10 Yrs Later: Remembering Devastating Cyclone Hudhud

The cyclone revealed the need for adequate disaster preparedness, including insurance for industrial properties and the importance of native tree species in greening programs

Visakhapatnam: While teaching a huge lesson to the powers-that-be on the hollowness in the disaster management strategies, the severe cyclone Hudhud which caused an unprecedented devastation in its wake bringing life to a grinding halt and disrupted the industrial production in Visakhapatnam exactly 10 years ago, the short time in which the city bounced back to normalcy proved the resilience of the people to fight back courageously.

Incidentally, the extent of damage with a power shutdown and supply of drinking water for a week and several major industries experiencing forced shutdown and RINL, the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant seeking power supply as a special case from the government to revive its captive power plant and avoid leakage of gases, are still fresh in memory of the Vizagites.

The Visakhapatnam International Airport presented a horrific scene with its roofs and vital infrastructure blown away when wind speed reaching 250 kmph blew off everything leading to its shutdown.

The damage caused to the infrastructure was estimated at Rs 21,000 crore. The Navy itself suffered a loss of nearly Rs 2,000 crore and Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, the largest industrial unit in Andhra Pradesh, nearly Rs 340 crore. Incidentally, the damage caused by Hudhud was the highest by any storm in the past 50 years.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who was also in power at the time when the cyclone made a landfall near Kailasagiri in the city on October 12, 2014, preferred to convert a bus in the Collectorate here as his office-cum-residence for a week and to monitor the progress for restoration work on a war-footing. A day after the disaster, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew to Visakhapatnam and announced wholehearted support to help the people to lead a normal life and to rebuild the city.

At that time, #Let’s Rebuild Vizag campaign by the social activists through micro-blogging sites had turned viral with people from all parts of the world rendering support in different kinds for reconstruction of the city and normalisation of life.

After that what happened was history. Within a short time, normally it was restored but the city which lost all its greenery had to wait for a long time to revive its beautiful look. “I am thankful to the people for responding positively to my appeal not to celebrate Diwali, which came a few days after the cyclone battered the region,” Naidu had said at that time.

The cyclone also exposed the belief that the city has the immunity from any damage due to storms as it has Dolphin’s Nose. “Many also learnt the need to take insurance policies for their industrial and office premises as they realised its relevance only after they saw the heavy damage to their establishments,” O Naresh Kumar, vice-president of Vizag Development Forum vice-president, told Bizz Buzz.

In reflecting on the lessons learned—and unlearned—from the tidal wave that wreaked havoc on the Masula coast decades ago, social activist and bureaucrat EAS Sarma noted that several cyclone shelters were established along the east coast. However, their disuse and neglect became evident when Cyclone Hudhud struck, inflicting maximum trauma on slum areas by blowing off the rooftops of makeshift shelters. This highlighted decades of neglect by the GVMC.

“Many native species of trees survived Hudhud but those imported got uprooted. Emphasis of greening programmes should therefore be on native species. Visit of the PM, camping at Vizag by the CM, a host of officers landing here in the name of managing relief operations and put up in star hotels diverted attention of local officers from relief work. So, VIPs should remain at their places and allow local officials to attend to relief, Sarma told

Bizz Buzz on Sunday.