Environment3 min
Andhra Pradesh survives two cyclones in a week: how 14 crore alerts did the work
Cyclones Arnab and Murasu hit Andhra's coast within a week of each other, and an alert-heavy, village-level plan limited the damage, says RTGS CEO Jain.
Andhra Pradesh took two cyclone hits in quick succession and says early, loud warnings kept the toll down. Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab crossed the coast near Narsapur on October 28. Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu followed near Ongole on November 3, according to RTGS CEO Jain.
The storms still hurt. Together they affected more than 5.2 lakh people, flooded over 4.7 lakh hectares of crops and killed 14 people. By November 7, though, almost all damaged power lines, telecom towers, roads and drinking water facilities were back in service. Jain said repair work began even before Arnab made landfall.
The warning system did much of the heavy lifting. The India Meteorological Department gave its first landfall forecast for Arnab on October 22, six days ahead, and issued a Red Message on October 26. For Murasu, the Red Message arrived on November 1, about 37 hours before landfall. That triggered emergency arrangements at the State Emergency Operations Centre and RTGS. More than 14 crore mobile alerts went out through the Common Alerting Protocol and targeted cell broadcasts: over 8.2 crore for Arnab and 5.8 crore across 18 districts for Murasu.
Messages also went beyond the phone screen. Jain said SMS, television and voice messages carried warnings, crop advisories and safety instructions to vulnerable communities. During Arnab, 35.9 lakh farmers received crop advisories by SMS, and 3.9 lakh fishermen and aquaculture farmers got voice alerts.
On the ground, the numbers show a large-scale move to safety. Before Arnab, 34,716 people were relocated and 81,366 were housed in 1,109 relief camps. Murasu shelters took in another 23,584. Officials shifted 6,166 pregnant women to healthcare facilities, 3,100 before Arnab and 3,066 before Murasu. Schools were closed in 29,385 cases, 316 welfare hostels were vacated, and 70,286 animals were moved to safer ground. All 30,043 fishing boats were brought ashore before Arnab. Before Murasu, 12,967 of 12,968 boats had returned by November 2, and the Coast Guard was asked to look for the last one.
The chain of command was layered. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reviewed preparedness from the RTGS centre and spoke directly to field officials. About 32,000 officials joined a teleconference during Arnab, and nearly 45,000 field staff before Murasu. The Chief Secretary and the Revenue (Disaster Management) Department handled orders and funds, while the SEOC managed warnings and rescue coordination. District collectors and around 10,000 village and ward secretariats identified vulnerable households, issued alerts, evacuated people and livestock, and ran relief camps.
Response forces and health teams were stacked up as well. Arnab saw 16 NDRF and 11 SDRF teams across 14 districts, while Murasu saw 13 NDRF and 11 SDRF teams, plus three more NDRF teams from Tamil Nadu at Singarayakonda. Fire services rescued 31 people during Arnab and 335 during Murasu. For Arnab, 1,057 medical teams, 8,370 emergency beds and 1,335 ambulances were deployed. Power utilities readied over 8,400 restoration staff before Arnab, with crews from Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka helping during Murasu.
Read the original report at ThePrint.
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