December 26, 2004, will remain etched in history as the day when nobody escaped the wrath of nature
SOMETIMES, the lines on the palm of your hand do not indicate how old you will live. But the fault line does, especially when it lies on an ocean floor. The December 26 Asian tsunami killed nearly 150,000 people and displaced up to five million in 11 countries in the Indian Ocean basin.
Tsunami, a Japanese word (tsu harbour and nami wave), is a great sea wave produced by submarine earth movement or volcanic eruption. For tsunamic waves once is more than enough.
Human suffering has no borders; it is equally horrifying for people of all religions, races and nationalities. “The sea is coming inland,” a scream was heard by a Sri Lankan resident. “We looked death in the face,” an Italian woman narrated the moment when the waves crashed in, on the tourist hub of Phuket. “I thought my parents didn’t want me anymore,” grumbled a six-year-old Taiwanese girl who was rescued after being separated from her mother. “The New Year? I don’t know when that is, I don’t want to talk about it,” words of a Frenchman who lost his five-month-old son; the boy had drowned.
“The biggest story of the year happened just as big-thinking journalists went on vacation after filing their Ten Biggest Stories of 2004 pieces. Life has a way of surprising us,” wrote Peggy Noonan just after a walls of water separated loved ones, leaving a tsunami of tears in the eyes of thousands. Golden beaches were turned into open-air morgues, jammed with victims of the tidal wave. So much so that the visitors now must wear surgical masks to protect themselves against the stench of decomposition on places that once boasted of having clear waters.
The Beach, starring Leonardo Di Caprio was filmed on south Thailand’s Andaman coast (Phi Phi Le island) with unspeakably beautiful scenic setting. But, as was the case in the movie, the dream of a tourist becomes a nightmare; paradise turns to hell. The only difference was that in real life, the tsunami was the villain.
Four countries were hit the hardest by the disaster — Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. But it was Aceh in Indonesia that bore the brunt of the waves. “Aceh really is ground zero,” said the United Nations Children’s Fund, Communications Director, John Budd. It was also closest to the epicenter of the earthquake that caused the tsunami, therefore the majority of the dead were in on the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia.
The tsunami relief operation from Indonesia to Sri Lanka to Somalia is one of the biggest humanitarian exercise in history. Sixty nations have pledged over $3 billion in cash and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of emergency supplies. The US too, that got off to a very slow start, is now acting like a true global leader. Ex-Presidents Bill Clinton and the first President Bush, too have joined in an effort to encourage the Americans, people and businesses to support relief and reconstruction activities in areas devastated by the tsunamis.
From the horror of the cataclysm in and around the Indian Ocean, one great truth emerges; man still cares for man, regardless of his creed and colour. Luxembourg, which now holds the EU Presidency, called for a three-minute observance of silence for tsunami victims. All across Europe, hundreds of thousands stood still in silence. Many of the dead include Europeans who were on the island resorts for their Christmas vacation.
A tragedy in this age looks eerily strange. Despite the existence of modern technology, the 8.9 magnitude earthquake, the fifth largest since 1900, that generated the tsunamis, couldn’t be tracked fast enough to help limit the tragedy — a tragedy compounded by forces emanating both from land and sea.
On average, water-related calamities cause more deaths each year than any other natural disaster. “Hazards are part of the way the Earth operates,” said the US Geological Survey, (USGS) Director, Chip Groat. “Although we can’t prevent natural hazards from happening, we can learn from them and use this knowledge to prevent natural hazards from turning into natural disasters.” By helping to build stronger, safer communities that are resilient to natural disaster.”
The aim now is to bury the dead as fast as possible and take care of the hundreds of thousands of the homeless living by providing them food, shelter and arranging for proper sanitation so that a second catastrophe can be avoided.
December 26, 2004, will remain etched in history as the day when nobody escaped the wrath of nature
