Tsunami Survivors

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Aftr Petra Nencova sets up charity for tsunami hit kids

     London: Czech supermodel Petra Nencova, who escaped death from the Tsunami, was so moved by the plight of the kids devastated by the tragedy that she has set up a charity for them. According to Femalefirst, the Happy Hearts Fund Charity aims to provide psychological counselling for the children in Thailand. "One of the hardest experiences was the blank look in the eyes of the children. It was a look of confusion, fear and helplessness. I want to try to help them to overcome that, to give them stability and support," she was quoted as saying.
-July 22, 2005

Tsunami-ravaged Nagapattinam limps back to normalcy (Go To Top)

     Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu): Nagapattinam is much different from what it was six months ago when tsunami waves struck the tiny coastal hamlet and left behind a trail of death and destruction in its wake. Today, there is hardly any resemblance of the beach that was once full of decomposed bodies, washed away huts and broken fishing boats battered by the mighty waves. That narrow strip of the beach is now occupied by gleaming new fibre boats, each of whom jostle for space after a good days catch. And, the change is not only restricted to the beach, for Nagapattinam is slowly but surely coming back to life. From a ghost town with as many as 6000 dead, Nagapattinam today is abuzz with people trying to put their life back on track and forgetting the past. "After the tsunami, today we are selling so much fish for the first time in many months. Since the tsunami, the fish market has not been so vibrant...all the selling and the buying. The new mechanized trawlers have brought back the catch. The new trawlers had gone to sea," said Revathi, a fisherwoman, after her first morning of profit in six months. Revathi's sentiment are echoed by other villagers also bore the brunt of the savage waves on that fateful day. Though aid brought in new boats, outboard motors and fishing nets for hundreds of fishermen, who fell prey to natures fury, the community as a whole has been quick to grab the opportunity to return to the sea.

     The aid has brought fish back on menu of many fishermen after months, but for many like Murgan, who lost everything down to even his rubber slippers, the rebuilding is mammoth. Murgan, is surviving on government-sponsored food and cannot afford a single day out of the sea. "If we keep getting a lot of fishes then only we can lead a life otherwise our living, our food, everything will be gone. We must keep catching," said 28-year-old Murgan, who lost his wife to the waves. Although fear of the sea may have ebbed largely, there still are some signs to remind survivors of the havoc wreaked by it. The most stark, being the poor living conditions in relief camps which house about 600,000 people in dingy, one-room shacks built of wood pulp or tin sheets. Built in a hurry after the disaster, many shacks do not have floors, there are gaps in the wall or the ceiling, the tin roofs bake people inside, the pipes and drains leak, and sewage tanks, the less said the better. Worse, there is an epidemic outbreak with poor sanitation sparking cholera, small pox and skin diseases. People also dont want to live in the camps, which are in anyway overcrowded, but fear, that leaving the camps would also snap their free food. "Here we are facing many problems. The tents are small, the children are getting small pox, chicken poxthe food is ok, we get to eat but the roads you have seen...we are getting communicable disease here," said Sylvie, a camp dweller. "Most of the people say they don't want to live here. The main problem is that they want to go away as early as possible but the government has a clause for the help they give to the people. They want to help the people but for that they have to come here and live. The government is providing free ration and until or unless they occupy this area, they will not be getting that," said Shankarana, project coordinator at Nagapattinam's Seva Bharti camp. Shankarana further said that though the government has announced that it is in the process of acquiring land, and even held groundbreaking ceremonies in some places, as of now there is no sign of any permanent houses.
-Jume 21, 2005

Tsunami left no point on earth undisturbed (Go To Top)

     Washington: Recent data collected by seismologists and geologists suggest that the December 26 tsunami triggered by the underwater earthquake off the coast of Sumatra not only left behind a swathe of death and destruction across South and South East Asia but also left no point on earth undisturbed. "No point on Earth remained undisturbed at the centimetre level. The earthquake's uplift reduced the capacity of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, raising sea level around the world by about .1 millimetre. If not for the remarkably slow plate movement at the northern end of the earthquake, there might have been much more widespread and severe damage on the coasts of India, Myanmar and Thailand," said Roger Bilham, a seismologist from the University of Colorado. "More than 30 cubic kilometres of water were displaced by the shifting sea floor, resulting in a tsunami that travelled as far away as the Antarctic, both coasts of the Americas and even the Arctic Ocean. The rupture opened lengthwise at 5,000 miles per hour during the first 10 minutes of the earthquake. Seismometers in Russia and Australia recorded the event like a noisy fire engine racing northward," he added.

      The study, appears in the May issue of Science Magazine by the name of "A Flying Start, Then a Slow Slip" and includes four technical papers by other authors describing the process of an earthquake. Bilham is now of the opinion that more sophisticated and better early warning systems are required to predict seismic activities. This he added was necessary for considering extreme worst-case scenarios as well as more probable earthquake scenarios. "The region has a history of major earthquakes, including ones in 1833 and 1861. Regardless, there was no precedent for the complexity and magnitude of the 2004 earthquake. This should be a wake-up call that conservative seismic forecasts may not serve society well. This earthquake happened at the worst possible time - on a very popular holiday when many people were at the beach instead of at work or in school, and at high tide in India, which increased the tsunami run-up there by one meter," he further added.
-May 20, 2005

WB launches Rs 18.53 bln tsunami rehab prog in Tamil Nadu (Go To Top)

     Chennai: The World Bank on Wednesday launched a tsunami rehabilitation programme worth 18.53 billion rupees in Tamil Nadu The World Bank, which has already signed an agreement with neighbouring Kerala, would help restore clean drinking water supply and rebuild houses, roads and infrastructure. "The tsunami reconstruction relief programme is the government of India's effort to support, not just to recovery from the terrible tragedy of the December 26 but recovery in a way that helps people to be better off like before. And today is the launch of Tamil Nadu government's programme and we are very happy about it," said Michael F. Carter, Country Director (India) of World Bank, after his meeting with chief minister J. Jayalalitha here. Over 9,200 people died in India and more than 3,000 are missing after the Dec. 26 tsunami triggered by a powerful undersea earthquake off the coast of Indonesia slammed into India's southern coast and washed over the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Nagapattinam district was the worst hit in Tamil Nadu, which lost over 7,000 lives in the disaster. Officials estimate say that as much as 100 billion rupees is needed to rebuild damaged infrastructure and rehabilitate tens of thousands of people who lost their homes, livelihood and relatives in the catastrophe. India's cabinet has approved a 606 million dollar package for the damaged fisheries and housing sectors in the tsunami-hit states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Pondicherry.
-May 18, 2005

Tsunami hit Car Nicobar Air base fully functional  (Go To Top)
by Arunoday Prakash

     Car Nicobar: The Car Nicobar air base, which was completely devastated by the tsunami waves on December 26, has become fully operational. Working overtime, the Indian Air Force has got it back to normal in a record time of three months and 20 days. Car Nicobar was one of the worst hit areas during the tsunami, with nearly the whole island coming under water. The air force station also faced nature's wrath on the day, drowning the families of the officers. The Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi went to Car Nicobar on April 14 to see the Jaguars returning to the base, taking off and landing. He lauded the role of those who worked hard to reshape the base. The present air chief was the first pilot to fly a Jaguar to the base way back in 1985. "The effort is really laudable, excellent. There is a marked difference in the place since I last came here in January. The boys have done a great job," said the Air chief. It was not an easy task for the defence forces to reconstruct the base along with the process of rehabilitation and rescue work. They were not only involved in the reconstruction but were also supposed to look after the other problems of the small island. The defence forces worked overtime under an integrated command to get this strategic base, which is the southernmost outpost of the country working.

     On December 26, the Indian Air Force not only lost the base, a huge number of its officers were also bereaved. Many lost their whole families. Soon after the tsunami, the Air Chief declared all the officers who were posted at the base, to be relocated at other places so that they could get over the trauma. Although the officers who were there at the base on the day of tsunami are not there, even those who came soon after say that the place has gone through a virtual transformation. "Our first aim was to see that everybody gets succour, shelter and medical aid, which was fulfilled. At one stage 42,000 people were in the relief camps. Not one of those staying in the camps reported ill. We did whatever we could have done," said Commander-in-Chief of thee Andaman and Nicobar command, Lt. General Aditya Singh. "Our base was washed out, but it still kept on working overtime. About 80-90 aircraft were landing every day with relief materials and medical aid. By the charter of Cabinet Secretary on December 31, an Integrated Island relief Committee Organisation was formed, whose three main targets were to see relief and rehabilitation, safety of the aboriginals, and providing all items of requirement to the people. The government bodies, forces and several NGOs worked in tandem and the problems were taken care of" he said. The men of the defence forces are still living on the island without their families. The accommodations for the families were washed out and are still to be constructed. They are working overtime, with all their energy and strength. "Any one who came here three months back can see the difference, most of the things have changed. We have a new runway, and other controls of the base. Rehabilitation has been done, most of the villagers have been rehabilitated or are being rehabilitated", said the base commander, Group Capt. Ravi Dhar. The defence forces, the local government and NGOs all worked together.

     Although the place still speaks aloud about the devastation a few months back, people who saw it then are able to mark the difference easily. "We arranged 85 rehabilitation camps, which looked after 17 thousand people from 15 villages. By 10th of May everything would be provided. We are trying to provide everybody in the villages with a roof with April", informed the DC of Car Nicobar, Anubaran. "A team of engineers have arrived for the rehabilitation process, a model of the houses to be built will be prepared within seven days. Then they would be shown to the locals who would approve them or ask for the required modifications", he said. An overall budget of Rs 90 crore has been allocated for the reconstruction of the base, out of which Rs 2 crore has been spent by now. The Air Force lost Rs 130 crore during the tsunami and has so far been sanctioned 90 crore as budget in lieu. Soon a 250 KV generator would be in place, besides the houses, which would be opening in a day or two for the officers. However, they would have to stay without their families for some more time, as the residential area is yet to come up. In spite of facing the trauma and going through a bad patch, the Indian defence forces are maintaining their high morale.
April 15, 2005

Fibre boats for tsunami-hit fishermen in Nagapattinam (Go To Top)

     Nagapattinam: Three months after the tsunami hit the country's southern coastal region, an NGO is helping fishermen in Nagapattinam to get boats return to the sea to sustain their livelihood. The Isha Foundation, which has adopted four villages in Cuddalore district, plans to hand over 150 boats to the fishermen in the two districts. The Foundation has already provided around 40 boats worth more than Rs 2.5 crore to fishermen in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam. A fully furnished mechanized boat equipped with fishing nets costs about 150,000 rupees, but most of the boats delivered are manually operated costing between 40,000-70,000 rupees depending on length. Thousands of boats and nets were damaged in the December 26 tsunami, triggered by an undersea earthquake of the magnitude 9.1on Richter scale off Indonesia's coast. Nagapattinam was the worst hit district in Tamil Nadu which alone lost over 7000 lives in the killer waves. Swami Nisarga, in-charge of Isha Foundation's tsunami relief project, said that earlier they were transporting the boats from other states, but now they have undertaken its manufacturing locally to enable boats at large scale. "The boats which we are manufacturing here are fiber glass boats which are what the fishermen were using before the tsunami itself. The fishermen were also included in the design processes to what is ideal kind of design they require and the boats that they require conform to these standards," said Nisarga. She said that the Foundation also plans to hold training sessions for the fishermen which will help them make their own boats in future. The FRP boats, constructed with fibre plastics, are put in moulds and making of each boat takes around four-five days. A manufacturing unit in Nagapattinam has only one mould, with the result not more than 10 boats are delivered in a month. "We are now manufacturing fiber boats for the tsunami affected people, we 20 workers have come from Kerala, Chennai and several other parts of Tamil Nadu, and are now engaged in fiber boat manufacturing these boats which are about 21 feet long and each costs about 70,000 rupees. So far we have completed 40 boats and we are in the process of making 100 more boats," said Panerselvam, a fiber boat manufacturer. The Union Cabinet has approved a package of 27.31 billion rupees for the damaged fisheries and housing sectors in the tsunami-hit states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Pondicherry. The Centre also approved a decision to provide the fishermen who have lost their vessels with loans and grants. The fishermen worst hit by the tsunami will get a subsidy of 35 percent for buying mechanized boats.
-April 14, 2005

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