Churches in Odisha hit by Cyclone Fani
Extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani hit the coast of Odisha on 3rd May 2019. More than 20 Odisha Districts were severely affected by the cyclone. The unleashed torrential wind and rain gusting up to 175 Km/Hr hit several buildings which included many churches namely, St Vincent’s Pro-Cathedral Church and the residence of the Archbishop of Cuttack –Bhubaneshwar. The cyclone also brought the rail and air transport to a halt across towns and villages.
Father Prasanna Kumar in his interaction with reporters of Matter India, a news portal said that Fani reminded people about the super cyclone of October 29,1999, that killed around 10000 people causing massive destruction. Puri, a pilgrim city on the Eastern Coast witnessed landfall due to category 4 Fani Cyclone. Already one million people are evacuated from the low lying areas to nearly 4000 shelters ahead of cyclone’s landfall. Around 160 people have been injured and admitted to various hospital as per the note to Matters India from the State Emergency Operation Centre
The disrupted electrical poles and uprooted trees damaged roads and communication network. The Hostel building at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences lost its roof in the cyclonic storm. The flight services remained suspended owing to the damage of the Aviation Equipment at Biju Patnaik International Airport at Bhubaneswar, Orissa while the Paradip and Gopalpur ports were shut down as a precautionary measure. A number of train services were suspended. Several engineers and technicians are working on war foot basis to restore power supply. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik exclaimed that restoration of electricity is the most challenging part.
Source: Matters India
