The rise in
temperatures due to climate change has increased the vulnerability of Odisha on
the east coast of India to intense cyclonic storms
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Cyclone Titli made landfall on October 11, 2018, and caused extensive damage in coastal areas of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh |
The southern coast
of Odisha, with the small port town of Gopalpur at its centre, seems to have
become a favoured destination for tropical cyclones occurring in the months of
October-November in the Bay of Bengal. This year, coastal districts of Odisha
and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on the east coast around Gopalpur faced two
intense tropical cyclones — Daye in September and Titli in October.
Gopalpur has been
facing a constant threat of post-monsoon tropical cyclones since at least 1999
when it was badly hit by a devastating tropical cyclone 10 days before the
super cyclone of 1999. The later one hit near Odisha’s port town of Paradeep in
the early hours of October 29 ravaged large parts of coastal areas, leading to
at least 10,000 deaths.