Cyclone Mandous Unveiling: Behind the Scenes of Nature’s Powerful Fury

Introduction to Cyclone Mandous

• In December of 2022, Cyclone Mandous brought strong winds and torrential rain on the northern coast of Tamil Nadu.
• The cyclone Biparjoy that hit India was not exceptional. About three or four times a year, cyclones of this type and intensity strike the Indian coast. The months of May and June are prime cyclone season. Gujarat, located on the western coast, is particularly at risk from easterly migrating cyclones in the Arabian Sea. However, there were aspects of Cyclone Biparjoy that not only made it hard to forecast its course, but also made it more hazardous.

Cyclones

Cyclones are areas of low pressure that experience fast inward air circulation. In the Northern hemisphere, air flows counterclockwise, while in the Southern hemisphere, it flows clockwise. Strong winds and rain are common companions to cyclones.

Classification: Cyclone Mandous

• Both tropical and extratropical cyclones exist, with the latter also known by several other names such as temperate cyclones, middle latitude cyclones, frontal cyclones, and wave cyclones. 
• The area between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer is where tropical cyclones form.A tropical or subtropical storm is a large-scale weather phenomenon that forms over the ocean and eventually organizes into a wind pattern near the surface.
• Although they are thought to originate in the Polar Regions, extra tropical cyclones can be found in the temperate zones and high latitude regions.

Cyclones in the tropics

• Tropical cyclones are powerful storms that develop over the ocean in tropical regions and then make their way to the coast, where they cause widespread damage with their high winds, torrential rain, and tidal surges.
• One of the most catastrophic natural disasters is a tropical cyclone.
• Tropical cyclones develop and strengthen over the warm waters of the tropics. The following are conducive to the development and strengthening of tropical cyclones:

• Wide expanse of water hotter than 27 degrees Celsius.
• Coriolis force is present.
• Variations in the altitude of the wind’s velocity.
• A preexisting area of low pressure or weak cyclonic circulation at the lower levels of the atmosphere.
• Extreme separation above the water’s surface.

Tropic cyclone development stages: Cyclone Mandous

There are three distinct phases of a tropical cyclone’s life cycle:

• Phase of Birth and Early Growth

• Water vapor and heat are transferred from the warm ocean surface to the overlying air, allowing for the genesis and beginning development of a cyclonic storm.
• Large, vertical cumulus clouds can form over the ocean as a result of convection and condensation of rising air.
• Phase of Maturity:

• The air of a tropical storm rises in gusty thunderstorms and spreads out laterally at the tropopause as the storm grows stronger. When air is allowed to disperse, a positive pressure is created at higher altitudes, hastening the air’s natural downward motion due to convection.
• By forcing air downward, we can form a warm ‘Eye’ (low pressure center) due to the compression heating of the air. The circular pattern of highly turbulent huge cumulus thundercloud bands is the defining physical feature of a mature tropical cyclone in the Indian Ocean.
• Alteration and deterioration: cyclone mandous

• As soon as a tropical cyclone loses its supply of warm, moist air, it begins to weaken in terms of its center low pressure, internal warmth, and extremely fast speeds.
• When it makes landfall or travels across frigid water, something occurs.

Cyclone Outside the Tropics

• Mid-latitude depressions, temperate cyclones, frontal depressions, and wave cyclones are all names for the same type of extratropical cyclone.
• These are most active above the mid-latitudes (35° to 65°) in both hemispheres.
• More noticeable in the winter months, the flow is from west to east. Fronts form where air masses from the polar regions and the tropics collide.

Cyclone Mandous: The Origin of Hurricanes Outside the Tropics

• The Polar Front theory provides the most compelling explanation for the genesis and evolution of temperate cyclones.
• The idea states that a polar front forms when air masses from the tropics, which are warm and humid, collide with air masses from the poles, which are frigid and dry.
• Because cold air is denser and heavier than warm air, the latter is forced upward.
• An area of low pressure forms at the junction, especially in the center of the interactions between the cold and warm air masses, causing instability.
• As a result, space opens up as pressure decreases. The surrounding air rushed in to fill the void, and when combined with the earth’s rotation, the result is a cyclone.
• While hurricanes and other tropical storms arise in the tropics, extratropical cyclones develop in cooler regions.

Indian Cyclones

Cyclones in the tropics

• The Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean are the birthplaces of tropical cyclones. The Indian coastal states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, and Gujarat are impacted by these tropical cyclones, which have extremely high wind velocities and significant rainfall.
• The strong wind speeds and accompanying heavy rain make most cyclones extremely dangerous.

Cyclone Mandous: India’s Vulnerability to Cyclones and Why

• The coastline of India is approximately 7,516 kilometers long, and it is flat and the continental shelf is rather shallow.
• In addition, the population of most coastal cities is quite dense. The Northern Indian Ocean, which includes the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, has the lowest TC frequency worldwide (7% of the global total), although its effects on the east coast of India and the coast of Bangladesh are significantly more severe.
• The severe storm tide effect in the region is mostly to blame for this.
• There are 84 coastal districts in the 13 coastal states and UTs that are impacted by tropical cyclones. 
• The four East Coast states most at risk are: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey. There are five states on the east coast (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, and one UT, Puducherry), and one state on the west coast (Gujarat).

Cyclone Mandous: Influence of Typhoons

• Homes, buildings, and infrastructure are all at risk.
• There’s a chance it might affect things like shipping, electricity, and phone lines.
• As a result, it can trigger floods and landslides.
• It raises the risk of water contamination and further disease transmission.
• People may need to relocate because of this.
• Supply networks and livelihoods are also at risk.
• The national economy may be profoundly affected.

Precautions Against Cyclone Mandous

• The National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP), which will be carried out with World Bank funding, is planned to include the following four main parts:

• Part A: focuses on enhancing the LMC of cyclone alerts and advisories to better disseminate early warning information.
• Part B: Financial preparations to lessen the impact of a cyclone.
• Part C focuses on providing support for managing risks and enhancing preparedness in the face of potential hazards.
• Part D: Project administration and organizational backing.
• These parts rely heavily on one another, so their implementation should be consistent. The project’s proposed framework of activities enables comprehensive responses to cyclone disasters in all 13 coastal states and UTs.

• As early as 2008, the NDMA has developed its own National Guidelines for the Management of Cyclones. These principles are predicated on the idea that mitigation efforts should involve multiple sectors working together. The most important parts of these rules are as follows:

• The government plans to implement a cutting-edge cyclone EWS that includes observations, predictions, warnings, and individualized local-scale advise for decision-makers (at the federal, state, and local levels) to mitigate the effects of cyclones.
• The government plans to establish an Aircraft Probing of Cyclone Mandous (APC) facility in India, using a mix of manned aircraft and high-altitude Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to effectively fill the critical observational data gaps in the event of cyclones over the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. 
• State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) in coastal states/UTs and District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) in the 84 coastal districts at risk from cyclones will adopt cutting-edge operational infrastructure, and the government will commission a National Disaster Communication Infrastructure (NDCI) at the NDMA/MHA. 
• Introducing a Weather Channel and Broadcasting Cyclone Mandous Warnings from High-Power Coastal Radio Stations The government plans to increase the warning dissemination outreach by using Direct-To-Home (DTH) transmission in remote and rural areas (Panchayats) that cannot be otherwise covered. This includes the use of satellite radio service like World Space, Ham radios, community radios, and the Very high frequency (VHF) network.

• The following concrete steps will be taken to implement structural measures for reducing cyclone risk:
• Lifeline facilities’ structural integrity in low-lying locations.
• Creating a reliable system for identifying storm shelters and cow mounds that serve several purposes.
• Making sure that coastal rural and urban housing plans adhere to cyclone-resistant design standards.
• Constructing paved roads in inclement weather between coastal communities and any necessary storm shelters or cow mounds.
• Additional flood flow canals should be built in prone-to-flood locations, and existing drains and canals should be kept at their full designed carrying capacity.
• Saline embankments are built to block salt water from cyclone storm surges.
• Promoting corporate and trust involvement in public-private partnerships.

• The following measures can be taken to manage coastal areas in a way that reduces the risk of damage from cyclones:

• Identification of areas with the potential for enhancing the bio-shield’s spread through mapping and delineation of coastal wetlands, mangrove patches, and shelter belts using remote sensing methods.
• Controlling building projects and other development along the coast.
• Institutionalized measures to monitor water quality and the carrying and assimilative capacity of open waters.
• Planning for cyclone damage reduction and coastal resource sustainability using Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) frameworks.
• Plans to revive damaged ecosystems are being refined.
• Options for freshwater replenishment and control of delta water are being developed.
• Plans for the establishment, maintenance, and rebirth of coastal bio-shields.
• Making plans for flood inundation management, flood plain development, and coastal flood zoning a reality.
• Increasing the demand for potable water and encouraging its use in coastal cities through groundwater development.
• Aquaculture Parks should be built in the identified growth areas.
• Establishing a dedicated eco-system monitoring network to examine climate change’s effects.
• Evaluating not only the vulnerability but also the changing profile of vulnerability over time, an integrated hazard mitigation framework is being developed that takes into account cyclones and their associated storm surge, wind hazard, rainfall-runoff, river flood, and Geographical Information System (GIS) models.
• Rapidly completing the generation of digital spatial data to cover 84 coastal districts that are vulnerable to cyclones, for evolving holistic cyclone risk reduction strategies, requires the integration of ongoing efforts from the Survey of India, Department of Space under National Spatial Data Infrastructure, National Database for Emergency Management, and MoEF initiatives. 
• In order to compile household-level attribute data relevant to disasters, the Census Commissioner will conduct supplementary surveys.
• Making available online services to state disaster management agencies requires setting up a Cyclone Disaster Management Information System (CDMIS) that encompasses all DM phases.
• Establishing Cyclone Mandous Risk Mitigation as a Core Component of State Disaster Management Departments’ Long-Term Strategic Plans.
• Community-based disaster management (CBDM) programs, similar to MHA’s DRM Project, will be rolled out to all 84 cyclone-prone areas.
• The National Cyclone Disaster Management Institute (NCDMI) would be developed as a specialized institution in one of the coastal states to handle all problems associated with cyclone danger. The complete project’s concept will be developed by NDMA. Preparedness, mitigation, response, rehabilitation, and recovery will be the primary focuses of NCDMI, which will involve government and community members.
• Management of Cyclone Mandous Emergencies through the Institution of Tailored Emergency Response (ER) Actions.

Disaster Preparation in Odisha, India: A Case Study

• Odisha’s recovery efforts following the 1999 super storm and the 2019 Fani cyclone were analyzed by the National Institute of Disaster Management.
• The people of Odisha have been kept safe. The emphasis should be placed there. The state has done a good job of reducing casualties and assisting those who have been affected. Never before has so much occurred in one day. 
• Odisha made a deliberate choice and has steadily increased its capacity, especially at the local level. Community-level warning has been implemented, multi-purpose Cyclone Mandous shelters have been constructed as part of the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project, and an Early Warning Dissemination System with last-mile connectivity has been established. 
• Community preparedness for emergencies like this has greatly improved. The Odisha model, as it were, is a blueprint for how to minimize casualties in catastrophic events.

Conclusion: Cyclone Mandous

Cyclones mandous can have terrible results, both in terms of human lives lost and material property destroyed. In nations like India, where a big majority of the people is reliant on agriculture for survival, they can also have a profound effect on the national economy. Although early warning systems and evacuation procedures might lessen the severity of a cyclone’s effects, it is crucial to be aware of the potential economic impact in order to lessen the damage done.

cyclone mandous on monsoon in India

cyclone mandous affects livelihood of people

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