The Cuddalore Experience Anu George

Cuddalore , in Tamil Nadu, has always been prone to natural disasters of one kind or the other. In the summer of 2004, the district witnessed a severe drought, followed by floods in October and then in December , the Tsunami!!! The Tsunami experience of 26th of december 2004 was like no other which led to an intense havoc . The Tsunami left 618 dead in Cuddalore. Life stock loss was put at 29 lakh. A vast area of 517.7 hectares of land was rendered saline and property worth nearly 300 crore was destroyed. The terrible tragedy scarred the lives of over 97000 people, and thousands were rendered homeless in a matter of minutes.

First and foremost task in disaster management in Cuddalore was that of rescue and relief. First aid to injured, care for the seriously affected and consolation to the bereaved had to be given. They also had to deal with thousands of people who had come in search of lost relatives or friends. Food and Water was to be mobilised for nearly 24,000 people who had fled from their villages and coastal areas to the interior.

The administration had the onerous and painful task of disposing the dead bodies. The JCBs mobilised in the morning for other work , were used for mass burial on 27th December. The burial was an important task for two reasons ,for controlling the outbreak of diseases and for ensuring faster and smoother relief operations.

Around 38 relief centers which were setup for refugees were

housed in wedding halls of the district which was a massive exercise in coordination between the authorities and voluntary sectors. Sanitary workers were appointed to clean the places on daily basis which were constantly monitered.Simultaneously,it was also important to attend to the restoration of civic amenities, such as power and water supply, in the villages.

Intensive police patrolling had to be introduced to prevent thefts

and any untoward happenings. With the support of NGOs 3 desalination plants based on reverse osmosis were setup in this area.107 shallow bore wells were dug in other places to facilitate regular supply of water.

Control rooms were established in the three worst affected areas to

coordinate the efforts of the field staff and to monitor the relief operations. 51 habitations bore the brunt of the ravaging sea waves . It was therefore important to clean up the villages to lend a semblance of normalcy. In the first few days , the assistance of local NSS and NYK volunteers were sought for this .However , it soon became clear that the district needed a more massive and organised effort to accomplish the task. Here the services of army personnel were utilized.

The WHO warned that more people would die of epidemics rather than of
the tsunami.

Organising community kitchens to feed the thousands of displaced people was an exercise in coordination.It involved,more often than not,mobilising huge quantities of vegetables,fuel and other provisions at short notices.The help that was received from donors were used for this purpose,and 7085 people were fed in the 23 communties across the district for over a month.Offices in charge were asked to provide a daily report of the provisions required for the next day so as to ensure that the food supply was never disrupted.

From the second day onwards, relief materials started pouring in from all directions.This made it easy to track the materials.

Doctors and medicines were channelised through the department of health.

The donors who routed the materials through the administration were given an official acknowledgement for the materials.

The cooperation of the police was sought and a coupon system evolved. This ensured that no untoward incidents took place.

The NGO distributed 50 packets of

vegetable biryani in a relief center

that housed 1000 people.

The department of health rendered yeomans service in

this crises.

23 teams comprising both

government and private

doctors were mobilized for medical camps.

In our district ,about 517.7 hectares of land was rendered saline

which was to the extent of 90cm to 1 mt depth and that the reclamation would take five to seven years of normal rainfall!!

In a disaster like, it was was natural for animals to be left stranded in the villages. Further, 42 tons of fodder was mobilised for the stranded cattle.

Some 20,109 animals were

vaccinated and large number of animals treated for various illness

After this disaster the needs of traumatised children for whom the beach was no longer a play area!!!Therefore, on a pilot basis, a children's park was built in one of the villages which was a huge success, and it followed up with 68 children parks in other coastal areas.

The government home opened for the tsunami orphans also received attention with the support of various donors.

Schools and colleges where these children could go to were identified in the fastest possible manner, and children were provided with books and bags as well.

Temporary shelters had to be put upon war footing as it was inevitable that the relief centre's would shut down soon.

A large number of temporary shelters were put up with the help of the voluntary bodies and the Rural Development Department.

The sanitation needs of the rehabilitated were met with the help voluntary agencies.

Cuddalore came in for a lot of praise from all the quarters for the way the relief operations were handled.

Disasters both natural and manmade expose the most vulnerable sections of society to grave danger. It is often the poor who bear the brunt of such disasters!

It

also, throws up the interesting question so as to whether philanthropy is limited only to dramatic happenings like the tsunami??? After all, an undramatic drought is as much a disaster as this one was.