CECFEE India senior researcher Professor Saudamini Das was interviewed by Mongabay India about the impact of Cyclone Fani on the Indian state of Odisha and the government's preparedness and response to this 'extremely severe cyclonic storm'.
Being native to the place, Prof. Das attributes the disaster preparedness, evacuation success and pro activeness in saving lives to the efficient coordination between the various state departments led by the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority which was set up in the aftermath of the 1999 disaster in the area. She emphasizes that despite the progress, Odisha needs to step up its cyclone management system in the context of climate change induced natural disasters. She highlights that steps be taken for minimizing economic losses and psychological trauma of people. Providing cyclone shelters for the animals , enhancing cyclone resilient infrastructure at household level to manage economic loss from property damage, enhancing safety and toilet infrastructure for women and children in cyclone shelters, boosting coastal green infrastructure (by preserving mangroves and native species that act as barriers to storm surges and tangential winds) are points to be considered for upping the ante for cyclone management.
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