The loss of life in the super cyclone that hit the Orissa coast last year was not an 'act of God'. Had the emergency plans been in place, the loss would have been considerably reduced. And there was all the time in the world to do it. Orissa was unprepared for this cyclone, some have argued, as it is rarely hit by super cyclones.
Facts speak otherwise.
India's east coast, one of the six major cyclone-prone regions in the world, is hit by four to six cyclones every year, of which one to two are severe. Orissa is hit by 20 per cent of all severe cyclones that make landfall on this coast. Once every few decades a super cyclone comes along, leaving mass death in its wake. With recent advances in cyclone-detection technologies, a super cyclone need no longer be so deadly. Andhra Pradesh, the most cyclone-prone state in India, illustrates this well.