IAF C-17's first relief sortie

[janon]

(Unfortunately, India's east coast is about to be battered by one of the severest cyclones in recent times, and a mammoth evacuation is in progress already, in anticipation. NDRF and the armed forces have fully mobilized for relief and rescue. Just like the Uttarakhand floods, there will have to be a herculean effort by them to avert a potential disaster of biblical proportions. Food, medicines, ambulances and other vehicles are being transported to maintain a state of readiness. Let us see whether the forces can do as commendable a job as last time.)

Cyclone Phailin: IAF sends C-17 to transport relief material in Odisha

The Indian Air Force (IAF)'s latest strategic transport aircraft, the C-17 Globe Master undertook its first sortie towards transporting of relief materials including specialist army vehicles and ambulance from bases in central India to Bhubaneswar, ahead of the arrival of cyclone Phailin, due to strike land later this evening.

The C-17 airlifted 60 troops and rescue and medical material including heavy vehicles and ambulance from Allahabad before landing at Bhubaneswar at around 8.15 am today. Additionally, the IAF has already started transporting NDRF personnel and other heavy relief equipment by by IL-76s and AN-32 from various bases across the country.

The IAF has also kept in readiness two C-130J Super Hercules towards rescue and relief efforts.

Mi-17 V5 helicopters are also standing by in Barrackpore, near Kolkata ready to fly into Odisha for rescue and relief activities, as and when required.

 

[kaykay]

Till now more than 4.5 lakhs people have been evacuated as precautions. More than 2000 big shelters(schools, hospitals etc) have been provided to poor people with food and water. 25+ Helicopters are on stand by for any sort of missions. Thousands of Army and NDRF jawans have been deployed in coastal regions with boats and ready to rescue people if required. Many big Naval ships are also on stand by for rescue including Ins Jalashwa, Ins Rana, and Ins Ranvijay.

 

[DEMI GOD]

one question for everyone...wt if this cyclone hit india ten years back.....wt wuld be results

 

[kaykay]

one question for everyone...wt if this cyclone hit india ten years back.....wt wuld be results

It doesn't matter if It would have hit India 10 years back. What matters is, are we prepared or not?? Last time such storm hit India was in 1999 is the same region and about 15000 people were died then because we had almost zero preparation then. I hope this time loss of life would be minimum. Let hope and pray.

 

[DEMI GOD]

It doesn't matter if It would have hit India 10 years back. What matters is, are we prepared or not?? Last time such storm hit India was in 1999 is the same region and about 15000 people were died then because we had almost zero preparation then. I hope this time loss of life would be minimum. Let hope and pray.

ya bro i wanna say the same thing...things have changed in past years...we are much better we were...we are devloping irrespective of our odds.....

 

[śūnya_0_Zero]

Early warning is the biggest boon.

Now, we need to ensure that we make sure that we are fully prepared.

Hope the cyclone weakens .. soon.

 

[GR!FF!N]

Cyclone Phailin to hit Odisha coast any time now | NDTV.com

BBC is quoting that over 500000 people was evacuated.

BBC News - Cyclone Phailin: Mass evacuations in eastern India

Phailin could produce gusts of up to 296km/h(US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre) and London-based Tropical Storm Risk classified Phailin as a Category Five storm - the most powerful.

Pray for our fellow Indians and lets hope damage will be minimal as we prepared as better as we can.

 

[Iggy]

I guess, government is doing a good job here along with our usual saviors the defense forces.. From what I heard, we were well prepared this time.. Hope this cyclone with pass with out any causality..

 

[Gessler]

Pictures from LiveFist; relief equipment being loaded into belly of IAF C-17 -

 

[MKI 30]

Great to see the big boy being put to use. How many more are we planning to buy? Can anyone share the total no?

 

[janon]

Great to see the big boy being put to use. How many more are we planning to buy? Can anyone share the total no?

Ten already purchased, of which three have been delivered, and the rest will be delivered in a year and a half. Option for six follow on aircrafts exists, which if exercised will take the total to 16.

 

[COLDHEARTED AVIATOR]

Cyclone Phailin: First aircraft with supplies lands in Bhubaneswar Video: NDTV.com

 

[janon]

It looks like the worst is over, and no loss of lives has been reported so far. Remember, in 1999 when a cyclone hit the same parts of the country, 15000 lives were lost. Goes to show how far we have come as a society, and how much our civic institutions have matured. The govt, civil defence, and all authorities concerned deserve a round of applause. Nobody could have done better, no nation in the world. Evacuating more than half a million people from coastal villages, in a country where rail and road infrastructure is not well developed, is a heck of an achievement.

 

[acetophenol]

Kudos to the weather forcasting teams,radars of IN and Coast guard,national and local forces for the job well done. Some damage was inevitable but the scale is minimized by a 100 times!

 

[Skull and Bones]

Damn! We need more C-17s.