Trauma of a natural calamity refuses to fade way

Bangalore, India, December 30 — “The tsunami washed away our lives”: Survivors

Obed Janathe, chief captain Kakana Village, Car Nicobar: “The tsunami washed away our entire household. I lived to tell the tale. My son and wife were washed away, I don’t even have their photographs. My daughters who are married and live in Port Blair survived. The bodies of some of my family members were found after 15 days. I was in no position to conduct their last rites. The recovery teams had to do it.”

Benedict official of the Sports Culture and Youth Affairs Department, Carnic, “I remember that the waves were a massive wall of water, 3 to 4 miles wide and twice the height of the coconut trees. The water was hot and smelling of kerosene. It was accompanied by a loud noise. Survivors here were so traumatised they could not speak for 6 to 7 months."

R.P. Singh, cook, Hornbill Circuit House, Port Blair: "It was around 6:30 a.m. in the morning when I was busy preparing food for the tourists. When we saw the water coming in, we ran for our lives. I remember leaving the gas stove on, with the food cooking. I ran as fast as I could. The water was very high, higher than the coconut trees on that hill. It was so scary. Waters rushed over the cliffs of Port Blair into the valley there. For days after that we were petrified. We kept feeling the after shocks many times a day. Even now I sometimes wake up in the nights thinking the earth is trembling. We have been deeply affected by this experience."

Henry Samuel Kuchat, secretary, Tribal Council, Car Nicobar: “It was incredible. The tsunami sounded like a Boeing landing. It was a huge mass of water with massive force. Coconut trees were swaying, their fronds touching the ground. The earth was splitting under our feet. Water was gushing about everywhere. The impact of the tsunami was massive in the south of the islands. In Carnic - Kimious Arong and Kakana, which are inhabited by tribals, suffered the maximum impact. The death toll was the highest, in the 3 villages, amongst the indigenous peoples. Our traditional knowledge could not help us cope with the calamity. That day everybody had fear on their faces. Even handicapped people were running for their lives. Amongst the dead were largely ladies and children.”

Tyagi, ASI, Indian Reserve Battalion, Port Blair: “The earth shook and the waters inundated more than half of Port Blair that day. We had to recover bodies strangled inside coconut tree fronds. Whole families had died. None was there even to claim / identify the corpses. We identified corpses as red saris, or skirts, grey pants or shorts etc. Some corpses were swollen beyond recognition. After we recovered all the corpses we laid them in mass graves. Then we poured gallons of diesel and petrol on them and lit them en masse. It was very heartbreaking, very depressing."

Ahmed Ali, Department of Industries and Trade, A & N administration, Car Nicobar: “I actually saw the earth split in front of my eyes. That day, I was in North Andaman near Diglipur. I was on the morning walk with my wife and my children. My wife fell down and I snapped at 90 degrees. I was trying to hold on to the light pole but that was also shaking. The coconut trees were swaying between the ground and the sky. We had no idea about the enormity of the situation as water did not inundate as much land here as in the south. Much later at 6 p.m. we heard the news about the terrible calamity. I tried contacting the rest of my family in Carnic, but all telephone lines were jammed and none could be reached for a few days. It was all very traumatic and stressful."

Neelima, homemaker, Chuckchuka, Carnic: “I was serving tea to my husband that morning when we felt the earth tremble. We knew immediately that it was a very, very powerful earthquake. We all had to cling to one thing or the other to remain standing. My younger daughter, woken up by the shock, was standing at the front door, gazing at the sky, she screamed, bewildered. We looked out and saw that the sea was rushing in. We ran out of the house, climbed up that hill behind our village and clung to the coconut trees for dear life till the calamity passed. We are very grateful to be alive today, thanks to our daughter who warned us a minute before it was too late.”