The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Nagapattinam News : Panic-stricken people run helter-skelter

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 31, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Nagapattinam

Panic-stricken people run helter-skelter

By K. Subramanian

NAGAPATTINAM, DEC.30 . Thousands of people fled from the ancient port town of Nagapattinam this morning following a warning that tsunami would strike the coastal town again by noon.

All the people including officials and policemen gathered at Akkaraipettai, coastal village near Nagapattinam, around 10.50 this morning and waiting for the distribution of relief by the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, to the families of tsunami victims, ran helter-skelter after hearing the news.

Akkaraipettai is the worst affected village in this district where the tsunami had claimed hundreds of lives besides damaging a few hundred mechanised boats and some huge trawlers and washing away numerous huts.

More than a thousand people including fishermen families, police and other officials, mediapersons were standing less than 400 metres from the sea at Akkaraipettai.

As soon as the second tsunami warning was received, all the people including police and revenue officials, mediapersons, women and children started running in panic for their safety but they had to run for about a kilometre stretch (which is just 500 metres away from the sea) from Akkaraipettai to reach the main road near the railway station in Nagapattinam.

While local people and villagers ran on the Nagapattinam-Tiruvarur Road to reach at least five kilometres distance, hundreds of vehicles including two-wheelers, cars and vans carrying maximum number of people were seen going at breakneck speed on the Nagapattinam-Tiruvarur Road overtaking one other and caused traffic jam near the junction of Velankanni-Nagapattinam Road.

Traffic was paralysed on the Nagapattinam-Tiruvarur National Highway as the police had alerted Tiruvarur not to send any vehicle towards Nagapattinam.

All the vehicles that came from Tiruchi, Thanjavur and other places to Nagapattinam and Velankanni were stopped and sent back.

The Nagapattinam district administration announced through public address system requesting the people of Nagapattinam town residing within two km distance to go to safer places.

However, most of the permanent residents and shopkeepers did not care for that and remained in their houses.

A senior intelligence official told The Hindu that people from coastal villages near Nagapattinam, Vedaranyam, Velankanni, Tharangampadi, Keevalur, Poompuhar and Sirkazhi, who were very near the sea, were fleeing to safer places.

What is interesting was that the whole Nagapattinam town is situated within two kilometres from the shore and almost all shops, commercial establishments, government offices, banks, residential quarters, hospitals and markets are located within a distance of two-km.

Cloudy climate was prevailing from 11 a.m. today. Namasivayam, an agriculturist of Nagapattinam, said that the same climate prevailed last Sunday when the tsunami hit the coast.

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