Union Minister for Earth Sciences Dr Harsh Vardhan has come down heavily on the fishermen of Kerala and south Tamil Nadu for not heeding the warnings issued by the Indian Metereological Department (IMD) regarding the cyclonic storm Ockhi, which has claimed 25 lives; 96 fishermen are still missing.
In a stern statement, the minister said that the IMD, the body responsible for issuing warnings, had predicted "heavy rainfall and strong winds for Kerala and south Tamil Nadu" from November 28 itself. "On November 29, they issued the first bulletin of the cyclone warning, and conveyed to all district officials, state disaster management authorities, and the chief secretary," said a press statement from the minister's office.
The minister added that the first bulletin clearly warned of the possibility of further intensification of the system into a cyclonic storm. "There was a clear message for fishermen not to venture into the sea during the next 48 hours. This bulletin was repeated every three hours, including the night of November 29, and still continuing. Adverse weather, including heavy rainfall and strong winds, started off at Kerala coast only on the morning of November 30,'' the statement added, making it clear that the warnings went unheeded.
The Indian Navy and Coast Guard have been deployed for rescue and relief; over 600 fishermen have been rescued so far.
Cyclonic storms on the east coast are a regular occurrence at this time of the year. Usually, Andhra, Tamil Nadu and Orissa coasts are battered with the storms that come from the Bay of Bengal. Ockhi hit a more southerly spot than usual. It formed off Sri Lanka coast on November 27 and moved along Kerala and south Tamil Nadu coasts, first affecting the Lakshwadeep islands. The system, which has weakened, is moving in a north westerly direction, towards Gujarat.
It has caused rainfall in the southern cities, including Bengaluru, and is expected to bring some much needed precipitation over Delhi by mid-week. This might clear the air of the smog that has once again choked the capital.
The advisory for fishermen is still on. In fact, it has now been extended to south Gujarat and mid-Maharashtra too.
An advanced and timely warning system has been developed with the IMD as the nodal agency, and has worked excellently in the last few years, reducing the death and damage of massive storms like Phailin (October 2013), which was the most intense tropical storm to make landfall since the 1999 Odisha super cyclone. It led to a massive disaster evacuation, moving over five lakh people away from the coast. Cyclone Hud Hud battered Visakhapatnam, but the death toll was around 125; these included the deaths caused by an avalanche in Nepal's Dhaulagiri range, an aftermath of the storm.
