Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Preparedness pays off: On Cyclone Biparjoy

Preparedness pays off: On Cyclone Biparjoy

India escaped the fury of the cyclone, Biparjoy, because of early warnings from the India Meteorological Department

A potent (शक्तिशाली, प्रबल) cyclonic storm (an intense low-pressure weather system; a cyclone, hurricane, typhoon, tornado), Biparjoy, swept through Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan last week and while it did cause noticeable destruction to the infrastructure (आधारभूत संरचना), scores of injuries and cattle deaths, there have been only two reported casualties (victim, fatality, mortality, loss, death). The India Meteorological Department (भारत मौसम विज्ञान विभाग) began issuing its first reports on the cyclone’s trajectory (track/course, route, path, direction, approach) as early as June 8, and by June 11, the agency first indicated that the storm would not bypass (उपमार्ग) India, as previously estimated (अनुमान लगाना), but would likely sharply swing (move quickly round (to the opposite direction)) towards coastal Saurashtra, Gujarat. The storm was also categorised as falling (something to be classified in the way specified) in the ‘very severe’ category — average wind speeds of over 115 kmph. The four days of lead time (the amount of time between the initiation (cyclone formation) and completion (cyclone landfall) of a process) and an estimate (consider, guess, evaluate, judge, gauge, reckon) of its strength gave enough time for district authorities (प्राधिकारी वर्ग) in Gujarat to begin evacuating (खाली कराना) people — nearly 1,00,000 people in the coastal regions of the States were moved to shelters (a place providing temporary protection, accommodation, shield, cover, safe condition (from danger)) and close to 30 central and State disaster relief teams were kept ready. The railways cancelled several trains and fishermen too received advance warnings of the cyclone’s impact (प्रभाव), that kept them away from the sea.

There were power outages ((electricity) power grid failure; loss of (electricity) power) in 1,092 villages, about 5,120 electricity poles were knocked down and an estimated 186 transformers and 2,502 feeders (a main power line that carries electricity from the substation to a local/regional service area) were damaged in the Saurashtra-Kutch region. While shops and establishments (business, place of business, firm, company) have reportedly (कथित तौर पर) re-opened, a full return to normalcy (सामान्यता) is still awaited. Experience from recent years shows that cyclones, whether in the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea, and their expected impact can be precisely gauged only 36-60 hours ahead. While a greater lead time should in theory (सैद्धांतिक रूप में) mean more time for preparation, the nature of coastal infrastructure, inefficient communication networks and livelihood (आजीविका) patterns, combined with the natural fury that cyclones bring about (cause, create, produce, give rise to), mean that there are limits to precautionary (एहतियाती, सुरक्षात्मक) measures (उपाय, क्रिया). A cyclone in 1998, that struck Gujarat, reportedly killed nearly 3,000 people, and it can be safely said that India has moved beyond that era. However, there are newer threats on the horizon (imminent, impending, approaching, coming, on the way, forthcoming, about to happen, in the wings, on the cards, in the pipeline/offing, just around the corner). Several studies warn that the Arabian Sea, thanks to (as a result of, owing to, due to, because of) the effects of global warming (it is the unusually rapid increase in Earth’s average surface temperature over the past century primarily due to the greenhouse gases released as people burn fossil fuels), is likely (possibly, potentially, probably, may be, perhaps) to be the fountainhead (the main source) of many more severe cyclones. Frequent evacuation (the act of moving people from a dangerous place; depopulation, clearance, emptying) cannot be implemented (enforce, apply) as a permanent policy intervention (the process of intervening in something; involvement, interference) and efforts must be made to ensure that coastal-regulation-zone norms (standard, convention, regulation) that prescribe (lay down, stipulate, determine, establish, formulate) the kind of structures permissible at specific distances from the shoreline (the edge of a sea) must be strictly implemented. The dwellings (residence, place of residence, place of habitation, house, abode) of rural, coastal inhabitants (populace, population, people, residents) must be strengthened and natural bulwarks (support; protection, guard) such as mangroves (a tropical plant (shrub or tree) that grows in coastal saline water with its twisted roots grow partly above ground) at wetlands (an area of land that is saturated with water; areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season) must be buttressed (support, bolster up, strengthen, fortify, reinforce, underpin) for improved resilience (the ability to bounce back quickly from difficulties; strength of character, strength, toughness, buoyancy, adaptability).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.India Meteorological Department (IMD) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - भारत मौसम विज्ञान विभाग
English Meaning - an agency under the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India which is responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. It has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distributing warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region, including the Malacca Straits, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.

2.potent (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - शक्तिशाली, प्रबल
English Meaning - powerful, strong, vigorous, mighty.

3.infrastructure (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आधारभूत संरचना
English Meaning - the basic physical or organisational structure or framework that a country or organization needs in order to function properly. For a whole nation, it includes all the physical systems such as buildings, roads & railways networks, utilities, etc.

4.bypass (verb)

Hindi Meaning - उपमार्ग
English Meaning - go round, pass around, keep out of, avoid.

5.estimate (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनुमान लगाना
English Meaning - rough calculation, estimation, assessment, judgement.

6.authorities (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्राधिकारी वर्ग
English Meaning - officials , officialdom, the people in charge, the bureaucracy.

7.evacuate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - खाली कराना
English Meaning - ask people to leave, empty, move out of, get out of, exit from (from a dangerous place).

8.impact (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रभाव
English Meaning - effect.

9.keep away (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - दूर रहना
English Meaning - to make someone stay away from something; to prevent someone from going somewhere.

10.reportedly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - कथित तौर पर
English Meaning - apparently, supposedly, purportedly.

11.normalcy (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सामान्यता
English Meaning - a normal condition; normality, regularity.

12.in theory (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - सैद्धांतिक रूप में
English Meaning - in principle.

13.livelihood (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आजीविका
English Meaning - means of making a living with the basic necessities (food, water, shelter and clothing); means of support, subsistence, source of income.

14.precautionary (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - एहतियाती, सुरक्षात्मक
English Meaning - preventive, safety, protective.

15.measure (noun)

Hindi Meaning - उपाय, क्रिया
English Meaning - action, step, move.

16.preparedness (noun)

English Meaning - readiness, alertness, preparation, awareness, carefulness.

17.pay off (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - be successful, work out, be effective, get results.

18.fury (noun)

English Meaning - severity, ferocity, fierceness, potency, strength, forcefulness.

19.meteorological (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to the branch of science that deals with phenomena (events) of the atmosphere or weather.

20.storm (noun)

English Meaning - an intense low-pressure weather system; a cyclone, hurricane, typhoon, tornado.

21.sweep through (verb)

English Meaning - move across something quickly or forcefully; pass over, flow across swiftly.

22.scores of (adjective)

English Meaning - a lot of something; several, various, many, countless, numerous, innumerable.

23.casualty (noun)

English Meaning - victim, fatality, mortality, loss, death.

24.trajectory (noun)

English Meaning - track/course, route, path, direction, approach.

25.estimate (verb)

English Meaning - consider, guess, evaluate, judge, gauge, reckon.

26.swing (verb)

English Meaning - move quickly round (to the opposite direction).

27.categorise (verb)

English Meaning - classify, group, designate, list.

28.falling (noun)

English Meaning - something to be classified in the way specified.

29.lead time (noun)

English Meaning - the amount of time between the initiation (cyclone formation) and completion (cyclone landfall) of a process.

30.shelter (noun)

English Meaning - a place providing temporary protection, accommodation, shield, cover, safe condition (from danger).

31.power outage (noun)

English Meaning - (electricity) power grid failure; loss of (electricity) power.

32.knock down (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - fell, topple, bring down.

33.feeder (noun)

English Meaning - a main power line that carries electricity from the substation to a local/regional service area.

34.establishment (noun)

English Meaning - business, place of business, firm, company.

35.bring about (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - cause, create, produce, give rise to.

36.precautionary measure (noun)

English Meaning - preparation, prearrangement.

37.strike (verb)

English Meaning - hit, affect, inflict, come upon.

38.era (noun)

English Meaning - time, period, stage.

39.on the horizon (phrase)

English Meaning - imminent, impending, approaching, coming, on the way, forthcoming, about to happen, in the wings, on the cards, in the pipeline/offing, just around the corner.

40.thanks to (phrase)

English Meaning - as a result of, owing to, due to, because of.

41.global warming (noun)

English Meaning - it is the unusually rapid increase in Earth’s average surface temperature over the past century primarily due to the greenhouse gases released as people burn fossil fuels.

42.likely (adverb)

English Meaning - possibly, potentially, probably, may be, perhaps.

43.fountainhead (noun)

English Meaning - the main source.

44.evacuation (noun)

English Meaning - the act of moving people from a dangerous place; depopulation, clearance, emptying.

45.implement (verb)

English Meaning - enforce, apply.

46.intervention (noun)

English Meaning - the process of intervening in something; involvement, interference.

47.policy intervention (noun)

English Meaning - it involves any course of action, programme or activity taken or mandated by national or international authorities and non-state actors.

48.Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) (noun)

English Meaning - In India, the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Rules govern human and industrial activity close to the coastline, in order to protect the fragile ecosystems near the sea. They restrict certain kinds of activities — like large constructions, setting up of new industries, storage or disposal of hazardous material, mining, reclamation and bunding - within a certain distance from the coastline.

49.norm (noun)

English Meaning - standard, convention, regulation.

50.prescribe (verb)

English Meaning - lay down, stipulate, determine, establish, formulate.

51.shoreline (noun)

English Meaning - the edge of a sea.

52.dwelling (noun)

English Meaning - residence, place of residence, place of habitation, house, abode.

53.inhabitant (noun)

English Meaning - populace, population, people, residents.

54.bulwark (noun)

English Meaning - support; protection, guard.

55.mangrove (noun)

English Meaning - a tropical plant (shrub or tree) that grows in coastal saline water with its twisted roots grow partly above ground.

56.wetland (noun)

English Meaning - an area of land that is saturated with water; areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season.

57.buttress (verb)

English Meaning - support, bolster up, strengthen, fortify, reinforce, underpin.

58.resilience (noun)

English Meaning - the ability to bounce back quickly from difficulties; strength of character, strength, toughness, buoyancy, adaptability.