Odisha Coastline

• Features of the 1999 Odisha Super Cyclone?

  • Strongest cyclone ever recorded in the Indian Ocean
  • 7-10m storm surge
  • Category 5 (worst one) cyclone
• Social impacts of the 1999 Cyclone?

  • 15,000 people killed
  • 18 million displaced
  • Destroyed infrastructure and communications
  • Cholera outbreaks
• Economic impacts of the 1999 cyclone?

  • $4.4 billion damage costs
  • 2 million tonnes of rice crop destroyed
  • 22,000 fishing nets destroyed
  • 9,000 fishing boats destroyed
  • 1 million animals lost
• Environmental impacts of the 1999 cyclone?

  • Major destruction of mangrove forests
  • 200,000 trees uprooted
  • 17km squared land lost
  • Rivers breached 20,000 flood embankments
  • 447 - 955 mm of rainfall in 2 days
• Why was the death toll so high from the 1999 cyclone?

  • One of the 6th most cyclone prone areas in the world
  • Depletion of mangroves reduced flood defence
  • Growing population
  • Preparation was inadequate
  • Took 3 days before relief efforts began
  • Only 6 workers and 2 phones in the coordination centre
  • India refused financial help from the UN initially
  • Only 27 cyclone shelters for 20 million people
  • 49% literary rate
  • No evacuation
• Features of Cyclone Phailin 2013?

  • 200km/h winds
  • Category 5 cyclone
  • 3.5m storm surge
• Social impacts of Cyclone Phailin 2013?

  • 44 people died
  • 1 million people evacuated
  • 12 million affected
  • 18,000 villages affected
• Economic impacts of Cyclone Phailin 2013?

  • 500,000 ha of agri land destroyed
  • $700,000 of economic losses
  • 256,000 homes affected
• Environmental impacts of Cyclone Phailin 2013?

  • Chilika Lake devastating storm surge
  • Mangrove trees destroyed
  • Caused extensive erosion on the coast
• Mitigation strategies for the 2013 Cyclone Phailin?

  • Provided relief supplies
  • Broadcasted warning
  • Practiced evacuations
  • Weather forecasting
  • Tracked the path of the storm
  • 400,000 people evacuated from vulnerable areas
  • 1,000km of evacuation roads
  • 23 access bridges
  • Strengthened 140km of embankments
• Adaptation for the 2013 cyclone Phailin?

  • Government spent $255 million on mitigation strategies
  • Building evacuation shelters and conducting drills
  • Fisherman have radios
  • 600 cyclone shelters identified
• Resilience for the 2013 Cyclone Phailin?

  • Nearly a billion people use mobile phones now
  • 24 hour news channels
  • Most communities have TV's
  • Volunteer teams set up
  • 284 cyclone shelters
  • Over 4,000 free kitchens set up for over 2 million people
  • 185 medical teams deployed
  • 5.7 tonnes of food dropped to inaccessible areas
  • 30,000 disaster resilient houses
• Features of Chilika Lake?

  • Brackish salty lagoon
  • Internationally important for its birdlife
  • Salinity levels change as it gets diluted in the wet season
  • Temporary store in the water cycle
  • Important store within the coastal system
• What is a delta?


  Water slows down and loses energy so drops sediment at the mouth of the river.

  Flat sections called a Delta Plain are above the water and rivers cut through it called distributaries.
• What is a mangrove?

  • Group of trees living in the coastal intertidal zone
  • 80 different species of mangrove trees
  • Grow in areas of low oxygen soil
  • Can only grow in tropical and sub-tropical environments near equator
  • Have exposed roots to handle the daily rise and fall of the tides and cause sediment to settle creating mud.
  • Reduce coastal erosion from storm surges, currents and waves
  • 3/4 of all tropical fish are born in them
  • Filter nutrients and toxins out of the water improving quality
  • Cleared for coastal development, logging and aquaculture
  • Block sediment runoff from the land
• Location and physical geography of Odisha coastline?

  • 480km long
  • Has 6 major deltas from rivers
  • 1435km squared of mangrove
  • Straight coastline
• Risks for living in Odisha?

  • Water becomes too saline to drink and crops die
  • lost 28% of the coastline
  • Hard defences leave areas further down the coast more vulnerable to erosion
  • Ports have blocked natural sand flow so cause erosion further north
• Opportunities for living along Odisha Coastline?

  • Delta regions provide fertile soil
  • Ports placed along the coast
  • Can do renewable energy like offshore wind
  • Large fish stocks offshore for food and income
  • Historical sites along the coast maintained and good for tourism
  • Eco tourism potentials
• Mahanadi Delta?

  • Important ecological zone
  • Mangrove forest has declined in this area because of aquaculture and logging
  • Average width of mangrove declined from 5.1km - 1.2km
  • Sea levels are rising and tropical cyclones increasing
  • Agencies involved in this regions ICZM are the Indian Govt and the ICZM Project
  • They want to cultivate mangrove along the coast and provide mitigation of flooding schemes
• Assessment of Shoreline Change 2011?

  • Indian government recognised that the rate of erosion was increasing due to both natural processes and human activities like hard engineering
  • Using hard engineering in one area can cause issues further down the coast
  • Without sediment transport some of the beaches are being deprived of sand as the sand sources are eliminated
  • So ICZM is introduced
• Stakeholders in the ICZM?

  • Central government- Archaeology Department, Fisheries Department etc
  • State and local government- Odisha Tourism, Odisha state pollution and Disaster management authority
  • Other - Green Peace and World Bank
• Aims of the Odisha coast ICZM plan?

  • To manage coastal erosion without impacting on other sections of the coastline
  • To reduce the coastlines vulnerability to storm, tsunamis and tropical cyclones
  • To maintain and protect the biodiversity of the coastline
  • To promote livelihood security for the coastal population
  • To monitor and reduce current levels of coastal pollution
  • To promote the cultural and archaeological heritage of the coastal area
• Odisha Coast ICZM Plan?

  • Soft engineering to include replanting mangroves, establish salt marshes and planting sea grass
  • Build more cyclone shelters
  • Ecotourism businesses to take advantage of biodiversity and cultural attractions of the coast
  • Urban planning zones to limit Shoreline development
  • Diversification grants to local people who are negatively impacted by the plan
  • Limit expansion of aquaculture
  • Establish conservation areas and protected parks
  • All hard engineering schemes to provide a full assessment of the impact on sediment cells and other area of the coastline
• Olive Ridley turtles?

  • Hundreds of thousands come to nest on Odishas beaches
  • The turtles are at risk from mechanised fishing in prohibited areas, the non-use of turtles excluder devices and insensitive tourism
  • Some nesting sites are moving northwards as of erosion
  • Awareness is being raised in local communities
  • Community members are being trained and armed to function as boatmen and guards to protect the poaching of the turtles especially during nesting season
  • And to protect nesting habitats a project is working to complete the solid waste management system
• Measures to protect small communities?

  • Small community based tourism
  • Locals trained to get jobs as boatmen, guides and dolphin spotters
  • 3000 fishing vessels to be converted to eco-friendly boats to fishing and tourism
  • About 400,000 people from 235 coastal villages are expected to benefit through these measures