. Kashiabad 50 ft 25 110 684 Dk Kashiabad 50ft 30 120 790 Kashiabad 60ft 40 120 810 Rabindra Kumar Ara 25ft 10 10 400 Munda para 50ft 10 20 280 Girirchak 40ft 10 50 470 Bijoy nagar 750ft 20 20 230 Alipur 325ft 20 50 460 Hesmabad 50ft 25 60 480 Mrinalnagar 50ft 20 110 Girish ch.pur 90ft 30 50 340 Budhakhali Rajnagar 3000ft 70 150 700 Fatikpur 2400ft 45 112 430 Bishalaxmipur 600ft 60 85 681 Madhusudanpur Laxmipur 300ft 65 90 540
Ramtanunagar 600ft 32 120 600 Rishibankim Gongadharpur 500ft 145 225 722 Sagar Dhoblat Basantpur 1500ft 25 300 690 Rashpur 500ft 12 70 480 Proshadpur 200ft 20 90 694 DS - 2 Koylapara 30ft 40 13 230 Ghoramara Hatkhola 150ft 10 15 110 Bagpara 200ft 20 15 200
Sphere India Secretariat, New Delhi (May 26, 2009) |Page 7
Roypara 50ft 12 95 Chunpiri 100ft 50 10 82 Mondirtala 200ft 25 6 50 Morigonga - 1 1800ft 150 100 560 Rudranagar 120ft 400 50 346 Gongasagar Gongasagar 600ft 140 150 630 Pathar G Plot Gobordhanpur 300ft 1 235 1826 Buraburirtat 200ft 12 300 1590 Dk.Sitarampur 900ft 282 794 Ut.Sitarampur 150ft 85 400 2000 Indrapur 600ft 30 340 1650 Dk.Surendragonj 300ft 10 205 104 0
Ut.Surendragonj 150ft 115 652
Satyadaspur 300ft 25 257 1145 Krishnadaspur 150ft 22 125 620 Namkhana Shibrampur Patibuniya 1200ft 126 426 Mousuni Kusumtala 3500ft 9 205 1050 Baliara 4500ft 105 135 725 Mousuni 425ft 40 45 298 Bagdanga 500ft 30 15 126 Total 27565ft 1898 5028 Continued below Note: All Ponds are fully damaged ¦ 1500 population shelter Ut. Kashiyabad FP School and Srikrishna High school
Kultali Moipith Kishorimohonpur 300+ Baikanthapur Binodpur 800 Nagenabad 1200 Ambikanagar 500 Baikanthapur 700 Bhuvaneswari 1000 char Gosaba Bali I
Bali II
Sphere India Secretariat, New Delhi (May 26, 2009) |Page 8
Lahiripur Sardarpara 416 Annpur 1800 Rajatjubili I 1500 Rajatjubili II 1500 Jamespur 1700 Sadhupur 1900 Johor colony 1800 Santi gachi I 1500 Santi gachi II 1500 Chargheri 1400 Bidhancolony I 1500 Paresmoni I 1400 Paresmoni II 1600 Lushbagan 1800 Lahiripur 1600 Dulki Dulki 450 Sonaga 550 Rangabelia- 478 Pakhirala Uttardanga 650 Satjelia- 482 Sukumari Swadeshpur 638 Sambhunagar Bhupendrapur 575
Palpur 488 Total 58563
Situation in Orissa:
With the restive seawater getting the better of enfeebled saline embankments, tidal waves have made their way into the coastal pockets of the Kendrapara district since Sunday evening causing extensive damage to agricultural land in a couple of blocks.
The tidal waves transgressed the weak saline embankments at three strategic points inundating the crop areas of Baradanga and Suniti gram panchayat. The tidal ingress mainly occurred through the strategic Akhadasali sluice gate that remained in bad shape following non-maintenance since last five years, alleged local panchayat members.
Reports reaching here stated that over 1,500 hectares of agriculture fields were salinised with tidal waves spilling over in Atharbanki, Gabajidiha, Jagatjori saline embankment buffer erected about 80 feet from the sea coast. Similar ingress of seawater were reported in parts of Chakada, Gogua ,Tantiapala,
Sphere India Secretariat, New Delhi (May 26, 2009) |Page 9
Kharansi,Ramnagar villages as the tidal waves got the better of weak points of the saline embankment.
There are no reports of loss of property while the crop areas are still lying waterlogged.
The saline embankments the maintenance of which was left much to be desired breached at least four strategic points inundating the seaside crop areas. The 32 km stretch saline embankment built during the seventies to protect the coastal villages in Mahakalpada is reportedly in a bad shape. An estimated Rs 2 crore sanctioned for refurbishment of the embankment since 1999 Super Cyclone has mostly been misused. As a result, the coastal villages are still exposed to the vagaries of nature.
Similarly, in Rajnagar block, tidal water ingressed completely at Kanpur village, located in a handshaking distance from the sea. The district administration evacuated 17 families of Kanpur at Satabhaya Panchayat office. The district administration has provided relief materials to the affected villagers of Kanpur.
Similarly, saline water also entered into the Satabhaya village through the weak saline embankment from Baunsagadi to Panchbarahi temple as more than five places the saline water making inroads through the weak embankment. Satabhaya people are now in marooned following water logging of the village. The district administration has provided relief material for three days, informed district Collector Sisisrkanta Panda.
According to the sarpanch of Satabhaya, Sasmita Rout, due to the cyclone-Aila - couple of thatched houses wall reportedly caved in on Monday morning. But causalities or injuries have not been reported. Panic prevailed on Monday at Pentha village following the sea water entered through the weak saline embankment to the nearby fields of Petha where the district administration has filled the embankment by packing sand bags to stop the ingress of tidal water.
Life was thrown out of gear in several parts of coastal district due to heavy rains accompanied by high-velocity wind since last 30 hours under the impact of a deep depression. High velocity gale with speed as high as 80-90 kmph uprooted a large number of trees in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Cuttack districts, blocking several roads and disrupting vehicular movement, said Panda, adding that no loss of life was reported so far.
On Monday, Panda visited the affected villages of Rajnagar block to access the damage. In the afternoon, Energy Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak held a review meeting at the Collectorate.
Sphere India Secretariat, New Delhi (May 26, 2009) |Page 10
PART 2: RESPONSE OF DIFFERENT AGENCIES:
IAG Orissa:
“The partners are carrying out assessment, to gauge the situation. There is no casualty and not huge damage reported yet. Fisher folk huts are collapsed and the number is not yet known. Government machinery is alerted and evacuation has taken place and number is not yet confirmed. IAG is waiting for the assessment report. Two district joint secretaries are in the field. Local agencies and district administration may start emergency kitchens, from today afternoon,” said Mr. Shyamal Das, IAG Coordinator, Orissa.
IAG West Bengal:
“IAG West Bengal Meeting is called for today, May 26, 2009 at 4.30 p.m., at the State IAG Office. IAG WB is planning to undertake a joint assessment. The agenda for the meeting is to discuss about the roles and responsibilities of the IAG members for a consorted response. The venue of the meeting is: Association of Bengal Collaborators for Development (ABCD), 52D, Radhanath Chowdhury Road, Kolkata-700 015, West Bengal, India; +91 33 - 2328-1001 at 16:30 this evening.
Efforts of Humanitarian Agencies:
Organization : Sabuj Sangha Organization Contact Person : Mr. Anshuman: Address : 30/9, Rajthanga Main Road, Kolkata 107. 24414357 [email protected], www.sabujsangha.org
According to initial evaluation of the organization, some of the islands are water logged. People are in the shelter places such as schools and part time shelter. The organization is distributing dry food (Chida- Local Name and Sugar) in the night to 250 families in Mathurapur II, as it is difficult to give cooked food at that time. Day time, cooked food is being supplied in 20 villages in 4 Gram Panchayats (Pathartrapima Block: Lakshmijardanpur, Haranbagopalpur, Achintyanagar, Mathurapur II: Nanadakumarpur)
So far 20 quintals of rice has been distributed to 8000 people. Along with this 500 tarpaulins were distributed in the 20 villages. A medical team has been to cater to health issues.
However the situation of Island gram panchayats (Bashayam Nagar, G Plot, Brajaballavpur, Gopalnagar) is revealed as hugely damaged. The population of the four island gram panchayats is approximately 5000 households and around 25000- 30000 population. 90% of houses are said to be totally damaged and the water logging is there and it may continue. The gram panchayats are on the banks of Bay of Bengal and they are hugely affected and the embankments are broken. The government is distributing the dry food, sugar and polythene sheet and 1 litre
Sphere India Secretariat, New Delhi (May 26, 2009) |Page 11 water pouch to the affected. However, there is no information as to whether NGOs are working there.
Save the Children Bal Raksha Bharat, West Bengal:
More than 8 blocks including Sandeshkhakli I & II (primary location for Child Domestic Workers & Trafficking project) are severely affected by flooding and wind damage and 1000s of children are homeless. Around 500 people were taking shelter in Save the Children’s field office in Sunderbans before the ground floor was flooded. People were not really prepared as the storm is very unusual at this point in the year and has caused much higher damage than was expected.
There is an urgent need for food (dry and cooked), drinking water, tarpaulin sheets, and medicines.
SOURCES:
BBC:
‘Cyclone Aila’s strength eases out’, Accessed May 26, 2009. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8067618.stm
Daily Pioneer:
‘Tidal Waves ingress Kendrapada Villages’, Accessed on May 26, 2009. Available at: http://www.dailypioneer.com/178678/Tidal-waves-ingress-Kendrapara -villages.html
IAG West Bengal Fr. SARTO Convener IAG WB. Email: [email protected], Mobile: 09434675329
IAG Orissa Mr. Shyamal K. Das, Coordinator, IAG Orissa. Email: [email protected], Mobile: 9437202563
IMD: Bulletin 0830 hours IST: Cyclonic Storm over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Adjoining Bangladesh http://www.imd.gov.in/section/nhac/dynamic/cwind.htm
IMD Kolkata: http://www.imdkolkata.gov.in/regsum/regsum.php
The Indian Express
‘Cyclone Aila weakens, 23 killed’, Accessed on May 26, 2009. Available at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cyclone-aila -weakens-23-killed/465742/
SITREP – Save the Children BRB
Sphere India Secretariat, New Delhi (May 26, 2009) |Page 12
SITREP PREPARED BY:
S.No. Name Designation Mobile No. Email 1 Mr. Vikas Gora Focal Point, (0)9958699913 [email protected] Unified Response Strategy
Sphere India Secretariat, New Delhi (May 26, 2009) |Page 13