Cyclone Fani hit the coast of Odisha, India on May 3, 2019, and it came on shore right over Puri where Prashanti School is. Following is the most recent post-cyclone update:
Dear WFF Sponsors and Friends,
The real cleanup work in the wake of the devastating May 3rd Cyclone Fani has begun. Just yesterday, power was restored in the center of Puri around the Jagannath Temple, and slowly but surely over the next 5 days they plan to restore power to the whole city. Hopefully this will include the village areas around Puri too!
Communications have been spotty, but we have been able to connect with Prashanti School Principal Munu via WhatsApp over the past week. The assessment of any damages to the school and hostel buildings is ongoing. Once power is restored and cellphone and internet service returns, communications will normalize. Here is what we know so far:
Enormous loss of trees all over the area required a massive clean-up - a chainsaw man was finally found and the cutting up of the very large downed trees has begun.
The hostel buildings suffered minor damage, some fiberglass roofing broke and blew off, the boundary walls around the residential property were broken by fallen trees in three places, and the entry gate will need repair and rebuilding. Luckily, the windows that had been installed upstairs in the boys' dorm by Rotary are plexiglass and withstood the high winds beautifully! (Thank you Rotary!) The outdoor cooking shed was completely destroyed and will need to be replaced. Since there has been no power, the staff has been unable to pump water to the rooftop tank and the water purification units are not working. All water has to be boiled. Luckily the smokeless chula wood burning stoves survived, and outdoor cooking is being done on the veranda of the boys' dorm.
The brand new Prashanti International School classroom building was built to be a storm shelter as well as a school, and it passed this extreme test with flying colors! The building is rock solid, and only a small amount of water came in because a temporary fiberglass roof over the center stairwell came off in the winds. This must be replaced by a concrete cover. The front entry gate sustained damage in the high winds and will need to be replaced or repaired. Further assessment will be made to see if any other damages need to be addressed.
The call went out to get assistance for the cleanup at both properties, and several Prashanti School alumni answered the call! These fine young men who grew up in the Prashanti School family with the loving support of WFF sponsors came and enthusiastically did the work that no one else would do for the school. Five of them were from the time of the devastating 1999 Super Cyclone and grew up at Prashanti School from a young age. These were Krishna Das, Khageswar Das, Milu Barik, Satyanarayan Panda, and Santosh Kandy. They truly exemplify the value of loving service that they learned at Prashanti. These young men are a pharmacist, junior lawyer, businessmen, etc.(See photos below.)
Three of our sponsored student families lost their homes and the roof blew off the home of another. They are rebuilding. They live in local villages where most of the huts were damaged. Fortunately, there was minimal flooding and no storm surge inland, so they could begin the repairs quickly. It will take some time to find out about all the students' and teachers' homes. We have not learned of any injuries or health related problems so far. We pray that it is so.
Because of the devastation to crops, trees, and small businesses caused by the high winds, we expect that the local economy will experience significant negative impact. Coconut palms were uprooted, banana groves destroyed, fields flooded - this will have long lasting effects - it will be 10 years before new banana plants will produce fruit! The other main sector of the economy in Puri is tourism / pilgrimage / wedding destination. The hotels all along the beachfront suffered significant damage, and it will take months before they are fully repaired and operational. We will be watching how this affects the families of our Prashanti students.
We will keep you updated. Please keep your prayers flowing for the wellbeing of all.
May all beings be safe and protected.
Prashanti School BEFORE the cyclone... cool, green and shady...
The real cleanup work in the wake of the devastating May 3rd Cyclone Fani has begun. Just yesterday, power was restored in the center of Puri around the Jagannath Temple, and slowly but surely over the next 5 days they plan to restore power to the whole city. Hopefully this will include the village areas around Puri too!
Communications have been spotty, but we have been able to connect with Prashanti School Principal Munu via WhatsApp over the past week. The assessment of any damages to the school and hostel buildings is ongoing. Once power is restored and cellphone and internet service returns, communications will normalize. Here is what we know so far:
Enormous loss of trees all over the area required a massive clean-up - a chainsaw man was finally found and the cutting up of the very large downed trees has begun.
The hostel buildings suffered minor damage, some fiberglass roofing broke and blew off, the boundary walls around the residential property were broken by fallen trees in three places, and the entry gate will need repair and rebuilding. Luckily, the windows that had been installed upstairs in the boys' dorm by Rotary are plexiglass and withstood the high winds beautifully! (Thank you Rotary!) The outdoor cooking shed was completely destroyed and will need to be replaced. Since there has been no power, the staff has been unable to pump water to the rooftop tank and the water purification units are not working. All water has to be boiled. Luckily the smokeless chula wood burning stoves survived, and outdoor cooking is being done on the veranda of the boys' dorm.
The brand new Prashanti International School classroom building was built to be a storm shelter as well as a school, and it passed this extreme test with flying colors! The building is rock solid, and only a small amount of water came in because a temporary fiberglass roof over the center stairwell came off in the winds. This must be replaced by a concrete cover. The front entry gate sustained damage in the high winds and will need to be replaced or repaired. Further assessment will be made to see if any other damages need to be addressed.
The call went out to get assistance for the cleanup at both properties, and several Prashanti School alumni answered the call! These fine young men who grew up in the Prashanti School family with the loving support of WFF sponsors came and enthusiastically did the work that no one else would do for the school. Five of them were from the time of the devastating 1999 Super Cyclone and grew up at Prashanti School from a young age. These were Krishna Das, Khageswar Das, Milu Barik, Satyanarayan Panda, and Santosh Kandy. They truly exemplify the value of loving service that they learned at Prashanti. These young men are a pharmacist, junior lawyer, businessmen, etc.(See photos below.)
Three of our sponsored student families lost their homes and the roof blew off the home of another. They are rebuilding. They live in local villages where most of the huts were damaged. Fortunately, there was minimal flooding and no storm surge inland, so they could begin the repairs quickly. It will take some time to find out about all the students' and teachers' homes. We have not learned of any injuries or health related problems so far. We pray that it is so.
Because of the devastation to crops, trees, and small businesses caused by the high winds, we expect that the local economy will experience significant negative impact. Coconut palms were uprooted, banana groves destroyed, fields flooded - this will have long lasting effects - it will be 10 years before new banana plants will produce fruit! The other main sector of the economy in Puri is tourism / pilgrimage / wedding destination. The hotels all along the beachfront suffered significant damage, and it will take months before they are fully repaired and operational. We will be watching how this affects the families of our Prashanti students.
We will keep you updated. Please keep your prayers flowing for the wellbeing of all.
May all beings be safe and protected.
Prashanti School BEFORE the cyclone... cool, green and shady...
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Prashanti School AFTER the cyclone...
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