Cyclone DANA: Bhubaneswar, (Reporterspen), Nov 4: The Odisha government has estimated the damages caused by Cyclone Dana, which struck the coast on October 25, to be around Rs 600 crore. In a media briefing on Monday, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari revealed that more than 41 lakh people across 11,637 villages in 131 blocks were impacted by the severe cyclonic storm and the subsequent floods.
Pujari stated, “We have received reports from all 14 affected districts, with Balasore, Bhadrak, and Kendrapara being the hardest hit. Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, and Cuttack also experienced significant damage.” The preliminary assessment indicated that 16,417 houses were damaged, with 27 completely destroyed and 14,680 partially affected.
While damage reports have been submitted by all departments except Panchayati Raj, Pujari noted that all assessments are expected by the evening. He assured that the process for disbursing compensation for crop losses and individual damages would commence shortly, emphasizing that the Energy Department experienced the most severe impact. Departments were instructed to finalize their reports by November 2.
