Riding the tiger
January 12, 2010
Storms and flooding have been responsible for more than 40,000 deaths in Orissa in recent years. But leaving the region is not an option for the population. Despite the near certainty of recurring annual catastrophes, Orissa's locals stay.
Kandura Behera is one of Ersama's many fishermen who make their living in the coastal district on the Bay of Bengal. Humming nervously, he rows his small wooden fishing boat out into the rough sea, trying to hide his fear with his humming.
Behera knows not to underestimate nature's wrath. On October 28, 1999, the super-cyclone Mahabatya hit land in Ersama. It was the worst storm to strike the region in decades, hitting the coastline with winds travelling at 360 km per hour.
"All the boats were destroyed, our house was just swept away," Behera said. "I couldn't work for months. Today, I'm still finding it difficult to get by."
The people survive but don't forget
Over 11,000 people were killed in three days, including Sisir Mandal's entire family.
"Only my father and I survived, because we were a bit stronger and were able to hold on," Mandal said. "The others all drowned." He tells his story in a quiet voice, the memory too clear and painful to really articulate.
None of the survivors had access to any form of post-traumatic stress treatment. Psychological treatment for the effects of a natural catastrophe doesn't fall under the umbrella of state welfare and no one here can afford to seek it out privately.
Despite his experiences, Mandal said he wants to stay, even though he doesn't really have a choice. He would like to be a crab fisher like many of the other men here, but he doesn't have any money to buy a pond to be able breed the crustaceans. He never received a single penny in compensation from the government despite promises made.
Technology for damage mitigation
It is not only financial compensation that is missing, but also money that could be put towards early warning systems. These could help protect coastal inhabitants against the next storm, which is certain to come. There are still too few cyclone shelters, so for the time being, people are trying to invest in technology.
"We can't beat the storms, we can just try to live with them as best we can," said Nikunia Sundaray, crisis chief of the Orissa State Disaster Mitigation Authority. Sundaray is proud of the disaster mitigation center. It has a satellite supported warning system that is able to alert each of the local authorities so that they can take measures when a storm has been registered. The system is supposed to stretch from the state authorities through to district authorities and into the smallest villages.
"Only when people work together with technology will they be able to resist the strength of the storm and carry on living where they are," he said.
Climate change hits the poor the hardest
When Behera was growing up in Ersama, the sea was 3 km further out than it is today. The sea is advancing inland and it is getting rougher. The coast used to receive some protection from the dense roots of the mangrove swamps and the kajurina trees.
Today, Orissa has become more vulnerable due to the exploitation of its nature defenses - the use of its natural resources for fuel and the consequences of massive CO2 emissions. India's recent economic boom has also contributed to an increase in environmental damage. Local problems in Ersama are a side effect of negative global environmental policies.
Orissa's coastline is a shocking example of the consequences of climate change, caused in large part by western industrialized nations. The people directly affected are the poor and the fishermen on the Bay of Bengal.
Living with fear
"Politicians have ignored the problem that small farming is suffering because of climate change for too long," said Surendranath Pasupalak, agronomics professor at the University of Bhubaneswar. He sees things as a catch 22 of irregular rainfall and rising climate warming.
"The mangroves on the coast are drying out and the people are taking the wood for burning," he said. "This increases the likelihood of heat thermals and with the extra heat thermals, the likelihood of cyclones increases."
For Behera, this is no reason to abandon the coast.
"What is the point of cursing the sea? Only the gods can give us strength," Behera said - and rows back out to sea, waving to his four children on the beach.
Author: Alexander Goebel
Editor: Sabina Casagrande