Ockhi anniversary brings back horrifying memories

A year has passed since the devastating Cyclone Ochki wreaked havoc along the coastline of the state, taking a heavy toll on human lives and causing widespread damage and destruction to property.

It was around 11 am on November 30, 2017, that the chief secretary and the State Disaster Management Authority received a cyclone alert from the India Met Department which forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places over South Kerala. However, by the time the authorities began preparing to deal with the effects of adverse weather, the cyclone had already moved to the Kerala coast.

The name Ockhi was given by Bangladesh which in Bengali means ‘eye’. But before the authorities could figure out the intensity of the cyclone’s piercing stare, its impact had felt on the state’s shores.

The killer phenomenon left a trail of destruction whose scars remain even today. Hundreds of fishermen families were torn apart by the fury of Ockhi. Normal life was thrown out of gear in the coastal belt and, by the time the warning was issued, thousands of fisher folk were already out at sea. Many of them were stranded in the turbulent sea for days while many others who were caught in rough waters landed in coastal areas thousands of kilometres away after drifting in the sea for several days.

Hoping against hope

As many as 1,116 stranded fishermen were rescued by a joint action team of the Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force and Marine Enforcement. Several members of the fishermen community too actively took part in the search operations. As per official figures, a total of 52 fishermen lost their lives and ninety-one remained missing in the aftermath of cyclone Ockhi. A majority of the families, whose men are yet to be traced, are hoping against hope that they would have a miraculous return.

Though the affected families in fishing villages have received compensation from the government, those who found themselves in Ockhi's way have not recovered yet.

The entire Poonthura village still holds out hope and is waiting for the return of Vineesh, 15, the youngest fisher to have gone missing. Vinesh stopped schooling at the age of 14 to take care of family after his father Vincent, a kidney patient, became bed-ridden. It was only recently that two of his elder brothers started to venture into the sea again.

Storm that tattered many lives

Originating near Sri Lanka over the Bay of Bengal on November 28, Cyclone Ockhi moved over the Arabian Sea via Kanyakumari, triggering heavy rains and high speed wind. A deep depression in the Bay of Bengal intensified on November 29 and it further strengthened into a cyclonic storm which lay centred 70 km southeast off Thiruvananthapuram.

By evening, the storm started to packing gale-speed winds up to 70 to 75 kmph gusting up to 85 kmph. Wind speeds intensified on December 1 and touched 130 km per hour by afternoon. By that time, the cyclone had moved 450 km off the Kerala coast.

On December 1, reports regarding the death of four people in Kerala and Tamil Nadu emerged, giving first glimpses of the trail of destruction left by the cyclone. It was followed by reports that as many as 270 fishermen from Thiruvananthapuram’s coastal areas who had gone to high seas for fishing in 62 boats had caught in the cyclone. However, the situation in the outer sea was worse than expected. As the warning, when it came, was ineffective, a total of 2,829 fishermen had already set out to deep sea for long-distance fishing on November 28 and 29.

Several boats crumbled and broken in raging winds and high waves. Strong winds virtually threw many of the fishermen in the sea while some others managed to hold on to their boat till the rescue team arrived. There are men who are yet to recover from the shock of watching their beloved ones drowning right before their eyes.

Delayed response

Cyclone Ockhi’s devastation started within 12 hours of the first ‘rough seas’ warning that was put out on November 29. When the fury of the cyclone was spent, the debates were centered around the government’s alleged failure in sounding precautions.

As the death toll went up, protests mounted against the centre and state authorities across the district’s coastal areas. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his cabinet colleagues faced the anger and resentment of the community when they visited Vizhinjam to express solidarity with the affected people. Opposition parties too accused the government of inaction and failure on issuing alerts on time or conveying the extent of the danger.

However, the government dismissed the allegations as baseless and maintained that it did not receive any warning from either the central government or the Meteorological Department. Months later, the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs came up with a report that corroborated the state government’s claims.

Relief to affected families

The government distributed Rs 20 lakh each to the kin of deceased fishermen and those missing or feared dead. Of the Rs 20 lakh, Rs 16 lakh was from the State Disaster Response Fund while the remaining 4 lakh was allocated from the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund.

The government also ensured financial support for the parents of the deceased, their wards, and marriage assistance for unwed sisters. Relief was also provided to those who lost their fishing gear. An amount of Rs 8,68,000 was distributed among 179 fishermen who suffered injuries.

A total of 221 houses were fully damaged and as many as 3,251 houses were rendered uninhabitable. The cyclone destroyed 270 huts, 384 boats and 446 fishing nets, causing damages to the tune of Rs 9.4 crore.

Helping hand

A Rs 150-crore housing project in areas vulnerable to tidal surge is currently being implemented. ‘Pratheeksha,’ a housing scheme for rehabilitating fishermen community, was inaugurated at Muttathara on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram last month. As many as 192 families from the fishing villages of Valiyathura, Cheriyathura, Valiyathope and Kochuthope have benefitted from the project which cost Rs 17.5 crore.

The government has also decided to provide free education and vocational training for the children of fish workers who perished at sea or went missing. A sum of Rs 10 lakh each has been offered to 72 families who lost their houses. A total of Rs 2.02 crore has been allocated to repair houses that were partially damaged.

Though the state government had requested the Centre to grant Rs 416 crore as immediate relief, the amount released was only Rs 111 crore. The appeal for a Rs 7,340-crore special package for the revival of fishing industry has not yet been considered.

Promises remain unfilled

However, there are allegations that the government did not keep many of the promises it had made.

“The project mooted by the government to establish a marine ambulance service at five major fishing centres has not materialised. The proposed satellite- based system to warn fishermen about extreme weather events still remains on paper. Procurement of boats equipped with advanced navigational and communication equipment too remains unfulfilled,” said T Peter of the Kerala Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation.

“We need to strengthen our weather observation network and rectify shortcomings in the existing methods by updating our forecasting systems. It should be done by combining the expertise and ecological knowledge of fisher folk and modern technologies,” he added.