Yesterday (26) marked the 15th anniversary of the devastating tsunami which was triggered by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake which occurred off the coast of Sumatra. The earthquake is said to have discharged an energy equivalent to 23,000 Hiroshima type atomic bombs. Within hours of the earthquake, killer waves of tsunami slammed into coastlines of 17 countries extending from Thailand to East Africa across the Indian Ocean.
Although Sri Lanka is located 1,600 nautical kilometres west of the epicentre of the earthquake, the tsunami struck the eastern coast of Sri Lanka almost one hour and forty-five minutes after the earthquake at about 8.45 am local time.
A journalist's experience...
The tsunami waves hit the Panadura and Kalutara coastline around 10.20 am.
On this fateful day in 2004, I was engaged in my normal duties as a provincial correspondent covering a sports meet of the Panadura Police division held at the Panadura esplanade around 10 am. Suddenly, two youths came rushing to me and said they saw that the Panadura River was flowing upstream. I rushed to the spot accompanied by Panadura SSP’s Personal Assistant Inspector Livera on his motorcycle. He warned me that it was an ominous sign of an impending danger and suggested that we should rush to the beach to ascertain what it is. On the way, we visited the Panadura Police Station which was situated 250 yards off the Panadura beach to inform SSP Kithsiri Dayananda about the spectacle.
The sea waters receded few metres from the coastline and then came rolling back in full magnitude destroying everything that was in the Panadura coastal belt devastating nearly 50 thatched houses and killing nearly 80 occupants. Fishing boats anchored in the Panadura Estuary had either overturned or got swept away by the waves. Although Armed forces accompanied by the Panadura Police rushed to search for missing persons, they had to carry the bodies of nearly 74 people to the Panadura Base Hospital.
The entire area was enveloped in slimy mud left over by the tidal waves. The death and destruction caused by the killer tsunami captured newspaper headlines on the following day. An 80-year-old fisherman named Solomon Aiya alias Malu Mama living on the Panadura beach front recalling the December 26 horror told me that he was near the boatyard in the Panadura Estuary when tsunami waves came rolling towards them.
He left his fishing net and soon climbed a nearby coconut tree to save his life. However, all his family members were killed during the tragedy. It should be recalled that soon after the tragedy occurred, the then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa summoned an urgent Cabinet meeting to take stock of the situation and damage caused and deployed the security forces and police to undertake search and rescue operations.
Accordingly, a massive post-tsunami reconstruction and compensation payment programmes spearheaded by the Prime Minister were launched with foreign and local funding and assistance. Telltale signs of the tsunami, which struck Panadura coastal area, are still visible in some areas.
Perhaps the solar eclipse that occurred yesterday may be a grim reminder of the Tsunami holocaust which occurred on Boxing Day 15 years ago.
battle for survival....
D.K. Chandramali, 55, Hathpalena, Ahangama
I met Chandramali with her husband Amarasena Alwis Wijewickrama, 57, at their small teashop on the Galle – Matara Road in Hathapalana.
“On that day, we were doing our usual domestic chores when at once our younger brother came running from sea yelling out that sea was flowing ashore and asked us to run away. At that time, they were harvesting lobsters in the nearby sea.”
“My sister took her two children by her hand and ran. We all started to run towards the countryside. Many of them could not run into the village as they had to cross several limestone quarries which had been dug along the other side of the road. The railway line was also another hurdle for people to cross into the village. The railroad runs on an elevated land in our area. When the second wave came, the two children who were hanged on to their mother were released from her hand and went disappeared in the huge wave. My brother who saw the dreaded sight rushed to our place with an arecanut trunk, clogged it between two trees and asked us to hold on to it.”
“After the water level receded, we all who survived the disaster stumbled over mangled debris in search of our children and other missing relatives. We could not find anyone as they had been drifted away into the sea. Later, as we decided to go back, we heard a yell from atop of a tree nearby. It was my husband’s sister. She had been thrown high by the second giant wave and dumped her on the tree. Subsequently, our brothers got her down with the help of an improvised ladder.”
“As we failed to locate even bodies of our children or the relatives, we all walked with much difficulty to Gurullawala temple which is about four kilometres away from our village. The chief priest of the temple provided us with lodging and food with the help of the villagers. We lived in temporary tents for about three months. Finally, we received a house in the Akkara Wissa (Twenty Acre) Tsunami Village. My husband, his sister (a widow), two brothers, husband’s another sister, my own brother and I, all live in one house. We were given two houses, but the Grama Niladhari of our area at that time deprived us of getting the second house on personal rancour and he sold it to another person. We did not receive any relief donations given by the Government and various other organizations. We received only some kitchen utensils given by the chief monk of the temple.”
“My husband’s father, two sisters with their four children lost their lives in the catastrophe. All seven bodies were kept in one coffin and buried near our house. My son is an Army officer in the Gemunu Regiment. He is Corporal Wijewickrama who fought in the battlefield since April 2009. On April 29, he was injured in operation and lost one of his eyes and he is at present having incurable insanity. He is in the Abhimansala Wellness Resort in Kamburupitiya.”
“My brother is a fisherman. He had a boat but it was destroyed in the tsunami. He did not get a new one. Now he is harvesting lobsters using nets. It is risky to live near the beach. But, we are forced to live here as we have no other place. So, we do not leave this location.”
B. Krishanthi, 52, Haritha Gama, Walahanduwa
“My youngest son was three and a half years when the tsunami tragedy occurred. Our house was at Mahamodra near the school. On that day, at about 8.30 am, I went to the bus halt with my youngest son to get a bus to go to Galle town. Suddenly, I heard yelling and shouting of people. I saw seawater was coming up to the land with a gradually increasing height. I got hold of my son by hand and started to run for life. At once, a powerful wave struck us and my son was released and slipped from my grip. He was drifted towards the nearby river and I too was floated in the same direction and I thought it was the end of my life. However as I was floating, I was trapped on a top of a tree where I remained until the water receded.
With the help of some people, I got down from the tree and ran towards the direction where the youngest was dragged towards. My son was trapped between two trees and he was alive. We took him to the hospital.
My eldest son who was nine years old, was at home when the tsunami attacked us. He had been floated away out of the house and had luckily left on the first floor of a nearby two-story building.
My husband who was at a shop in Galle town sustained severe injuries.
We lost our dwellings and we went to the village temple where we had to stay for some days. We had to live in temporary tents for about three months. Later, we received this house at Haritha Gama (Eco Village) at Walahanduwa. In the aftermath of the tsunami, we had to undergo grievous hardships.”
H.L.Shantha, 51, Haritha Gama, Walahanduwa
“This new village ‘Haritha Gama’ was constructed by a German humanitarian aid organization. We are ever grateful to Germans for their utmost sympathy and kindness displayed on us at our time of distress. This village was constructed by the donations made by German people.
They planned this village of 134 houses methodically with all facilities.
They constructed motorable macadamized roads throughout the village with systematic drainage systems, fixed solar panels for street lightings and erected a high water tank stand with two 1,000-litre storage tanks on it. They built tube wells to supply water to them.
However, our state authorities failed to maintain those valuable infrastructure provisions. Now, the tube wells are neglected. Roads have not been properly maintained or repaired. Now all roads are highly dilapidated. The German philanthropists also constructed a fully-fledged community hall and a playground with a children’s park. In the beginning, we used the hall for various functions. Once the community hall was used by a private entrepreneur. Now, it has been taken over by the National Youth Corps together with the playground.
Even after 15 years, our state authorities have not been able to give us the respective deeds for our lands. However, some have been able to get their deeds. The Pradeshiya Sabha does not provide us with their community service in the same way they deliver them to other civilians. The waste collecting tractor does not cover our area. We are not given equal opportunities in school admissions. Our children are maltreated in some schools. The principals hesitate to admit our children to schools.”
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