The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Tuticorin News : `Second wave of tsunami' makes people press the panic button

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

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Tuticorin

`Second wave of tsunami' makes people press the panic button

By R. Vimal Kumar

TUTICORIN, DEC. 30. The Pearl City looked deserted today after the `fictitious tsunami struck' the coastal belt and `almost swallowed' the entire town. The news that tsunami was about to strike the town made the Tuticorin public run around for safer destinations, which eventually plunged the town into utter chaos.

Shops downed shutters and residents were seen migrating to other towns in huge numbers. The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited offices in the town and Collectorate premises resembled `silent zones' as 90 per cent of the employees fled from their seats.

It all started at around 10 a.m. when an announcement was made in the coastal region by the district administration that tsunami might strike the coast very soon and the people living in those areas need to flee to shelters.

Official sources said that they made the announcement through TV channels and public announcement systems, only after receiving a message from the meteorology sources through the office of Commissioner of Revenue Administration that tsunami `could' strike Tuticorin within an hour.

The message, which was said to have received by the Collectorate here at 10 a.m., was later altered by the CRA office, which said high tidal waves could strike the coastal regions within 24 hours, not in an hour.

But, by then, based on the first information people were evacuated in a hurry and pressed the panic button. Large number of men, women and children started getting out of the coastal belt and headed towards the town centre, to catch bus and move out of the town.

Men and women with their children and other family members started flowing into the street with their belongings in an attempt to head for `nearest and safest' townThe Tuticorin-Tirunelveli road witnessed one of the heaviest and `fastest' of the traffic in its entire history, as two-wheelers, cars, buses, auto rickshaws and lorries were seen speeding towards Tirunelveli in a bid to escape from tsunami.

In the resultant commotion, many accidents occurred in that arterial road. Chappals were seen scattered all along the route, resembling a riot area.

Making matters worse, buses stopped operating between Tuticorin and Tirunelveli as the drivers rushed to their houses to save their kith and kin.

Later, the Minister, Anitha Radhakrishnan, arrived on the scene and asked the drivers to run buses to Tirunelveli, which relieved the tension a bit.

Many people were seen standing over bridges and other vantage points for hours to get the first signs of water gushing into the town so that they could flee. People from far-off residential areas from the coast like Ganesh Nagar, Bryant Nagar and Chidambara Nagar were seen moving towards other towns. Discussions took place among many on whether Madurai or Tirunelveli was farther from the sea so that they could spend their nights peacefully.

Telephone lines jammed

Telephone lines were also disrupted and tensed people were seen running hither and thither to call their near and dear ones.

According to sources, the situation arose due to lines getting jammed after so many hundreds started dialling at the same time.

Even though tension eased a bit by the evening, the majority of the shops and other establishments remained closed as the owners were already away from the town.

The vehicle-announcement made by the police that there was no need to panic helped regain normalcy to some extent.

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