Build storm-proof infra
It is the recurring nature of tropical storms that makes them pose frequent threats and peninsular India, with its long coastline, is most vulnerable to nature’s fury. Experience gained over the last two decades seems to have worked well for the country, in particular for the eastern states of Odisha and West Bengal, that have made evacuation of a whole mass of people an annual exercise. How painful this is for the poorest is one of the great tragedies of our national life, more so in the two years of the pandemic in which such gatherings of people poses an additional hazard as spreading of the coronavirus is facilitated. The loss of dwellings for uprooted people makes Yaas as catastrophic to Odisha now as Amphan had proved last year to West Bengal.
The silver lining even as cyclones blow hot seasonally is we have at least learnt to minimise the loss of life by moving and securing the most vulnerable section of coastal people. Odisha made the point forcefully that greater planning is needed to mitigate cyclone problems by providing disaster resilient power systems and improving infrastructure to tackle storm surges. This may be easier said than done considering how a modern power grid like the one in Tesxas was knocked out by a cold snap. But a start must be made if the coastal power infrastructure is to be made storm-proof and storm shelters expanded in view of what crowding can do in pandemic times.
The greater loss of lives as Tauktae raged on the western coast may be owed to there being no rigorous discipline in securing vulnerable sections living by the sea in contrast to what the east coast states do in preparation to facing Bay of Bengal storms. Of course, the technical weaknesses of oil exploration support barges anchored mid-sea made the disaster many times worse, the blame obviously to be pinpointed on petroleum companies running offshore operations. Response to natural calamities cannot be confined to announcement of compensation for loss of life and dealing with after-effects on livelihoods but by how much the states can, between storms, invest in improving coastal infrastructure.