Cyclone Titli: Death toll climbs to 52, Odisha stares at Rs 2,200-crore loss

Bhubaneshwar: The death toll in Odisha due to Cyclone Titli and subsequent floods has climbed to 52. Authorities are in the process of verifying 10 more cases who went missing in a landslide in Gajapati district.

As per the preliminary estimate, property worth Rs 2,200 crore have been damaged.

State Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has increased the ex-gratia amount from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 10 lakh each for the kin of the deceased affected due to the cyclone.

"The state government has information about 52 deaths in different affected areas, as of now. The casualties mainly resulted from incidents of landslide, wall collapse, drowning and tree felling," Chief Secretary A P Padhi said.

Thirty-nine deaths were reported from "worst-affected Gajapati district", 12 casualties were reported from Ganjam and one from Kandhamal, Padhi said.

"As per preliminary assessment, the loss suffered in different sectors, including infrastructure and agriculture, was estimated at around Rs 2,200 crore. It will take a day or two to get a full report on the total loss incurred due to the disaster," he stated.

Noting that relief work was in progress across the state, the chief secretary said, "95 per cent of the damaged roads have been repaired".

As many as 16 of the 30 districts of the state were ravaged by heavy rain and flood following the landfall of Cyclone Titli last Thursday on Gopalpur in the southwestern part of the state.