Odisha Coastline Flashcards
Where is Odisha located?
On the eastern coast of India bordering the Bay of Bengal.
How big is Odisha?
It is the 9th largest Indian state by area and 11th by population.
How long is the Odisha coastline?
480km.
How many square kilometres of mangrove forest does Odisha have?
1435km².
What are the opportunities for Odisha?
Odisha’s coastline has a wide variety of marine and coastal flora and fauna including mangroves, sea grasses, salt marshes, sand dunes, estuaries and lagoons.
There is a lot of potential for tourism with coastal beaches and wildlife sanctuaries being major attractions.
What is the problem with hard engineering defences such as sea walls and groynes?
They are useful for defending small areas of coastline but they simply shift the problem downwind.
What percentage of the coastline is classed as ‘stable’?
14.4%.
What is a major risk for Odisha?
Storm surges and cyclones. These are very common due to the proximity to the Bay of Bengal.
What cyclone hit Odisha in 1999?
Super-cyclone Kalina.
How many people did Cyclone Kalina kill?
Over 10,000.
How do mangroves help to protect the coastline from cyclones?
The roots dissipate the energy of the waves.
They also help to combat sea level rise by 25mm per year - 8 times the current rate.
What is the link between mangroves and deaths?
Villages that had over four kilometres of mangroves had no death rates. Villages with less than three kilometres of mangroves had sharp increases in death rates.
What is the average width of mangroves now and 50 years ago?
50 years ago - 5.1km.
Now - 1.2km.
What management methods are being used to defend the coastline?
Villagers have been given a government incentive to cultivate and plant mangroves along the coastline.
How do mangroves increase resilience?
They provide protection against strong winds, floods and tsunamis by reducing the destructive force by 90%.
