Bhagwan, a coconut-seller, sits in front of his destroyed shop in Gopalpur after Cyclone Phailin left a trail of destruction along India's east coast. Manan Vatsyayana / AFP
Bhagwan, a coconut-seller, sits in front of his destroyed shop in Gopalpur after Cyclone Phailin left a trail of destruction along India's east coast. Manan Vatsyayana / AFP
Bhagwan, a coconut-seller, sits in front of his destroyed shop in Gopalpur after Cyclone Phailin left a trail of destruction along India's east coast. Manan Vatsyayana / AFP
Bhagwan, a coconut-seller, sits in front of his destroyed shop in Gopalpur after Cyclone Phailin left a trail of destruction along India's east coast. Manan Vatsyayana / AFP

India counts cost of Cyclone Phailin’s destruction


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NEW DELHI // At least 14 people were killed and crops worth more than a billion dirhams were destroyed after a powerful cyclone slammed into India’s east coast.

Although the death toll from Cyclone Phailin was expected to rise, preparation and a bit of luck helped prevent heavy casualties, authorities said yesterday.

Officials in the coastal state of Odisha, were trying to reach areas that were left isolated by fallen power lines and blocked roads. No deaths were reported in Andhra Pradesh, the other state that bore the brunt of the cyclone.

Before the storm hit, almost 1 million people were evacuated, the largest of its kind in the country according to the National Disaster Management Authority. “The government, the armed forces, and rescue agencies were credited with swift planning and close coordination that kept the loss of life low.”

“Everyone feels very lucky,” said Prabhati Das, 40, who came from the town of Berhampur in Odisha, about 10 kilometres inland, to see the aftermath at the coast.

Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of Odisha, said the recovery effort would also be massive.

“Rehabilitation is an even bigger challenge than evacuation, and we will see to it that we can do it in the shortest possible time.”

The cyclone weakened faster than expected on Saturday night and was downgraded to a deep depression yesterday. The wind and rain had eased by morning and some areas saw sunny skies replace the dark ominous clouds that had covered the region since Friday.

Phailin made landfall on a stretch of coast that was not quite as low-lying as that hit by super cyclone in 1999 that killed nearly 10,000 people. This ensured that the sea could not surge as far inland as in 1999.

India’s meteorological department has predicted continued rainfall in parts of the two states. The department has also issued a flood warning for the northern state of Bihar, as the storm advanced inland, bringing rain into the catchment areas of major rivers.

Phailin’s destruction was considerable. Heavy rains and surging seawater destroyed more than 500,000 hectares of crops worth an estimated 24 billion rupees (Dh1.44bn), said SN Patro, Odisha’s disaster minister.

The storm ripped up trees, ruptured communication and power lines, and sunk a cargo ship carrying iron ore, the MV Bingo, as it barrelled through the Bay of Bengal.

But planning helped minimise the damage of the cyclone, Baijayant Panda, a member of parliament from Odisha, said. “We can be sure that the damage is much less and is connected only to property.”

After the 1999 cyclone, India’s disaster management authorities worked hard to deal with the fallout from storms that develop regularly over the Bay of Bengal. This was particularly the case in Odisha, the eastern state most vulnerable to such cyclones. “From that [1999] experience,” Mr Patnaik said, “we could save a lot of lives.”

After the 1999 cyclone, Odisha set up a rapid action force to deal with disasters, as well as a disaster management authority. In 2006, the Indian government also created the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), with more than 11,000 personnel spread across 10 battalions.

About 2,300 NDRF personnel had been deployed late last week to deal with Phailin and its aftermath, to ensure evacuations, conduct rescues and bring important equipment and skills to cyclone-hit areas.

Odisha has built more than 500 cyclone shelters that could resist wind speeds up to 300 kph, with no shelter more than 2.5 kilometres away from a village or town.

Andhra Pradesh also has more than 1,100 cyclone shelters, although some of these require renovation.

In villages along the coast, mud and thatch buildings have, since 1999, been replaced by stronger cement and concrete structures.

When the warning for Phailin was sounded, state authorities acted swiftly to evacuate people out of their flimsy habitations and into cyclone shelters.

“I’ve travelled up and down the coastal roads in Odisha,” Jatin Singh, the chief executive of SkyMet, a private weather forecasting service, said. “The readiness for a cyclone is far better than in 1999, and the roads are excellent, so nobody will be cut off for too long.”

The real cause for worry, Mr Singh said, lay further inland, in states such as Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, which will be inundated by rain over the next few days.

“The governance there is not quite as good,” he said. “And there are what we call black holes — remote parts of these states where tribals live, or where small farmers practice subsistence agriculture. If there are destructive floods in these areas, it will be a while before we know what has happened.”

ssubramanian@thenational.ae

The bio

Favourite vegetable: Broccoli

Favourite food: Seafood

Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange

Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania

Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.

Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes

Essentials

The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Seattle from Dh6,755 return in economy and Dh24,775 in business class.
The cruise
UnCruise Adventures offers a variety of small-ship cruises in Alaska and around the world. A 14-day Alaska’s Inside Passage and San Juans Cruise from Seattle to Juneau or reverse costs from $4,695 (Dh17,246), including accommodation, food and most activities. Trips in 2019 start in April and run until September. 
 

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

While you're here
The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
INDIA%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3ERohit%20Sharma%20(capt)%2C%20Shubman%20Gill%2C%20Cheteshwar%20Pujara%2C%20Virat%20Kohli%2C%20Ajinkya%20Rahane%2C%20KL%20Rahul%2C%20KS%20Bharat%20(wk)%2C%20Ravichandran%20Ashwin%2C%20Ravindra%20Jadeja%2C%20Axar%20Patel%2C%20Shardul%20Thakur%2C%20Mohammed%20Shami%2C%20Mohammed%20Siraj%2C%20Umesh%20Yadav%2C%20Jaydev%20Unadkat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi

Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi

Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain

Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni

Rating: 2.5/5

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

Tips to stay safe during hot weather
  • Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
  • Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
  • Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
  • Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
  • Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
  • Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
  • Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile

Company name: Dharma

Date started: 2018

Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: TravelTech

Funding stage: Pre-series A 

Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs

UAE tour of the Netherlands

UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures and results:
Monday, UAE won by three wickets
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

The%20Mother%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Niki%20Caro%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jennifer%20Lopez%2C%20Joseph%20Fiennes%2C%20Gael%20Garcia%20Bernal%2C%20Omari%20Hardwick%20and%20Lucy%20Paez%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
if you go

The flights

Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes. 

The hotels 

The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).

In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
  • Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000 
  • Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 
  • HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000 
  • Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000 
  • Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000 
  • Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000 
  • Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000 
  • Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
  • Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Sanju

Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani

Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani

Rating: 3.5 stars

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

The specs

Engine: 5.2-litre V10

Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm

Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm

Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto

Price: From Dh1 million

On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022