Yesterday, more than 200 stranded fishermen were rescued from the sea off of Kerala. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) warned the Southernmost parts of India would experience high waves reaching 3-4.9 m. The high waves are expected to cross 10 Km off the State’s coast from 6:30 P.M. to 11:30 P.M.
A joint bulletin released by IMD and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) stated the severe cyclonic storm centering Lakshadweep would intensify in the next 24 hours. The report also informed that 10 locations on the Island would experience heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours.
IMD Director General K. J. Ramesh explained, “The worst impact of the cyclone is likely to be over by tomorrow evening.”
In a joint effort with the Navy, Indian Air Force, Coast Guard, the State Government and Merchant Vessels 218 fishermen were rescued on Friday.
Unlike the previous intense cyclones, residents received a warning only on Thursday when the cyclone approached. Earlier, Cyclones Phailin, Hudhud and Laila were all predicted 4 to 5 days in advance giving the residents enough time to evacuate the danger zones. Many fishermen made their way out to sea on Wednesday evening and were stranded due to the nearing Cyclone Ockhi.
Many people took out protests blaming the Government for not giving the warning in time. But the Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan denied these allegations.
IMD Head of Services Mrutyunjay Mohapatra backed the Chief Minister and said “It all depends on the birth and life cycle of the cyclone, and the place where it develops. Those on the Eastern coast originate far from the coastline, around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and take a few days to reach the mainland. They can be forecast in advance. In this case, the cyclone originated at sea, West of Sri Lanka, and moved towards Lakshadweep, which is not very far away. Kerala and areas of Tamil Nadu got an ever lesser lead time, about one and a half days.”
The Kerala Chief Minister also explained, “The Government got the warning at 12 noon on Thursday. Without a cyclone warning, an alert for the same cannot be released. Subsequently, all necessary steps were taken to tackle the situation. Apart from seeking the assistance of the Navy, Air Force and the Coast Guard, the State Government asked the Director General of Shipping to alert cargo vessels along the coast. Accordingly, a Japan ship rescued 60 fishermen.”
The rescue operations are still going on but an estimate of the ones missing has not be revealed. The people from fishing villages are in panic and have little news regarding their loved ones.
