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Aftershocks, rising waters propel exodus from Andaman

     Port Blair: Shaken and fear-struck by the December 26 tsunami and the subsequent nearly 130 aftershocks, thousands of people are desperate to leave the country's remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Since the fateful day, more than 6000 people have left the Islands by ship, many of them in fear after the under-sea earthquake off nearby Indonesia's Sumatra, the tsunami and continuing rumours and superstitions of a repeat of nature's wrath on one of full moon days. Some of those leaving lost homes or family and friends to the giant tsunami waves, while others have just packed their bags and decided to leave the archipelago they once called their home.

     The exodus, still continuing nearly 23 days after the tsunami struck, has been also fuelled by reports that some parts of the islands have tilted into the sea and that the surrounding sea waters have risen and become more turbulent. Standing in the heat, Pandian, a 35-year-old government servant, has quit his cushioned job to join the jostling queue of people waiting to board the crowded M.S. Nancowry, docked in Port Blair, to head for the tsunami-hit city of Madras in the mainland. Rumours are rife that the entire chain of Islands may be sinking, a theory the authorities are keen to debunk. "So many people were killed on the day tsunami struck so we all are scared and do not want to stay here. We are leaving this place. Though television and radio announcements are asking us to stay on but we do not want to," Pandian said. "My family is away and they are calling me back so due to fear of another tsunami we are going back," said Abdul Khader, another resident who has decided to permanently move base.

     The Indian Navy has said that its ships were encountering rough waters and higher sea levels and New Delhi has sent geologists to study the changes in the island's topography. During high tide, low-lying areas in and around Port Blair get inundated with the sea flooding roads, fields and coastal neighbourhoods. The phenomenon, though harmless, is enough to scare the wits out of many like Ribeya Yasmeen, her husband and three children, who are part of the continuing exodus from the remote archipelago to the mainland, 1200 km away. "The constant tremors that are striking the Island, we are scared of them and that's why leaving it for safer places. We have been staying here for over four years but now I am scared. I am leaving along with my children," she said. Around 7500 people have died or are presumed dead in the Island chain, which had a population of more than 356,000 before the deadly December 26 tsunami.

India, Japan discuss contingency plan to combat tsunami in future (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Japanese Coast Guard Commandant Hiroki Ishikawa today met his Indian counterpart Vice Admiral Arun Kumar Singh in New Delhi. The two are expected to have discussed the plans to formulate contingency plan for combating calamities such as tsunami, which struck the Indian Ocean on December 26 killing more than 175,000 people across Asia and Africa. Japan has called for an early warning system as soon as possible to minimise losses from such catastrophe in near future. Natural disasters such as floods, storms, earthquakes and tsunamis have killed around six lakh people over the last decade. Japan is the site of some 20 percent of the world's earthquakes - including the Kobe earthquake that killed nearly 6500 people a decade ago - and which have also left a history of devastating tsunamis. It has put its experience to good use in setting up a tsunami warning system, which was put to use on Wednesday when such a warning was issued for a group of Islands south of Tokyo after an earthquake off the eastern coast. Japan is also part of the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Network, an international system set up after a devastating 1960 earthquake in Chile triggered tidal waves that killed more than 100 in Japan. This network is set to be a model for the system in the Indian Ocean.

Andaman kids say they are happy in relief camps (Go To Top)

     Port Blair: Hundreds of children currently living in relief camps in Port Blair, capital of the Andaman and Nicobar islands, say they are enjoying their lives, trying to forget the horrific December 26, 2004 tsunami disaster. The children, who have seen their parents and friends being washed away by the killer waves are now happily moving on with their lives. Children, aged between two to 14 years, are not only studying, but also get three meals in the camp organised by the government. "I like living here. It's good here because there are a lot of children here," said Honey, a seven-year-old who lost both his parents at the Campbell Bay. Ritu, 13-year-old said she never wants to remember the tragedy that swept off her family. "We are not at all scared. We really like being here. We play with our friends here and talk to them," she said.

     Over 16,700 people have been killed across India due to the killer tsunami, which struck the isles and the mainland along with several other Asian and African nations on December 26, 2004. The government has also opened a medical camp, where doctors and nurses from the mainland are treating children and women of not only physical but also psychological problems. "We really feel a lot of relief because a lot of small children were brought here who were seriously injured. We have attended to a lot of children here," said Noorjehan Begum, chief of the relief camp. The archipelago, which is 1,200 km from mainland India, has been hit by 130 tremors of more than 5.0 magnitude since the biggest earthquake in 40 years on Dec. 26 triggered the tsunami.