Dear Madam,
Tsunami batters Bay of Bengal – 12,500 feared killed in South East Asia, 3700 in Tamil Nadu
I am sure you must have heard about the above. I give below the First Information Report on the same. I invite your kind attention to Point No……. Once the air is clear, we will come out with our response and shall seek your co-operation.
1. What happened – Macro
On Sunday, the 26th morning, huge seismic sea waves, triggered by a massive undersea earthquake off Sumatra in Indonesia, left over 12,500 people dead and tens of thousands homeless in India, Sri Lanka and South-East Asia. It was the onset of Tsunamis, five in all and occurring half an hour of each other, that scripted the carnage.
When the first one came a little after 8.30 a.m., terror-stricken people started moving landwards. The second one struck at around 9.20 a.m., the third at 10.20 a.m., the fourth at 10.40 a.m. and the last at 11 a.m., causing the sea level to rise to up to more than ten metres.
The earthquake, which had its epicenter 257 km south- southwest of Banda Aceh, Sumatra measured 8.9 on the Richter scale making it the most powerful in the world in the last 40 years. At least 2,200people were killed in Indonesia floods and collapsing buildings. But, most of the destruction was caused by seismic waves or Tsunami that hit India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand within two hours of the first impact of the quake.
2. TamilNadu Scene
Over 4,700 people were killed in Tamil Nadu, in Chennai city, fishermen, morning walkers and inhabitants of the coastline were washed away by waves that rose upto 10 meters and flooded the beaches and seaside huts and buildings. The wave caused extensive damage in many coastal parts of TamiNadu.
- In Chennai, 347 persons were washed away, including early morning walkers and children playing cricket on the beach.
- The heaviest toll was in Nagapattinam district, where close to 1,200 people were feared dead.
- In Velankani, a nearby area, where a famous Christian Church is located, 500 people mostly pilgrimage were engulfed by the sea.
- The report from Kanyakumari says that close to 800 people were feared dead.
- So far 440 bodies have been extricated from Colachel, a coastal village where DPG had worked 4 years ago through a partner.
- Hundreds of fishing boats were washed away.
- About 800 people were killed in Cuddalore and Pondicherry.
- Other coastal districts like Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Ramanathapuram reported a few death.
|
| TOLL AS PER OFFICIAL FIGURE |
OTHER COUNTRIES |
| DISTRICT |
DISTRICT |
Sri Lanka - 3,425
Indonesia - 3,472
Thailand - 489
Malaysia - 62 |
| Chennai |
262 |
| Kancheepuram |
122 |
| Tiruvallur |
26 |
| Cuddalore |
580 |
| Villupuram |
46 |
| Nagapattinam |
1600 |
| Thoothukudi |
10 |
| Tirunelveli |
8 |
| Kanyakumari |
800 |
| Thanjavur |
2 |
| Total |
3456 |
3. What happened in other States
- Late report said at least 1,000 people died in the Andamans. Though a full picture of the devastation of the Andaman and Nicobar islands is yet to emerge, there has been extensive damage in most of the southern islands. Car Nicobar islands, which is nearest to Sumatra, bore the brunt of the earthquake and the consequent Tsunami that is generated, cutting it off completely from the rest of the archipelago and the main land.
- Pondicherry reported 280 deaths, 211 in Karaikal alone.
- At least 151 people were killed in southern Kerala. The toll was the highest in Kollam district, where at least 86 persons lost their lives. And 21 deaths have been reported from Alappuzha district and two from Ernakulam district.
- In Andhra Pradesh, at least 107 persons were killed and hundreds of fishermen missing. Prakasam district bore the brunt with 32 deaths.
|
4. Most affected
As usual the worst victims were from the defenceless poorer sections. Many of the fishermen living in low-lying colonies were simply sucked into the sea. Several others died in the stampede as people rapidly evacuated their hutments and housing board tenements (Chennai) / huts on the coastline. Many of the dead were the old, women and children, who were caught completely unawares as giant waves quickly engulfed several settlements. In many cases, entire families were wiped out at one go. Several thousand huts belonging to the fishermen were completely washed away !
- Fishermen in the State are the worst hit, as about 3,000 of them were feared killed in seismic wave that also damaged 3,500 mechanized boats and 35,000 catamarans.
- Apart from boats, fishermen lost their implements such as nets and household property worth lakhs of rupees.
|
(The toll is only a conservative estimate and it will go up as the Government is assessing the extent of damage and the loss of lives, according to official sources. The fate of hundreds of fishermen who had gone into the sea for fishing was not known till this evening).
5. Project Specific
A. DPG – EED PARTNERSHIP
In Tamil Nadu, Tuticorin, where one of our NGO partners is working, the preliminary report indicates that three of our project villages were affected and 3 people were killed, 2 local fishing catamaran were missing.
Kanyakumari, Colachel – This is one of our former partner’s project area. It is mostly affected place where 450 people were killed. The NGO with whom we have some contact reported that 120 SHG members were killed, yet to be authenticated. Lot of damages were happened to traditional boats and net. |
B. DPG WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT PROJECT, CHENNAI
Chennai, R.A. Puram – This is one of the DPG’s new working area in Chennai city, where we have 3 community based groups. The sea water entered this slum and many of the houses were destroyed. Many families have migrated to nearby areas. Only after their return, we will be able to assess the damage. |
C. DPG – SDOP PARTNERSHIP
Project No. 02-I-226 - Varalakshmi Fishermen Group – Prakasam District – DPG has been actively working in this area for the last two years with the help of Self Development of People, Presbyterian Church, USA. We have recently purchased 6 boats and fishing net benefiting 60 members for a total cost of Rs. 6,25,000/- (approximately) and it has been reported that three boats were washed away and three were completely damaged and their houses were heavily damaged. |
D. DPG AND OTHER NGOS
This is completely new locations. Couple of NGOs from other districts have also approached DPG asking assistance. |
6. Relief Work
Government officials, Catholic churches and related agencies, local public and local NGOs have already been involved in immediate relief work in many affected areas – providing food packets and in few places, shelters. Many affected villagers / families are now being accommodated in local schools and kalyana mandapams. Rotary Club is also involved, especially in Chennai areas. Since most of the towns, villages and hamlets are located in coastal areas, catholic church based NGOs and churches are actively involved in relief work. Political parties are also much involved in providing the relief work. Many individuals have also come forward in local areas to provide some kinds of assistance. Co-ordinated effort is yet to emerge. Neither the Government nor the NGOs have taken up any effort towards the same. I understand that one NGO by name SAMANVAYA, a NGO involved in Gujarat earthquake has already collected large number of materials, especially clothes and medicine and is in the process of despatching the same to Cuddalore and Nagapattinam areas. Many corporate entities in Chennai have also shown their keen interest in helping few areas in relief work. In many places, people who were not affected also started claiming damages saying that houses were damaged, assets were missing, etc.
The Chief Minister today announced a relief of Rs. 1 lakh to the families of the victims of the calamity from the Chief Minister Relief Fund. However, affected fishermen were sceptical of any major relief coming from the Government. They said they had lost everything and were virtually on the streets. It would take years to recover from the shock, they added.
7. NGO larger efforts – Way Forward
The Governments and civil society must do everything in their power to heal wounds, provide relief and rehabilitation on a huge scale and help to reconstruct the lives, livelihood and assets of the mostly poor people. A massive re-housing programme is a top priority. The loss of livelihood must be specifically addressed and women and children be provided with safe shelter and sustenance. While doing so, one should not give room for NGOs to make merry in the name of Relief and Development. Be that as it may !
As far as DPG is concerned, we have been discussing with many of our NGO partners for the last two days and the majority of the opinion is that we should wait for few more days before we get involved in any relief / development activities. Relief is coming in large scale ! There may be lapses here and there, it is part of the story in all relief operation. After this Relief Phase, there may be a need to identify the most vulnerable and left out families who may need assistances for rebuilding their houses, procuring basic household assets and assistance for creating livelihood opportunities. At that point of time, i.e. in the second phase in few selected areas, the NGO community / DPG, its partners and with other local NGOs need to get involved.
8. Conclusion
This is only the First Information Report and I hope to send another project specific report within a week which will give a clear picture of the measures already taken by Government and others and also as to what we as partners can do in future. Thanks for your understanding in reading this long mail. |
