29th October 1999. 24 years have passed. The day evokes horrific memories of a devastating cyclonic storm that ravaged parts of Odisha, taking away lives of thousands of people. On this day in 1999, a super cyclone touching wind speed of over 250 km/hr had struck Odisha, making it probably the greatest cyclonic disaster ever recorded. The Super Cyclone made landfall near Paradip between Ersama and Balikuda with the highest wind speed of 260 kmph. It was the most intense tropical cyclone that crossed the Indian coast after satellites started monitoring storms. The storm led to intense rainfall and affected 14 coastal districts, 28 coastal towns and two major cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Torrential rain, tidal waves as high as 6-7 metres and flood wreaked havoc across the Odisha coastal region, killing over 9000 people, mostly in Jagatsinghpur district. The unofficial death figure is way higher than this. If reports are anything to go by, at least 13 million people including 3.3 million children, 5 million women and nearly 3.5 million elderly people were affected. The storm also left over 7000 people injured. Livestock death count stood at over 3 lakh. More than 16 lakh houses were damaged, 23000 houses washed away, 7 lakh houses fully damaged and 8 lakh houses partially damaged.