Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Monday launched the Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS) and mass message system to warn the public about impending natural calamities.
The EWDS has 122 alert towers on the coast to warn about tsunamis and cyclones.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion of Disaster Preparedness Day- 2018 and the National Day for Disaster Reduction, he offered his condolences to families who had lost their loved ones to the Titli cyclone.
The CM expressed his sincere gratitude to all those who worked tirelessly, day and night, beyond the call of duty, to make sure that everyone living in the vulnerable areas of our coastline from Ganjam to Balasore were evacuated safely.
Around three lakh people were evacuated in less than 24 hours, and I know the enormous efforts put in by volunteers, PRIs, CSOs and the administration, the CM said.
The CM said that even though the cyclonic storm was the third most aggressive in the last two decades the state could ensure almost near-zero-casualty along the entire coastline.
He said the credit for this goes to each and every person who pitched in and to the Odisha Disaster Preparedness System, the 879 shelters, 20 ODRAF units, 339 fire and disaster response units, the Early Warning Dissemination System, our partnerships with RIMES Thailand and Earth Networks USA, Doppler radars, our schemes to build strong houses and our mock rescue drills carried out with community participation.
“We have come a long way from 1999. However, we have some more ground to cover in forecasting precision and vulnerability mapping, especially of interior areas where we have lost lives and property,” the CM added.
For the first time in the history of Odisha we had massive landslides leading to loss of lives and property. We will do a vulnerability mapping on landslides in Gajapati district, and will take steps to shift hill villages, Naveen said.
“I compliment the NDRF, ODRAF, fire services, OFDC and voluntary organisations, who in record time cleared thousands of trees. I also appreciate the IMD for helping us. The quick restoration of water, electricity and essential services everywhere, except in the most remote pockets, was remarkable. Nearly Rs 1,300 crore has been provided for relief,” the CM said.
No other state faces so many natural disasters as Odisha. Almost every year we have natural calamities. In spite of that Odisha is marching ahead with a higher growth rate than the country’s, the CM pointed out.
The Chief Minister also announced a programme for preparing Village Disaster Management Plans (VDMPs) in 7,000 villages to build resilient community facilities.
The event held at the Rabindra Mandap was also attended by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Maheswar Mohanty, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi, Development Commissioner R. Balakrishnan, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Bishnupada Sethi and others.
The theme of the Disaster Preparedness Day – 2018 was ‘Social Media and Disaster Response.’
Balakrishnan said that social media can be used as a tool to help disaster-hit people.
He said the recent Kerala floods had shown how social media can be used to rush help.
