New Delhi, October 29 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday praised the tackling of Cyclone Phailin by the Odisha and Andhra Pradesh governments and disaster management agencies however said there were “important lessons to be learnt” from the Uttarakhand rain-flood tragedy that left hundreds dead and lots of missing.

Addressing the fifth meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) here, the prime minister said: “We have witnessed 2 major disasters recently in our country – the tragedy of Uttarakhand and cyclone Phailin that affected Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

“The rains and floods in Uttarakhand resulted in large scale devastation and severely tested the efficacy of our disaster response mechanisms.”

“There are necessary lessons to be learnt from the experience gained from the rescue and relief operations that were applied. I sincerely hope that all the concerned agencies of the central and state governments can utilize the experience of Uttarakhand in better management of disasters that we may face in the future.”

He said the response to the cyclone in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh “has been encouraging”.

“I am happy that the NDMA played a significant role in this response through shut engagement and coordination with numerous central government agencies, the government and even the district administration.”