Cyclone Fani has left destruction in its wake, not even sparing the trees of the coastal districts in Odisha. More than 10 million trees were uprooted with an equal number of trees damaged in the extremely severe cyclone.

The figure may rise as forest officials are yet to receive the complete report on the damage to forest cover in Puri, Khurda and other divisions where no communication has been established so far.

Preliminary estimates revealed that Cyclone Fani damaged at least two million trees in Bhubaneswar alone. The regenerated forest in Chandaka was also severely affected, according to The New Indian Express.

Forest officials have started assessing the damage to the green cover in Cyclone Fani-hit districts but it will take time as most of the field-level staff are engaged in removing uprooted trees and clearing roads in the affected areas.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Sandip Tripathy told The Express that around 50 per cent trees have been uprooted while crown of the remaining half damaged in Balukhanda sanctuary. The sanctuary was home to around 90 lakh trees.

Report from Satapada, where Cyclone Fani caused extensive damage to the forests, is yet to come, he said.

The cyclone also damaged lakhs of trees along Bhubaneswar-Puri highway and roads in Bramhagiri, Satapada, Krushnaprasad, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Khurda and several other areas.

A large number of trees in urban and rural areas of Puri, Khurda and Cuttack districts have also been uprooted.

"The damage to green cover is so massive that it will take at least a decade for its revival. We will recommend the State Government to launch a special project for Balukhand for restoration of the damaged forest," the PCCF said.

"Now, our main task will be to ensure re-plantation of the uprooted trees to revive the green cover," said Tripathy.

Forest officials said that recurring storms in 1999, 2013, 2014, 2018 and now in 2019, severely affected the state's forest and green cover. In 2013 Phailin, Odisha lost around 1.2 million trees in Berhampur forest circle alone.

However, the wildlife has been spared from Cyclone Fani's fury. Around 4,000 deer in Balukhand sanctuary have been found safe. Besides, there is no report of large-scale wildlife loss from any other affected districts so far, the officials added.



