Ockhi Cyclone Dec-2017 Report English

when it comes to shipping vessels, especially foreign ones and its inaction in the
face of natural disasters.
Early warning system of Cyclone Ockhi
Mr. M.G. Devasahayam, a former IAS officer, who met the team, in an article in The
Hindu, dated December 15, 2017 (Annexure 26- Article by Mr. M.G.Devasahayam
IAS (Retd.) in the Hindu dt 15 th Dec, 20017 titled, “ Whither disaster
management after Ockhi ?”) writes, “There are three basic failings in the
government’s response: the cyclone warning was delayed; the warning, when it
came, was ineffective because it could not be conveyed to thousands of fisher folk
who were already out at sea; and once the cyclone struck, there was no war-like
mobilisation and action, which are the hallmarks of good disaster management”
The inquest team was told that on the morning of November 30, 2017, the churches
were informed, informally, about the cyclone and were told to ask the fishermen not
to venture into the sea. (Annexure 27- Statement of Ms. Albera w/o
Irudayadasan, Mel Midalam village,)
“I received a call from a personnel of Marine CID police station and was told,
informally, that there will be a cyclone and to tell the fishermen not to go to the
sea today” said Fr. Lucien Thomas, the parish priest of the Neerody coastal
village, which was one of the first villages visited by the inquest team.
The inquest team observed that the communication sharing by the state
Government, especially across Kanyakumari district administration was not uniform,
clear, time-bound and sufficient.
“We received the information from the office of Assistant Director of Fisheries
that there might be a cyclone and hence ask the fishermen to not to go the
sea”, said Fr. Xavier, the parish priest of Marthandanthurai, who had
announced the same through the loud-speaker from the church. He added
“This information was very late as many of our men were already at sea”.
In Vallavillai fishing village, Fr. Darwin said there was some information that there
might be a cyclone on November 29, 2017, however more than a hundred boats had
already left before the information could reach the village. This proves that there
were no coordinated efforts by the district administration to disseminate the alert and
warning about the cyclone to the community. Almost all of the fishermen who were at
sea during Cyclone Ockhi did not have adequate communication equipment to
receive warnings about the cyclone. If those at the sea were alerted and evacuated
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