OdishaPlus Bureau
The Discovery Channel has made a two-part documentary on cyclone Fani that struck Odisha in May last year, killing 89 people. The program ‘Listen to the Sea’ will showcase the critical 48 hours before the landfall of the severe cyclonic storm. The documentary will be aired on Discovery and Discovery HD at 9 pm on June 20 and will stream on Discovery Plus mobile application on June 23.
“This is not a documentary about a cyclone that threatened to ravage a state. It is a story of human will and what it can do in the face of abject disaster,” Megha Tata, Managing Director of Discovery, South Asia, said.
“We cannot control natural disasters and catastrophes but after the devastation caused by the super cyclone in 1999, our aim was to make sure that as much as possible no human life should be lost henceforth in such disasters. “In a state which has almost 500 kilometers of coastline, one should listen to the sea,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was quoted as saying by the channel.
While property, especially critical infrastructure like power, telecom, roads both national highways, state highways, and rural roads — were severely damaged, the Indian Meteorological Department’s pinpoint accuracy in predicting the time, path, and severity of the cyclone helped immensely in saving lives, the channel said.
“CycloneFani was a test of our preparedness. The indefatigable spirit of Odisha was at display when the state, frequently visited by natural disasters, evacuated more than a million persons within 48 hours to save them from Fani,” the Chief Minister’s Office had tweeted.