Sunday, December 17, 2017

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Cyclone Ockhi highlights: Death toll rises to 12 as heavy rains lash Kerala, Tamil Nadu


Issuing an “orange” alert, the India Meteorological Department announced the arrival of the first tropical storm of the season, cyclone Ockhi over the districts in South Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep. The name Ockhi is coined by Bangladesh, which in Bengali means ‘eye’. According to Hurricane Research Division, tropical cyclones are named to provide ease of communication between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts, watches, and warnings. Cyclones forming in the North Indian Ocean basin are named by the Indian Meteorological Department. The next cyclone will be named by India and it will be called ‘Sagar’. How did cyclone Ockha form? The deep depression in the south of Kanyakumari and west of Sri Lanka, intensified and resulted into a cyclonic storm. According to Skymet, the cyclone moving at a speed of 38 kmph, was located at Latitude 7.5°N and Longitude 77.5°E, around 55 km south of Kanyakumari, 120 km southwest of Thiruvananthapuram, 480 km east-­southeast of Minicoy and 340 km west-­northwest of Galle in Sri Lanka and is moving towards Lakshadweep island. How will this impact Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep?
IMD has issued a heavy rainfall warning over south Kerala and Tamil Nadu for the next 24 hours. High speed winds gusting to 85 kmph are also expected over the next two days in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Lakshadweep, meanwhile, has been kept on a high alert with wind speeds reaching upto 100 kmph, starting from tonight. Heavy rains have already lashed parts of Kerala and people have been advised to stay indoors. Many educational institutions in the state were shut down owing to bad weather conditions. The IMD report has also added that power and communication lines may break down in south Kerala and Lakshadweep. South Kerala’s Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Thiruvananthapuram districts as well as adjoining districts of south Tamil Nadu such as Kanyakumari, Tutukudi and Tirunelveli are put on high alert. Fishermen have been advised not to go out into the sea along south Tamil Nadu coast for the next 24 hours and along the south Kerala coast for the next 48 hours
Cyclone Ockhi has claimed at least 12 lives so far even as it intensified into a ‘severe’ cyclone on Friday, causing heavy rains in the coastal areas of Kerala and south Tamil Nadu. Over 200 fishermen from Kerala, who were left stranded in the sea because of inclement weather conditions, were brought safely to the shore by yesterday night. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has already warned that “high waves” towering 3-4.9m would be seen 10 km off Kerala’s coast from 6.30 pm to 11.30 pm.With the Kerala government issuing an alert for all coastal districts, IMD director general K J Ramesh told The Indian Express that the worst impact of the cyclone is likely to be over by today evening. According to a joint bulletin issued by IMD and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) released yesterday, the severe cyclonic storm, centred over Lakshadweep, is likely to further intensify in the next 12 hours. At least 10 locations on the islands would witness high waves ranging from 4.8-7.4m in the next 24 hours, along with “heavy to very heavy rainfall”, said the bulletin. Various units of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and the Indian Navy have been engaged in the relief work and have been working strenuously to bring out the stranded people.
There is a possibility of “huge waves” occurring in nine districts of Kerala on December 2, according to Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services. Alerts have been issued in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kochi, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod.President Ram Nath Kovind took to Twitter to express his concern about the damages caused due to the cyclone. He wrote, “Thoughts with families, especially children, in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Lakshadweep, other regions affected by rains and cyclonic conditions. Confident local authorities, emergency services and civil society will rise to the occasion. And that citizens will help one another.” The death toll from the cyclone has gone up to seven in Kerala, with five bodies being fished out from the sea on Saturday. At least 47 fishermen, who were rescued, have been admitted to the Thiruvananthapuram medical college
As the bodies of fishermen Xavier Louis, 57, and Christy Selvadasan, 51, lie in coffins in the aisle of St Thomas Catholic church in Poonthura, in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district, outside, a group of women huddled under a makeshift shelter feverishly count the rosary beads wrapped around their fingers. Occasionally, one of them would let out an anguished wail — “God, give back our men from the sea” — drowning out the priest’s prayers inside. Selvi, 42, is among them. Her husband Xavier, 42, had gone fishing in a small boat on Wednesday night with a few other men from the village. He hasn’t returned yet. “She has been here since Friday. Her husband was the family’s bread- winner. He had to go fishing every day for the family to eat something,’’ says Besty, Selvi’s relative. Metres away, Selvi’s five children squeal as they chase each other on the sandy beach. The fishing village of Poonthura has been waiting for its men since Thursday, when cyclone Ockhi battered the southern coast of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, leaving hundreds of fishermen who had ventured into the sea on Wednesday stranded. While 435 fishermen have been rescued in the last three days, 99 are still reportedly missing, 30 of them from Poonthura. However, the control room set up by the state government to monitor rescue operations said 117 fishermen from the state were still missing. With two bodies being recovered so far, Poonthura is bracing for the worst, with family members of those missing turning up at the church to share each other’s grief. As many as 531 fishermen, stranded in the choppy waters off the Kerala and the Lakshadweep coasts due to Cyclone Ockhi, have been rescued, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said today. So far 393 people from Kerala have been rescued, Mr Vijayan said, as the state government announced a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh to the family of those who died in the storm. Rescue operations are still on with Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard's coordinated efforts in Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam coastal area. In Tamil Nadu, 60 fishermen are still missing and the Navy has been called in for their rescue. The Tamil Nadu government has also requested the centre to deploy helicopters of the Navy and the Coast Guard for the search and rescue efforts. Meanwhile, distressed family members of missing fishermen blocked the National Highway in Thiruvananthapuram's Poonthura alleging rescue operations have been inadequate. Most of the deaths by Cyclone Ockhi were caused by trees uprooted by destructive winds raging at 130 km per hour. In Sri Lanka too, the cyclone killed seven people. Torrential wind and rain unleashed by Cyclone Ockhi has shut down schools in Chennai. Tourists in Kochi have been told to stay away from popular beaches where huge waves are pounding the shore. The fishermen of Poonthura either go in small mechanised country boats or the big trawlers. While the country boats, with five or six men on board, usually venture into the sea every afternoon and return early next morning, the large boats spend days at sea. Most of the missing fishermen from Poonthura are those who went in the smaller boats. Also Read | Death toll rises to 12 as heavy rains lash Kerala, Tamil Nadu They had ventured into the sea on Wednesday evening and since they were slated to return early the following morning, most of them had only taken a meal each and a few litres of water. Joseph Kennedy, a boat owner, says, “It will be difficult to survive the storm for more than 48 hours in the sea. If they stay conscious, they can survive by clutching on to the vessel wreckage. But if they lose consciousness, the chances of survival are very slim,’’ he says. Kennedy, 53, owns two boats and had sent both into the sea. “Thirty two of my men went in six boats, including mine. Of them, 17 could be saved and we are still trying to locate the others,’’ he says. Rajesh K, 42, says he is lucky to be alive. “I did not go fishing on Wednesday because I had to attend a function in the church. We haven’t seen the sea this angry in a long time,’’ he says. Priest Deepak Anto says the villagers have decided to set off on search operations on Sunday morning. “If everything else fails, our men will leave in small groups, in 60 mechanised country boats. But frankly, there isn’t much hope. Only the luckiest will survive this situation,’’ he says. So far, the death toll from the cyclone has gone up to seven in Kerala, with five bodies being fished out from the sea on Saturday. At least 47 fishermen, who were rescued, have been admitted to the Thiruvananthapuram medical college. State Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma said, “The rescue operations will continue on Sunday. We have decided to conduct an intensive search from Thiruvananthauram to Kochi.’’ She said she was hopeful of more fishermen being rescued. The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to each of the families of the victims. Fishermen who had lost their vessels and fishing nets in the tragedy would also be compensated. In Lakshadweep, five fishing boats were damaged earlier today at Kalpeni island as water level rose due to heavy rains. Coconut trees have been uprooted in various places and houses damaged in eastern Kalpeni and Minicoy, official sources said, adding the extent of the damage was being assessed. 31 relief camps have been opened in the 10 inhabited islands. So far, 1,047 people have been evacuated to the relief camps. Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district, one of the worst affected, still remains largely powerless with more than a thousand people stranded in rescue centres. The district has received moderate rainfall this morning and a few low lying areas there are still inundated. 4,000 power lines in the district have been damaged by the cyclone and officials said it may take close to a week for the entire power supply to be restored. The Tamil Nadu government has released Rs. 25 crore to restore power supply in the district. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured to provide adequate help to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami during a telephone conversation between the two last night. The Tamil Nadu government has said it will soon seek central funds for the damage caused by Cyclone Ockhi. A Central Water Commission advisory yesterday said the west-flowing rivers in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Kottayam, Alapuzzha and Ernakulam were likely to rise over the next 24 hours and then slowly fall as the rains reduced. Seven people have been killed in the state. The advisory also said that the Amaravathi and Bhavani rivers and their tributaries in the Cauvery basin were also expected to receive sufficient flows, increasing the water levels in the Amaravathy, Moyar, Pilloor and Bhavanisagar dams in the Nilgiris, Coimbatore and Erode districts of Tamil Nadu. The Somasila and Kandaleru projects in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh were also likely to receive "significant inflows" due to the depression, which was likely to affect the southern parts of the state from December 5 onwards. "There is a likelihood of a rapid rise in the water levels of the Suwarnamukhi and Kalingi rivers in Chittoor and Nellore districts," the commission said. The storm has been named Ockhi by Bangladesh which means "eye" in Bengali. In 1999, more than 8,000 people were killed when a cyclone battered the eastern state of Orissa.