Odisha toll 25 as cyclone Phailin triggers flood

While 21 persons were killed due to the high velocity cyclone, four others died due to floods that followed

The death toll in calamity- ravaged Odisha today mounted to 25 with four more persons perishing in several areas of the state in the aftermath of Cyclone Phailin that triggered heavy rains and floods in some districts.

While 21 persons were killed due to the high velocity cyclone, four others died following floods in Mayurbhanj and Bhadrak districts as heavy rains pounded most parts of the state, officials said.

Giving details of the casualties, Special Relief Commissioner P K Mohapatra said deaths were reported from districts like Ganjam (9), Balasore (3), Puri (3), Nayagarh (2), Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur Khurda and Bolangir (one each).

Similarly, floods in Mayurbhanj and Bhadrak claimed two lives each, an official said, adding fresh casualties due to cyclone were reported in Nayagarh, Bolangir and Puri. A boy was missing after being swept away by the flood waters of Salandi in Bhadrak.

Most of the casualties were caused by wall collapse, uprooted trees and in floods, while a large number of people were injured, officials said.

With normalcy fast returning in cyclone-ravaged areas, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is embarking upon an aerial survey in the worst-hit Ganjam district where the Phailin made a landfall at Gopalpur on October 12.

Relief and restoration operation also picked up in the affected areas of the vast coastal belt in the aftermath of the calamity.