Inundations, Floods and Tsunamis
“Be in the news, don’t become the news”, was my advice to the VIP who was visiting the flood-affected areas. Earlier in the day, news came in that a few villages had been marooned by floodwaters. A culvert had been washed away and the main road had been cut-off. The water current was strong and crossing over at that time was quite inadvisable. In our assessment, the village closest to the breach was situated on high ground and there was no present danger to life or limb.
The VIP, however, insisted that we had to take a rescue party across immediately and that he would lead it. The fierce motivation for this stemmed from the fact that his rival from the opposite party had managed to visit these villages just before the road had breached!
In the face of such determination, we made arrangements for crossing. Ropes were secured and our best swimmer sent across. The water was chest high, but crossing was possible. A detail of our strongest men was stationed around the VIP and two of them bodily lifted him and took him across. The rest of us carefully made our way across with the aid of ropes.
On the other side, our ‘rescue party’ did not get the ‘heroes’ welcome that at least one of us expected. The reason — we had come empty-handed. We had not brought along any relief material (not that they needed any at that time)!
A face-saving solution was urgently required. I conferred with the locals and was informed that there was a ration shop and a noon meal centre in the village. A small ceremony was quickly arranged and the VIP distributed the available stocks to the villagers amidst catcalls and cheers. The day was not a total washout after all!
I had cut my teeth in relief operations in different circumstances. The setting at that time was an urban one. Torrential rains were par for the course during the monsoon season. Cyclonic storms would add to the volume of precipitation and there would be inundation in parts of the city. This was a routine phenomenon and the locals were quite used to the drill.
The new boy in town, I was out to impress! Barking out instructions, I was appalled at the seeming lack of preparedness and totally unenthusiastic response of the local administration. I was, really making a pest of myself, when the local MLA decided that he needed to tell me some home truths.
A veteran of the area, he sat me down, ordered cups of steaming tea (and I remember boiled peanuts), from his house nearby and gave me a lesson on the topography of the locality. Two streams located in the north, usually breached their banks when it rained hard. The natural gradient drained all the excess water into this area, which was shaped like a basin. There was no outlet for the water to flow and therefore there was inundation in this area every time it rained heavily in the upper reaches. There was no immediate solution to this problem. People were quite used to the situation and had a standard seasonal drill to meet the same.
“So, we just sit back and do nothing?”, I blurted, consternation writ large on my face. “Of course, not”, he replied, “we should be seen and more importantly, heard doing a lot in this situation”. He went on to explain. “Diesel pumps, the louder the better should be deployed at standard locations. They would keep pumping with a loud noise and lots of smoke. This would not, however, drain out the water since the canals are already full and will not take any more water. Only when the level in these canals decreases will there be any effect. Till then, it is good optics”.
Next, “open the gates to the schools located on high ground”. People already knew the location of these places and probably had pre-designated rooms that they occupied every year! I had seen earlier that this had already been done.
The next important step, “activate the community kitchens”. Stocks of food had already been replenished in preparation for such a situation and the cooks were in position as per the standard operating procedure. Food packets were already being prepared and the distribution network operated with practised efficiency.
“Now, for the most important point”, he continued. “Be seen all around the area”. That I did! Calm and composed, I toured extensively, overseeing arrangements and ensuring that things moved smoothly. A few days later, with the level in the canals going down, water started receding from the area. People moved back to their homes and normalcy returned. Today, the situation has become a lot better. Major engineering work upstream has ensured that the carrying capacity of the canals has been enhanced. Breaches still occur, but the frequency is much less. Whenever I meet the MLA, we recall those early days and share a hearty laugh What a valuable lesson I had learnt!
Tsunami? Like most of my colleagues, I did not even know what the word meant. The day after Christmas, I had got up early and was enjoying my morning ‘cuppa’, when I felt a slight swaying. I dismissed it initially, thinking that it was the after-effect of the previous night’s party! As the swaying continued, I realized to my horror, that it was an earthquake. Rousing up the entire family, we rushed downstairs and kept clear of the apartment building till the tremors died down. After sufficient time had elapsed, we re-entered and went about our usual routine.
My wife and I had to attend a birthday function to attend in the forenoon. As we prepared to leave, the watchman of our building came up and informed us that sea-water had entered some houses located on the beach and people were in a panic. “Ignorance is bliss”, they say. Knowing little about the consequences, we continued with our plans and attended the function. When we returned, there was great excitement at home. The television channels were screaming that Chennai had been hit by a Tsunami and visuals of heavy inundation in some areas were being beamed. Among the many visuals of cars floating, boats stranded on the beach road and the like, one visual stuck in my mind- a policeman in khaki uniform, looking out to the sea, lathi in hand. How ignorant and ill-prepared we were at that time!!
Senior officers were summoned to the Secretariat. I took my usual route, the Beach Road to the office. The water had receded but the watermark on the walls of the Offices lining the beach indicated the level to which the water had risen. The fishing boats strewn haphazardly on the roadside, nearly half a kilometre inland was evidence of the force with which the water must have gushed in. Oblivious to the fact that there could be a recurrence, most of us heading to the Secretariat took the same route!
The Chief Secretary had already made a duty-roster and we were allocated different districts to monitor. I was assigned Kanyakumari, a district on the southernmost tip of Tamil Nadu. As I was figuring out the logistics of reaching there at the earliest, I was informed that I should report to the Control Room. My duty had been reassigned.
The day went in a blur, coordinating the rescue efforts in the various districts, we were up to our neck in work. I will recount a few incidents of that day, that still stick in my mind.
Nagapattinam, a coastal district was the worst affected. Velankanni, a church town had attracted a large number of pilgrims on account of Christmas. The loss of lives was very high and the immediate need was to deploy earth-movers, cranes and other equipment to clear the roads for rescue efforts to be undertaken. The railways, shipyard and all available sources were tapped and the equipment dispatched. The numbers were insufficient to meet the demand, but we did our best in the circumstances.
The Navy was in touch with us. They had a relief vessel with sufficient stocks on board anchored a few miles off the coast of Nagapattinam. The problem was to establish contact with it from shore. Coordinating communication between the district authorities and the ship took up an inordinately long time. A lesson for the future.
There was an SOS from Kanyakumari. There was a large crowd of tourists stranded on the Vivekananda Rock. By divine providence, the huge waves passed by both sides of the Rock, without harming a single person! Looking at a video that captured the scene from the shore, it seems fantastic that the waves parted magically as it reached the spot!
The ferry that connected the rock to shore had been completely disrupted, the jetties destroyed by the crashing waves and the boats rendered unserviceable. An urgent effort was needed to evacuate the tourists. The fact that the tourists included a few Judges of the Supreme Court of India added to the urgency.
The Airforce was contacted and they dispatched two helicopters to the spot within the hour. The feasibility of an airborne rescue operation was extremely risky. On the one hand, it would take a long time, given the numbers and on the other, it might lead to a stampede in the limited confines of the rock. It was decided not to deploy them. The Collector finally organized a number of country-boats and a rescue operation was carried out with the help of local fishermen.
The third incident that I remember from that day was regarding Kalpakkam. The nuclear power station at Kalpakkam was located on the seafront and apprehensions were rife about the safety of the installation. Tensions ran high till communication was established with the authorities and it was confirmed that though there was a toll in terms of lives lost, there was no damage to the plant.
Today, things are much better and advance warning systems are in place. Standard Operating Procedures are also formulated. In those early days, it was instinct rather than experience that guided our actions.
