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Cyclones are huge revolving storms caused by winds blowing around a central area

of lowatmospheric pressure. In the northern hemisphere, cyclones are called

hurricanes or typhoons and their winds blow in an anti-clockwise circle. In the

southern hemisphere, these tropical storms are known as cyclones, whose winds

blow in a clockwise circle.

In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same

direction as the Earth.[1][2]This is usually characterized by inwardspiraling winds that

rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere andclockwise in the Southern

Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale cyclonic circulations are centered on areas

oflow atmospheric pressure.[3][4]The largest low-pressure systems are cold-core polar

cyclones and extratropical cyclones which lie on the synoptic scale. According to NHC

glossary, warm-core cyclones such as tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones also lies

within synoptic scale. Mesocyclones, tornadoes and dust devils lie within the

smallermesoscale. Upper level cyclones can exist without the presence of a surface low,

and can pinch off from the base of the Tropical Upper Tropospheric Trough during the

summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. Cyclones have also been seen onextraterrestrial planets, such as Mars andNeptune.Cyclogenesis describes the process of

cyclone formation and intensification.[9]

Extratropical cyclones form as waves in large

regions of enhanced mid-latitude temperature contrasts called baroclinic zones. These

zones contract to form weather fronts as the cyclonic circulation closes and intensifies.

Later in their life cycle, cyclones occlude as cold core systems. A cyclone's track is guided

over the course of its 2 to 6 day life cycle by the steering flow of the cancer or

subtropical jet stream.

Weather fronts separate two masses of airof different densities and are associated with

the most prominent meteorological phenomena. Air masses separated by a front may

differ in temperature orhumidity. Strong cold fronts typically feature narrow bandsofthunderstorms and severe weather, and may on occasion be preceded by squall

lines ordry lines. They form west of the circulation center and generally move from west to

east. Warm fronts form east of the cyclone center and are usually preceded

by stratiformprecipitation and fog. They move poleward ahead of the cyclone path.

Occluded fronts form late in the cyclone life cycle near the center of the cyclone and often

wrap around the storm center.

Tropical cyclogenesis describes the process of development of tropical cyclones. Tropical

cyclones form due to latent heat driven by significant thunderstorm activity, and are warm

core.[10]Cyclones can transition between extratropical, subtropical, and tropical phases

under the right conditions. Mesocyclones form as warm core cyclones over land, and canlead to tornado formation.[11] Waterspoutscan also form from mesocyclones, but more

often develop from environments of high instability and low vertical wind shear.

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Role of PPS

Indian Red Cross Society(IRCS) immediately responded with emergency relief,[4]

as

didBAPS Care International(BAPSCI).[7]

The Orissa state branch extended the

emergency relief phase to a three-month relief operation and a six-month rehabilitationprogram with the help of the Federation. The overall humanitarian response spanned well

into the late 2000. TheOrissa State Branch(OSB) immediately shipped emergency buffer

stocks from the Indian Red Cross headquarters in New Delhi.[4]BAPSCI dispatched about

2,340 volunteers to 84 villages greatly affected by the storm. BAPSCI also cremated 700

bodies and buried 3,500 cattle carcasses because many people were superstitious about

touching the dead bodies of those they did not know. Three villages were "adopted" by

BAPSCI in January 2000 to rebuild,Chakulia,Banipat, andPotak, all in Jagatsinghpur. A

total of 200 concrete homes were constructed, as well as two concrete schools and two

village tube-wells. The project was finally completed in May 2002, two and a half years

after the cyclone hit.

[7]

As of October 30, 1999, 50,000 people were evacuated from low-lying flooded areas on the coast of theGanjamandJagatsinghpurdistricts. More people on

the coast of Paradeep were evacuated by the Orissa Government.

The Federation withdrew 200,000CHFfrom its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund to send

to India, but the Indian Government refused the money, saying the cyclone was not

anational disaster.[4]

Many people died ofstarvationand diseases after the storm, since rescue workers could

not reach everyone in time

ImpactThe cyclone dumped heavy torrential rain over southeast India, causing record breaking

flooding in the low-lying areas.[1]

Thestorm surgewas 26 feet (8 meters).[5]

struck the

coast of Orissa, traveling up to 20 km inland.[4]

17,110 km (6,600 mi) of crops were

destroyed,[6]

and an additional 90 million trees were either uprooted or had snapped.[7]

Approximately 275,000 homes were destroyed,[6]

leaving 1.67 million people

homeless.[7]Another 19.5 million people were affected by the supercyclone to some

degree.[7]

A total of 9,803 people officially died from the storm, with 40 others still

missing,[1]

though it is believed that 15,000 people died.[8]

8,119 of those fatalities were

from theJagatsinghpurdistrict. Another 3,312 people were injured. 2,043 out of 5,700, or

36% of the residents ofPadmapurperished.[5]The number ofdomestic animalsfatalities

was around 2.5 million,[7]though the number of livestock that perished in the cyclone

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amounted to only 406,000.[1]

The high number of domestic animal deaths may have

possibly had to do with around 5 million farmers losing their livelihood. The damage across

fourteen districts in India[7]

resulted from the storm was approximately $4.5 billion

(1999 USD, $5.1 billion 2005 USD).[3]

Ten people inMyanmarwere reported to have been killed by the tropical cyclone, whileanother 20,000 families were left homeless.

[9]

When Cyclone 05B reached its peak intensity of 912 mb, it became the most intense

Tropical Cyclone of the North Indian Basin.

Mitigation

A tropical disturbance developed in theSouth China Seain mid-to-late October. It tracked

westward and organized itself enough to have theJoint Typhoon Warning Center(JTWC)issue aTropical Cyclone Formation Alert(TCFA) on October 23. But the system failed to

organize itself any further in the Pacific, and the TCFA was cancelled. When the system

reached theAndaman Seaon October 25, another TCFA was issued. Shortly after, the

convective area consolidated, and it became Tropical Depression 5B on October 25 over

theMalay Peninsula. The depression tracked northwestward under the influence of

theSubtropical ridgeto its north. Warm water temperatures and favorable upper level

winds allowed further strengthening, and it became Tropical Storm 5B on October 26,

210 miles (345 km) south-southwest ofYangon,Myanmar.[1]

The storm passed to the south ofMyanmarand continued to strengthen, and intensified to

a cyclone on the 27th in the openBay of Bengal. On October 28, the cyclone rapidlyintensified to a peak of 160 mph (260 km/h) winds, the equivalent of aCategory 5

hurricane.[1]

The system was the first storm to be given the new meteorological label

"super cyclonic storm" by the IMD.[2]

Just prior to itsIndianlandfall, the cyclone weakened slightly to a 155 mph (250 km/h)

cyclone with an estimated minimum central pressure of

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The arrival

On October 17th '99, the first cyclone struck Ganjam district with a

wind speed of 180 kms per hour. This first cyclone, which lasted 6hours, devastated large parts of Ganjam and Gajapati districts and

affected a few mandals in Andhra Pradesh.

The super-cyclone struck on October 29th with wind-speeds of 300kms per hour and tidal waves rising 12 metres (30 to 40 feet) high. The

area around Paradeep Port, bore the full brunt of the storm. Twelve

districts were affected, the worst being Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada.Unlike most cyclones, which pass within 8 hours, this cyclone continued

for 34 hours wrecking havoc in 40% of Orissa. By November 30th the

entire region, including the state capital, Bhubaneshwar, was cut offfrom the rest of the world.

The destruction can be imagined from the fact that even the statecapital, which was 150 kms away from the centre of the storm was not

able to restore power to all parts of the city even 11 days after thecalamity. Twenty-four lakh hectares were inundated with water.

both from the storm and tidal waves. And it was only a fortnight later,when the water began to recede, did the full impact of the holocaust

begin to emerge. displaying lakhs of animal carcasses and

thousands of bloated human bodies. Death, disease and destruction wereall around. Wild dogs attacked the carcasses; politicians and

bureaucrats, the relief money and goods.

While the Paradeep port authority, with access to the high-tech

warning systems, took all precautions well in advance, the masses were

left stranded to face the full fury of the cyclone.

The super-cyclone had given enough indication of its savage fury

long before it struck. For four days the cyclone circulation lay in theBay of Bengal acquiring monstrous proportions. The IndianMeteorological Department (I.M.D.), which has a separate division for

cyclone warning, had sent out a warning to Orissa and West Bengal on

the super-cyclone, 4 days in advance. The Doordarshan, though itbroadcast warnings, it was in such technical language, that it could not

be understood by the common people. Besides, the reports wereconflicting. In fact on the very morning of October 29th, TV reports,

quoting I.M.D. officials in Bhubaneshwar said the latest reports say

that the cyclone, centred just 180 kms from south-east of Paradeep, has

changed its path slightly and is heading for the West Bengal coast". Yet,within hours of this broadcast the cyclone struck Paradeep.

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Condition of people during the cyclone

Millions of people remained homeless and over 20 thousand dead in the century's worst cyclone thatripped through coastal Orissa. Super-cyclone with winds 260-300 km/hour (hurricane category 5) hit the90 mile coast of Orissa with a storm surge that created the Bay-of-Bengal water level 30 feet higher thannormal. The water rushed violently to submerge the coastal areas including the port city of Paradip and

areas within 30 km from the shore. The escaping water was 15 feet deep.

Throughout the day of October 29th and in the complete darkness of the fateful night, the water (the seawater, the rain water and the flood water) rushing with its violent speed and monstrous wind with itsdevastating force played their most brutal mischief with thousands of helpless people.

There was no kindness, no mercy, no food or drink, nobody to hear your cries and hunger. For many itwas the ghost-town experience with the darkened sky roaring above pouring high speed rain water, theviolent winds all around and inches and inches of muddy water below. Some closed their eyes foreverand some who couldn't close their eyes, now can't see their future.

At least 15 lakh (1.5 million) marooned and 25 lakh (2.5 million) houses have been estimated to beeither totally destroyed or damaged in the coastal districts of Orissa. Gamang said ten districts sufferedextensive damage with Kendrapara and Jagatsingpur bearing the brunt of the cyclone. A huge sheet ofwater covered almost entire Kendrapara and Jagatsingpur which were hit by ten-metre high tidal waves

whipped by the gale packed with windspeed of 300 km per hour.As relief efforts get underway in India's cyclone-ravaged Orissa state, a grisly picture is emerging of thestorm's death and destruction. While the official death toll has been put at 600, relief and governmentofficials have estimated a much higher casualty figure. A senior army official, speaking on the condition

of anonymity, told the Associated Press that the death toll could be between 10,000 and 20,000 -- afigure that would mark it as the deadliest cyclone ever to hit the storm-prone country since a 1971cyclone killed 10,000. Relief officials have said the death toll could reach 5,000.

Politicians and journalists touring the devastated state have reported seeing hundreds of bodies burnedtogether in mass cremations throughout the damaged area. One local politician told reporters that hesaw hundreds of carcasses floating in the street, and another official in Paradip told the BBC that some

500 people had died there alone. Thousands have lost their homes, livestock and rice fields to therelentless floods. And as officials struggle to bring food and fresh water to the survivors, it is feared thatthe death toll will continue to escalate.

Millions have been stranded or left homeless in Orissa state. Photo courtesy of the BBC Vast areas of thedisaster zone remain inaccessible after one of the most powerful super cyclones ever to strike Indiaroared ashore from the Bay of Bengal Friday, slamming the coast with 160 mph winds and 30-foot tidalwaves and washing away the mud homes of millions.After the severe weather abated Monday afternoon, relief helicopters finally lifted off to bring help to the

millions left homeless and stranded by the floods. Helicopters dropped packets of protein-rich food andfresh water but were only able to reach thousands of the estimated 2 million people stranded along the90-mile stretch of the northeastern coast.

Communication difficulties, continued flooding and looting continue to hamper relief efforts, and officialsfear that some people may die before help can arrive. Many already have gone four days without freshwater or food. Some desperate and hungry storm victims are trying to leave town as the main roadinland is cleared of fallen trees by the military. Others stand along the highways waiting for packets of

rice and water to be dropped from air force helicopters.

Without food or water, officials fear that stranded cyclone victims will die of disease and hunger, addingto an already ghastly death toll. Some already are drinking contaminated water in the flooded streets.Red Cross officials said they are trying hard to get to cyclone shelters where thousands have beenwithout food, fresh water or medicine.

"It will be at least a week before relief will reach all parts of the state. By then many people would havedied of hunger and diseases," Anadi Sadhu, a member of parliament from the state, told The IndianExpress newspaper. There is also fear of water borne epidemics of cholera and gastro-enteritis.As the desperation grows, officials are preparing to deal with increased vandalism and lawlessness. Foodriots erupted in Bhubaneswar, the state capital of Orissa, which has had electricity, drinking water orfood since the storm struck last Friday. Residents looted warehouses and vehicles carrying emergencysupplies, the Press Trust of India reported. In the coastal town of Baleshwar, where women havereported being molested and looting is widespread, civil authorities asked the army to help restore order.

A helicopter delivers food and water to cyclone victims. Photo courtesy of the BBCIndian Defense Minister George Fernandes was mobbed by crowds of desperate residents as hishelicopter landed in the devastated port city of Paradip. "The experience in Paradip defies any kind of

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description. There is utter chaos," Fernandes said. "There is complete breakdown of law and order. Police

are inadequate." He said the houses of Paradip Port Trust officials had been ransacked and about 50,000food aid packets had been looted.

The whole state of Orissa is still without electricity, with many roads blocked with debris, fallen trees anddowned power lines. Outside the coastal town of Baleshwar, hundreds of people huddled under plasticsheets along the roadside, waiting for packets of rice and water to be delivered by the army.

In the densely populated area surrounding Baleshwar, at least 14 villages were totally submerged and15,000 people were taking shelter in one public college building, said Asim Kumar Vaishnav, the senioradministrator in the Baleshwar district. As many as 15 million people live in the stricken area and millionsof them may be displaced.