Cyclone Dana, rain damaged crops on 1.75L acres, submerged another 2.80L acres: Odisha govt 

Severe cyclonic storm Dana and the rain have damaged standing crops in 1.75 lakh acres of land and submerged another 2.80 lakh acres in Odisha, according to preliminary estimation. 

“As per preliminary reports, the crop area likely to be affected by #CycloneDana is about 1,75,000 acres (69,995 ha). Eye-estimated submerged crop area is about 2,80,000 acres (1,12,310 ha),” Arabinda Padhi, Principal Secretary of Agriculture and Farmer Empowerment, wrote on X (formally twitter). 

The state government has directed a joint assessment of crop loss due to the cyclone by officials of the agriculture and revenue departments, he said. 

“We’ve directed field officials of @krushibibhag to assess and enumerate the crop loss (more than 33 per cent and above), jointly with Revenue Dept colleagues in a squad approach under supervision of District Collectors,” he added. 

About 22.42 lakh houses faced power disruptions due to the cyclone of which power supply to 14.8 lakh houses were restored by October 25 evening and the remaining will be done by October 26. 

Hemant Shara, Principal Secretary of Energy Department, toured Kendrapara and Bhadrak, the two most-affected districts in the state, and supervised restoration works. 

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi during a review meeting yesterday night said the final estimate of the loss in the agriculture sector would be known from the detailed report, which would decide on compensation for farmers. 

Severe cyclonic storm Dana struck the coastal areas of the state on October 25 triggering torrential rain and high-speed winds uprooting trees, electric poles causing significant damage to infrastructure and crops. 

The landfall started around 12.05 am yesterday between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara and Dhamra in Bhadrak district of Odisha with wind speeds of around 110 kmph and ended around 8.30 am today. 

(With inputs from PTI)