Memory of a Cyclone

The afternoon disagreement with an acquaintance inspired me to write this post. Often, we privileged city dwellers fail to grasp the impact of physical calamities and climate-related issues while lounging in our comfortable living rooms. A conversation about '#Dana' with a friend sparked this debate. My friend felt disappointed and heartbroken that Dana didn’t visit him with very intense heavy rain and high-velocity cyclonic winds, while he waited by the window with his Earl Grey tea.

This morning, high winds impacted parts of the eastern coast of our country as #tropical #cyclone Dana made landfall in #Odisha. Rescue teams were on alert for the landfall. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), Dana is equivalent to a tropical storm in the Atlantic basin, with winds reaching 110 kilometres per hour at around 9 in the morning. The landfall was located about 250 kilometres southwest of Kolkata and moved north-northwest at a speed of 12 kilometres per hour. The cyclone so far brought rainfall ranging from 70 to 150 millimetres across Odisha and West Bengal. While the Severe Cyclone Dana spared West Bengal from large-scale destruction unlike previous storms like #Amphan and #Bulbul, it breached embankments and brought torrential rains, causing some property damage in the southern parts of the state.

#India is located in the northern part of the #Indian #Ocean and is highly vulnerable to tropical cyclones that can approach from both the east and the west. On average, a couple of tropical cyclones make landfall in India and the surrounding subcontinental area almost every year, a pattern that has persisted for centuries. Most of these cyclones impact the east coast of India, particularly affecting the states of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, with some impact even felt in Assam. Neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh (formerly East Bengal during British India) and Sri Lanka, are also affected at times.

Interestingly, in the last 65 years, since 1960, 65 per cent of global tropical cyclone fatalities have occurred in the Bay of Bengal - a large body of water that is part of the Indian Ocean and located to the south of India and Bangladesh. This makes the eastern Indian states particularly vulnerable to tropical cyclones.

I have been told that the romantics in the city of Kolkata missed the impact of Dana while looking out from their upper-floor windows, like my friend, because they were waiting to make their #Facebook and #Insta '#Reels'. However, now, I see that they have satisfied the urge to make their 'Reels' with the visuals of the water-logged city streets and inundated steps of Babu and other ghats (steps of the river Hooghly). I believe the weekend rain has prompted many of them to play hooky from their workplaces and they now have a cosy evening, if you get my drift.

In the Bay and coastal areas of West Bengal, those who are facing the heavy rain are perturbed though. Most of the city's vegetable sellers and even small shop owners residing in the district of South 24 Parganas, especially, in the towns Joynagar, Canning, and Lakhikantapore are absent from the city. People from Purba Midnapore district are absent too. Even our city's many domestic workers and daily wagers could not commute. Historically, the societal memory of repeated tropical cyclones makes them nervous. Because for them it was survival of the fittest.

While I was researching for my just-published book - Harry Hobbs of Kolkata and Other Forgotten Lives, I read in detail about the 1864 #Kolkata cyclone that the inhabitants witnessed. It was estimated that around 60,000 people died because of this cyclone. The storm surge caused the #Hooghly River to overflow, washing away everything in its course. Most of the deaths were from drowning, and the rest were from illnesses after the cyclone. Then there was another cyclone in 1867, though not so devastating yet it too damaged the city. The Bay of Bengal is prone to large storm surges because of its funnel-like shape and topography.

Picture of the Hooghly River after the 1864 #Kolkata cyclone is available online. Attached is a representative one. The 1864 cyclone caused a massive destruction in Kolkata. It was so severe that only ten of more than 200 ships ( main transport mode) remained at their moorings in Hooghly survived, with the rest either damaged or sunk. Major parts of the city were under the water for several days. And, as we know, 60,000 people died. The financial loss sustained was around Rs.1 lakh, which today would be in crores of rupees.

I don't think we need such memories repeating. And, we won't surely miss those 'Reels'.