Impending storm triggers panic in Phailin-hit Ganjam

Residents of coastal villages in the district remained panicky about Roanu despite the state government ruling out any major impact of the cyclonic development in Ganjam.
Hovering over the Bay of Bengal, the storm was 530km from Gopalpur in the district at the time of the filing of the report. As soon as news of Roanu reached Gopalpur and high tidal waves were seen breaking onto the seashore early on Thursday, fishermen of Podampeta, Nuagaon and other villages started retreating from the sea.
As a precautionary measure, the fishermen moved their boats and nets to safer places. "We have also brought the boats and nets from the beach to the house apprehending cyclone," said Chinneya of Podampeta village.
The super cyclone Phailin, which had made landfall near Gopalpur on October 13, 2013, had left behind a trail of destruction knocking down several homes and killing at least 17 people. Cyclone Hudhud, which had made landfall near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh in 2014, did not cause much damage in Ganjam district. It, however, led to widespread destruction in Gajapati district. "We became panicky as soon as the news of the cyclone spread. We have faced two cyclones Phailin and Hudhud . The destruction caused in its wake still haunts us," added a fisherman.