Tentulikantha, a coastal village in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, lies just a kilometre from the Bay of Bengal. Here, memories of the 1999 super cyclone — when the sea unleashed its wrath on October 29, also known as the black Friday tragedy of Odisha — are still vivid. That day saw Tentulikantha lose 21 lives and the scars remain deeply etched in the minds of survivors.
Sumit Senapati (32) recalled losing his father, Antrajami and his sister, Visaka, who were swept away by tidal waves. “My younger brother Satyajit, mother Arati and I survived by sheltering on the roof of a concrete building,” he shared.
Senapati, now a civil engineer working in Hyderabad, recently returned to care for the ailing Arati, who worked tirelessly to provide for her sons after the tragedy. “The pain hasn’t left us,” he said, “and we still search for family in our memories.”
On the 25th anniversary of a disaster that killed approximately 10,000 across Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts, stories like Sumit’s illustrate the emotional toll still felt in these coastal areas.
“It’s hard to believe that it has been almost 25 years ago since the tragedy. The hardest hit were the village residents of Earasama block and the fishing communities in Paradip, Jagatsinghpur district,” said Biraja Pati, a social worker from Kendrapara.
Kanhu Sahoo, from Asiha village in Earasama block, lost his entire family — his wife Renubala, two sons and two daughters. “I survived by clinging to a tree,” he said, recounting the horror. Urged by his community, he later remarried Sujata Behera, herself a widow from the cyclone and together they rebuilt a family. “We now have a 19-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter,” Sahoo said.
In the fishing village of Sandakuda, Paradip, Amar Moharana lost his wife and children as waves flattened his home. He survived by grasping a tree but never recovered his loved ones’ bodies. “The sea devoured everything,” he said, his voice thick with grief.
The trauma persists for many, including 65-year-old Ramesh Mandal of Dahibar, who still clings to the hope of finding both his missing sons. “We live in new homes, but the sea frightens us. Leaving is impossible; my sons are still somewhere here,” he said.
The violent sea claimed the lives of around 75 residents from Japa Gram Panchayat in Erasama block, Jagatsinghpur district.
Deepak Haldar, a fisherman from Japa, has endured 25 years of trauma following that fateful day. Reflecting on the devastation, he said, “Twenty-five years ago, my life changed forever. When the super cyclone hit, I managed to survive by sheltering in the only two-storey pucca house in the village. But I lost my parents and two sisters. The cyclone destroyed everything I knew,” shared Haldar, now 40.
“We used to live in mud-walled houses near the sea, but now we stay in pucca houses and rush to the nearby cyclone shelters whenever there is a warning,” he added. “I never imagined something like this could happen.”
The sea now imbues fear, yet Haldar refuses to leave his seaside village of Japa, despite the immense insecurity. “I never imagined something like this would happen. The super cyclone has made us aware that the village isn’t safe. But we have no choice. Our livelihoods depend on fishing in the nearby creeks, so leaving the village simply isn’t an option,” he added.
Official reports attribute the loss of 7,091 lives in Jagatsinghpur and 384 in Kendrapara. Unofficial estimates, however, suggested the cyclone claimed over 10,000 lives.
The 1999 super cyclone propelled Odisha into the spotlight for its strides in disaster management, culminating in international recognition during cyclones Phailin in 2013 and Yaas in 2021. While the state suffered significant damage, there were no fatalities during the most recent cyclone, Dana.
The Odisha government has prioritised disaster preparedness since the 1999 disaster — authorities constructed cyclone shelters, concrete homes and resilient infrastructure along the coast. Haldar said the transformation is remarkable. “Now, we have shelters to run to when storms come,” he said.
Special Relief Commissioner Deoranjan Kumar Singh noted Odisha's exemplary progress since 1999, saying, “The Zero Casualty Mission is a testament to our commitment to protect lives. Odisha has become a global leader in disaster risk management.”
He credited the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), established before the National Disaster Management Act of 2005, with spearheading these efforts. Singh highlighted OSDMA’s collaboration with various stakeholders to ensure a resilient Odisha, committed to climate adaptation and sustainable development.
“Our goal is a disaster-resilient state where communities thrive and safety is paramount,” he added.