Cyclone Ockhi

Cyclone Ockhi news, images and facts

• The name Ockhi, suggested by Bangladesh, refers to the eye.
• Cyclonic Ockhi was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Arabian Sea since Cyclone Megh in 2015.
• The third and the strongest storm of the 2017 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, cyclone Ockhi originated as a low pressure area in the Gulf of Thailand on November 21.
• While near Kanyakumari in mainland India, Cyclone Ockhi changed its path and headed towards Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea, while intensifying.

Cyclone Ockhi crossed the sea near Kanyakumari, the southern tip of mainland India, on November 30.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 18th Dec, 2017 chaired a high-level meeting at Kavaratti in Lakshadweep to review the situation arising due to Cyclone Ockhi which left a trail of destruction in the Union Territory.

Though it changed direction near Kanyakumari and headed towards the Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea, it caused havoc and destruction in the southernmost districts of Tamilnadu and Kerala, particularly Kanyakumari District of Tamilnadu and Thiruvananthapuram District of Kerala.

Damage due to Cyclone Ockhi – Facts and Figures

• Damage throughout Kerala was initially estimated at Rs 1843 crore.
• In Tamil Nadu damage was initially estimated at greater than Rs 1 lakh crores.
• As a Deep Depression, the system lashed the coast of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, damaging infrastructure and taking the lives of 34 more people.
• An estimated 52 in Kerala and 11 in Tamil Nadu people died in the cyclone ockhi with many others missing. On December 2, the cyclone ockhi hit the Lakshadweep islands.
• In Gujarat, parts of southern region received significant rains with the highest rainfall in Umargam of 90 mm, causing damages to vegetables and banana crops. Strong winds of 25 km/h were also recorded.
• Lakshadweep islands met devastation with massive coastal erosion, power disruption, and extensive damage to property with life has been gouged out of the islands because of drinking water shortage
• According to government officials, about 33,000 people from Kerala
• 2,800 from Tamil Nadu were affected by the cyclone ockhi

Rescue efforts for Cyclone Ockhi – Facts and Figures

• Rescue teams from Kerala and Tamil Nadu stepped up efforts on December 2 to trace fishermen reported missing after Cyclone Ockhi
• Hailing the efforts of the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 400 fishermen stranded at sea had been rescued.
• As many as 12 boats with 138 fishermen had reached Kalpeni in Lakshadweep while four more boats had berthed at Androth, Kithan and Chatlet in Lakshadweep.
• The Indian Navy provided humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to people affected by cyclone Ockhi in Lakshadweep.
• Navy ships carried the relief material to the island of Minicoy on Sunday and the Kavaratti and Kalpeni islands
• A total of four tonnes of disaster relief material, including dry provisions like rice, dal, salt and potatoes, water, blankets, raincoats, disposable clothes, mosquito nets and dhurries, had been handed over to the local administration.
• Dry provisions and ready to eat meals are also being dispatched to Bitra Island by chopper from the Dweeprakshak (base) at Kavaratti. The relief material would last seven days for about 2,000 people, according to the government.
• Tamil Nadu government December 6 told as many as 4,501 houses in cyclone Ockhi-hit Kanyakumari have suffered partial and full damage and relief to the tune of ₹41 lakh had been provided. A government release quoted 1,687 houses had been damaged completely while 2,814 houses had suffered partial damage
• The Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, declared a compensation of ₹20 lakh to the families of those who died and ₹5 lakh to those who were permanently disabled due to the cyclone ockhi.
• He also announced that fishermen and their children will be paid ₹60 and ₹ 45 as an allowance for a week along with free food and rations for the residents of the coastal villages for a period of a month.