Extremely severe Cyclonic Storm Fani made landfall on May 03, 2019 on the coast of Puri in Odisha with wind speeds reaching more than 200 km per hour.  

The winds and rains brought by the cyclone have affected about 15 million people in 14 districts of Odisha. Puri and Khurda districts are the most severely affected. Government of Odisha and many national and international agencies have taken up relief and restoration activities in the affected areas.

The Gram Vikas Fani Response Team is on the ground assessing the urgent needs of the cyclone-affected families of three panchayats in Bhubaneswar block under Khurda district.

An early relief effort has been initiated to distribute relief kits and necessary supplies. Odisha is in need of rebuilding of infrastructure, assets, livelihood and lives.

Situation assessment of villages shows serious damages 

Immediately after the cyclone, Gram Vikas reached out to communities in the periphery of Bhubaneswar to assess the situation and estimate the need.

Gram Vikas staff members conducted a village-wise rapid assessment and identified some of the most affected habitations. These villages are within 15 kilometres away from the centre of Bhubaneswar City. They are within the limits of the Chandaka Reserve Forest, due to which access to basic infrastructure has been an issue.  

Kuntala Sahu stands in front of her house destroyed by Cyclone Fani in Panasapada village, Krushnaprasad block of Puri district. Photograph by Santosh Rout.

A quick assessment done by the Gram Vikas team shows the serious damage caused to the houses and property in that region. There are only fair-weather mud paths connecting the villages to the main roads. More than 75% of the houses, made of thatch and mud, have been fully damaged in the Cyclone.

Immediate food relief to 1154 families 

Gram Vikas provided food relief to these villages. Food kits consisting of rice, dal, oil, semolina, sugar and baby-food, prepared by volunteers at the Gram Vikas office, in Bhubaneswar, are being distributed to 1154 families across 10 villages.  

Donation of one day’s salary by all employees of Gram Vikas helped kick start the relief activities.

Cloth for work

Gram Vikas, with support of Goonj, took up the Cloth for Work programme, to mobilise the village communities to take up immediate restoration efforts collectively – clearing debris, repairing roads, clearing water bodies etc. Household kits consisting of tarpaulins and household items were distributed to 216 households in three villages.

Mobilisation activities are in progress in three more villages for undertaking the Cloth-for-Work programme.