CYSD

A severe cyclonic storm “Phailin” with wind speed of more than 220 km per hour struck Odisha on 12th October 2013 resulting in massive devastation and severe floods in many districts. Incessant rain followed the cyclone brought floods in two phases. Ganjam and Puri are the worst affected districts due to Phailin. 59 persons died in Cyclone and flood that affected half of the state’s 4.19 crore population spread over 18 districts as per the official figure. Standing crops over nearly 11 lakh hector have been destroyed. Over 8 lakh houses were damaged in nearly 22000 villages while 2000 livestock perished. while Power installations worth about 12000 crores got damaged. Nearly four lakh (400000) electric poles uprooted alone in Ganjam district.

Immediately CYSD set up a forum called Odisha Phailin Response Forum (OPRF) an alliance of civil society organizations for Phailin response. CYSD in collaboration with local NGO partners undertook the activities to respond to the immediate needs of the people.

Immediate Relief support

• Distribution of Non-Food Item kits for immediate use by the affected people
• Distribution of Supplementary nutrition for children
• Distribution of Sanitary materials like bleaching, Halogen tablet, phynile, soap etc…
• Health check-up and free medicine distribution
• Renovation, making Anganwadi Centers child friendly & play material support to AWC
• Sanitation drive through local volunteers

Restoration support

• Village disaster management committees were formed to mobilize the community, identify the beneficiaries, manage the distribution of NFI kits, and facilitate sanitation drive in villages.
• Orientation cum cleanliness activities to maintain sanitation at village level
• Self employment mechanics training organized for the selected groups

Rehabilitation

• Livelihood restoration through unconditional cash transfers
• Promoting and strengthening the capacity of Self Help Groups, child clubs, youth clubs, farmer groups, and emergency response groups on disaster risk management

Training to families on adoption of climate friendly livelihoods & water conservation

Odisha has always been a victim of disasters. Apart from natural disasters such as floods and cyclones, persistent droughts also affect the interiors of the state. CYSD’s new strategic plan calls for strategic interventions and initiatives for strengthening disaster response both in the civil society space and across other sectors. Accordingly the disaster response and mitigation unit is in place to

• Maintain basic equipment (boats, life jackets, warning and rescue equipment
• Maintain an updated information base on disasters in Odisha / India
• Monitor the situation during the disaster-prone time periods and
• Facilitate response when needed

The severe floods affected 6481 villages from 137 blocks in 19 districts. As part of the rescue operation, CYSD deployed boats in unserved areas. Health caps were organized in three coastal districts, Puri, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur, benefiting 3090 persons, including 1055 women and 654 children.

Odisha witnessed a severe spate of floods in 2006 affecting 12 districts with a loss of 22 lives. The worst hit district was Kendrapara with a total 4, 98,854 people affected in 612 villages. Sustained water logging posed a serious threat on an epidemic with no access to basic human health services and safe drinking water, and livestock were stranded with little or no access to water, fodder, and veterinary medicines.

CYSD undertook relief operations in 62 villages in 4 blocks of Kendrapada district collaborating with the NSS (National Service Scheme) of Utkal University. Four powerboats were deployed and local volunteers undertook rescue operations and carried relief materials to the affected and marooned villages.

The state witnessed severe floods caused by unusually heavy rains in 2001 and 2003 affecting many districts of Odisha. The affected villages were cut up from main cities, the flooding damage to property, destruction of crops, and loss of livestock, deterioration of health conditions owing to waterborne diseases.

CYSD responded quickly to this critical situation by mobilizing 100 of volunteers and resources for relief and restoration activities. The following activities were immediately planned and implemented

• The disaster mitigation team promoted to join hands with the volunteers
• Volunteer deployment in affected areas for rescue, relief distribution and restoration
• Boat deployment to facilitate the rescue operation
• Community kitchen set up to provide cooked food to the flood victims
• Dry food items distributed
• Health, Veterinary care and Sanitation camps were organized
• CYSD and Odisha Disaster Mitigation Mission together brought out a flood bulletin for different stakeholders awareness.
• Restoring Normalcy (Grama Uddhar Abhiyan) was launched to create temporary employment opportunities for the affected people.