A Million People Saved From Cyclone: New York Times

Weather forecasters pinpointed Cyclone Fani bearing down on the crowded coast of Odisha, and governments in India and Bangladesh responded quickly, reports a team of journalists from the New York Times. In Odisha, where the average income is less than $5 per day, disaster crews used lists of vulnerable people, warning them to head to shelters: “To warn people of what was coming, they deployed everything they had: 2.6 million text messages, 43,000 volunteers, nearly 1,000 emergency workers, television commercials, coastal sirens, buses, police officers, and public address systems blaring the same message on a loop.” Fani left immense damage with 12 deaths reported so far, and experts describe moving more than a million people as “a remarkable achievement, especially in a poor state in a developing country, the product of a meticulous evacuation plan.” Organizers suggest the achievement was the result of commitment and meticulous planning over the course of 20 years, construction of inland cement-block shelters. One officer said each disaster offers lessons. The careful preparation saved lives, though many people return home to ruined homes and livelihoods. – YaleGlobal