The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Back to normal after tsunami scare

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 30, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Back to normal after tsunami scare

By Our Staff Reporter

TAKING IT IN THEIR STRIDE: Fishermen haul in a net as youths play football on Shanghumughom beach early on Tuesday morning. Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 29. After the tsunami alert that triggered a scare last night, it was back to business in the coastal areas of the city today. Fishermen went out to sea in the morning and by evening, the beach at Shanghumughom was swarmed with tourists and families. There was nothing to suggest a threat to the thickly-populated coastal areas.

The residents were alerted to the possibility of a tidal wave by late night bulletins on media channels. In areas closer to the shore, the warning sparked off an exodus, with families gathering whatever they could and fleeing to safer places. Many of them sought refuge in houses of relatives.

At the Valiathura beach, dozens of families voluntarily vacated their houses and moved away from the coast on Monday night.

Television news

"We came to know of the alert from the television news bulletin. A police jeep was stationed near the beach, but it did not issue any warning. Many of the families shifted to the houses of their relatives further inland", says Das, a fisherman.

Raju, another fisherman, said the alert had elicited an immediate response. "We remained vigilant throughout the night. Families started trickling back after the Government announced that it has withdrawn the alert. But many fishermen who went out to sea in the morning returned early. In any case, the catch has never been good since the tsunami in December".

Residents in the coastal areas reported seeing people from the city making their way to the beaches late in the night to watch the tidal upsurge. "It was a reverse exodus. As people on the beach started fleeing, those from the city kept coming in batches anticipating the sight of a rising sea inundating the coast", says Das.

Parameswaran, a lifeguard at the Shanghumughom beach said that the tsunami alert had not affected life in the coastal belt. He recalled that on December 26, the rising sea had reached the walkway on the beach. "After what happened at many places last time, people are more alert now," he said.

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