OdishaPlus Bureau
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has urged international agencies, national non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector and the civil society to join the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts of the State Government to tide off the severe damages caused by extremely severe cyclone Fani that wreaked havoc in 14 districts of the State on May 3.
Releasing the Cyclone Fani -Damage, Loss and Needs Assessment Report at a simple ceremony here Patnaik said, “We invite the international agencies, national NGOs, the private sector and the civil society to come forward and join in the recovery and reconstruction efforts to rebuild Odisha.”He said Odisha managed the extremely severe cyclone FANI very effectively and efficiently.“We undertook one of the biggest human evacuations in history with a record of 1.5 million people being shifted in just 24 hours.’
Odisha has set global benchmarks in handling disasters by leveraging technology, strengthening institutional capacities and building resilient measures that helped it face this calamity of national magnitude, he said. He said the assessment team consisting of more than 100 multi-sectoral experts from World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and the United Nations undertook a detailed assessment of the damage and the recovery needs across 15 sectors, in the aftermath of the cyclone.
“The damage assessment report would provide a way forward to recovery of the State from the cyclone as well as develop a better preparedness strategy for the future,” the Chief Minister said. United Nations Resident Coordinator in India Ms. Renata Lok-Dessallien, the representatives of World Bank, ADB, UN, and other organizations were present.
The Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Fani which hit the coast of Odisha on 3 May this year was one of the rarest of rare summer cyclones, caused extensive damage and impacted life and property of more than 1.65 crore people in 14 districts of Odisha.
Post cyclone, the State Government, under guidance of the Union Government and in collaboration with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and the United Nations undertook the Damage, Loss and Needs Assessment (DLNA) to support the cyclone recovery process.
The assessment was spanned over a period of 20 days comprising of a team of more than 100 multi-sectoral experts from the World Bank, ADB, and various agencies of United Nations along with officials from several departments of the State Government, local NGOs, and eminent experts.
The estimation of the damage and losses by the assessment team is based on the data available at the level of departments, and validation of the same by field visits to most affected districts. It estimates the total damage and loss to be Rs 24,176 crore and recovery needs Rs 29,315 crores.
The infrastructure sectors were the hardest hit and constitute about 42% of the total needs and the social sectors which include housing, constitute 36% of the total needs. The Damage and Loss Need Assessment (DLNA) report provides an overview of the macroeconomic and human impact of the disaster and is a first step towards laying recovery road-maps and achievement of a vision for disaster resilient Odisha. It proposes a recovery strategy built around three pillars; Resilient Housing, Resilient Infrastructure and Resilient Livelihoods.
DLNA was one initiative which brought global best practices and knowledge for fostering ‘Built Back Better’ in the recovery efforts post cyclone ‘Fani’. The DLNA will contribute significantly towards expediting the reconstruction and recovery processes in the State.