Paradip was bad but thank heavens it was Paradip

One reason is the storm surge: a phenomenon associated with the cyclonic storm in which the sea level rises by several feet and sea water enters into coastal areas causing widespread devastation. Storm surge is the single factor which accounts for over 75 per cent of the total loss to human life.

South Orissa, where Paradip port is situated, is not known for experiencing high storm surges because the offshore sea water is deeper as compared to that northwards in Balasore and farther upto Bangladesh where it is very shallow. Same is the case in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where shallow off-shore water is ideal for high storm surges.

“The storm surge has been there in Paradip too, but it is very less than what would have been in case of super cyclone hitting Balasore or Machalipatnam. The respective states would have been drowned,” a senior official at the India Meteorological Department said.

Interestingly, cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are normally not that intense as those in the Pacific or even the Atlantic. This is because the extension of the Bay is very small. However, they cause more damage. “The funnel shape of the Indian coastline and the shallow off-shore waters act as catalysts in intensifying the cyclonic storms. Further, due to the very high density of population along the coastal areas, the devastation is also on a large scale,” says S R Kalsi, Deputy Director General of Meteorology, IMD.But it’s the storm surge phenomenonspecific to tropical cyclonesthat is the villain of the piece. The violent winds in the inner ring of the cyclone whip up mountainous waves over the sea surface. A vast whirlwind of great power, the cyclone communicates its whirling movement to the waters.

As the cyclone moves comparatively slowly, the winds act for a long time on the same water area and relatively strong currents of water are set up to depths of more than 20 to 25 metres. When the storm approaches the coast, these currents lead to the storm surge by inundating the coastal areas.Unfortunately for Paradip, the landfall (when the cyclone hits the coast) occurred during high tide. “The sea water was already up by three metres and the cyclone added to this by another five metres,” Kalsi said.

In fact, the term “cyclone” is derived from a Greek word meaning the coil of a snake and was first used by renowned meteorologist Henry Piddington about the middle of the last century for tropical revolving storms occurring in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. According to the widely accepted definition, a large mass of warm moist stagnant air in the ocean gets warmer and more moist and begins to rise. This huge mass of rising air is replaced by cold air flowing in from all sides.

The rotation of the earth sets in the whirling system and air rises up in a spiral fashion. The earth’s rotation and the centrifugal force further convert the system into a cyclone associated with winds with great speeds.The term cyclone is applied to all tropical storms although they are known as hurricanes in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific, as Typhoons in the Western Pacific, as Willy Willies in the Australian Seas and as Baguios in the Philippines.

The winds associated with such storms are amongst the most violent and the rainfall very heavy. The average life span of tropical cyclones in Indian sea areas is about six days from the time they form until they dissipate. Some storms last only a few hours while others may last as long as two weeks. But what next after Paradip? “Cyclones will come. Every year we will have cyclones. But to have a cyclone of this intensity is very difficult to predict on long term basis,” said Kalsi. Significantly, November is a favourable month for cyclones in the Bay of Bengal. Another super-cyclone in the coming days? “There is very very very remote possibility. But it is there,” Kalsi said.