Describing and discussing the reasons of accidents or disasters based on news reports

UNIT-II

3. DESCRIBING AND DISCUSSING THE REASONS OF ACCIDENTS OR DISASTERS BASED ON NEWS REPORTS

Read the following details and use them for discussing:

Sundarbans is cyclone capital of India: IMD report

Around 70% cyclones in the area from 1961-2020 were severe

Down to earth:

By Jayanta Basu

Published: Monday 24 January 2022

West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, within which the larger share of the Sundarbans is located, is impacted by cyclones the most frequently among Indian districts, found a recent study.

In 2021, the Sunderbans saw two (Yaas and Jawad cyclones) out of the 10 cyclonic disturbances that swept the country.

The researchers studied cyclonic storms passing within 50 nautical miles (about 90 kilometres) of the coastal districts from 1961-2020. Coastal districts of Kendrapara in Orissa, Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, Purba Medinipur in Bengal are also extremely vulnerable to cyclones, the team found.

Baleshwar district in Orissa and Villupuram in Tamil Nadu followed South 24 Paraganas in terms of severe cyclones, with a return period of 2.86 years and 3 years respectively.

"This study clearly indicates that Sunderbans within the coastal area of South 24 Paraganas is one of the most-affected parts of the country," scientist Pulak Guhathakurta, head of the climate division in IMD Pune, told this reporter.

The unique analysis of cyclone return and vulnerability was modelled on the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) technical memorandum regarding the national hurricane risk analysis, Guhathakurta said.

"The finding is in sync with the developments during the last three years when Sunderbans was impacted by one major cyclone after another — from Bulbul in 2019, Amphan in 2020, Yaas and Jawad in 2021. In 2009, Cyclone Aila had devastated the region," said Javed Ahmed Khan, state disaster management minister of West Bengal.

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