Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Cyclone Phyan creates an emergency

All is not well since the advent of Cyclone Phyan, which now threatens to wreck havoc in the western Indian states of Maharashtra and Gujarat!

Worse still, is the trail of destruction it has left behind in my home town Ooty, in the southern India state of Tamil Nadu, over the past few days! It has been reported that over 70 people have perished in the ensuing squalls of rain in Tamil Nadu, of who over 40 are from Ooty.

My Father, who at the moment is in Ooty, talks about a scale of destruction that has not been witnessed ever before. Even as I gather momentum to write this post, I'm told that access to Ooty has been completely cut off, with all transportation systems coming to a grinding halt!

While I hope that the District Administration, assisted by sections of the Indian Paramilitary Forces, is able to execute relief and rescue operations smoothly, I cannot refrain from thinking about my impending trip to Ooty, scheduled in less than 2 weeks from today!

I know not how to express my condolences to all the bereaved families whose lives have been rudely affected due to this calamity - an indelible mark that will stay on forever, with many bitter memories associated with it!

And, here in Pune, the mayhem appears to have only begun now!

An update - The BBC has reported that Ooty has recorded rainfall of 600 cms over the last three days and that 250 houses have been damaged as a result thereof!

25 comments:

  1. What does one do??

    floods will eventually wipe off the planet -- it does seem going that way...Nature is seldom in the scheme of things when they pursue their techno-commercial agenda...and it strikes back...

    And every year we will record the statistics,

    wishes,
    devika

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  2. Think of it natural calamities is not a recent phenomenon -- though its been agrravating in the recent years -- perhaps that how it is --no Rak? :)

    But so sad and tragic,

    wishes,
    devika

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  3. yep.. pouring cats n dogs here in Pune..

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  4. Though it has been raining on and off in Cbe, its still nothing close to the 300 mark of Ooty. Hopefully, the road links would get reinstated soon.

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  5. Last night a friend of mine in mumbai said its been raining continuously but I could never imagine then that the morning would bring such news .. may everyone stays safe and all affected have the strength to brave this latest nature's fury ..

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  6. It strikes like never before! One of my friend have been visiting ooty right now and i hope he safely travels back to his home.

    My deep condolence to those lose there dear and near ones in this tragedy.

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  7. I am glad that ur family is safe, well in ratnagiri, my ancient house has been a little damaged, with a tree falling on the roof and making a hole there,
    the cousin who was getting married, well I dont think shes gonna remember it for good reason, i mean their nikah had to be done at her house after the entire mandap got destroyed...

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  8. Rakesh
    I am happy your family is safe..
    It is raining everywhere
    Take care..

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  9. thankfully it has spared mumbai but my heart goes out to all the affected elsewhere...
    best wishes

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  10. and now would be a good time to screen 'An Inconvenient Truth'. Lets face it..the planet is going for a toss!

    Happy journey back home! Enjoy the veettu saappadu :)

    as for Chennai..who cares about the drainage system..we are enjoying rains..its like food to the starved! :D

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  11. this weather thing really created a havoc..and still we say what is global warming :|

    my deepest cndolennces for the family

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  12. I am happy to read that your family is safe !!!
    Very sad post today :(

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  13. I am happy to read that your family is safe !!!
    Very sad post today :(

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  14. i was tracking the cyclone on the news, it is really bad situation for those who are caught there!!....
    and it has affected delhi too, we are experiencing showers and heavy winds!!

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  15. :( Every year we have these kinds of natural calamities at different areas. Never thought one would hit Ooty; I was planning to take my parents to ooty for thanksgiving ! Hmmm...

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  16. Happy that your family is safe. May the Almighty give courage to all those affected to overcome the situation.
    Heavy showers,floods,landslides,cyclones...Rakesh ,is it the beginning of the end?

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  17. buddy..hope your family is safe..the media made such a hue and cry about cyclone hitting Mumbai..no one bothered about ooty

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  18. It was terrible dude. Even here in Chennai it was pouring like crazy for a few days. There's some respite now. I saw this pic of a big crater in the middle of a road in ooty. was scary. hope your folks are well. i don't think there wil be a prob in ur travel. but just be safe all the same.

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  19. You have been tagged !!!

    http://vlokam.wordpress.com/2009/11/14/part-2-flashback/

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    ReplyDelete
  21. Hello Rakesh,
    Cyclone Phyan seems to have fizzled out for now. And that is great news. The destruction it has caused in its wake is indeed sad. Is the maximum damage in Tamil Nadu? I hope your loved ones in Ooty are doing fine.

    The word "closure" on my blog referred to my internship with the President of an NGO. My blog is a product of that internship. However, I hope the end of the internship will not mean the end of the blog or my writing. My only fear is that since I will be getting extremely busy from December I hope the blog doesn't become stagnant and hence irrelevant.

    Do take care,
    and keep writing,
    Nishant

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