India's tsunami survivors rebuild lives after 2004, but painful memories remain for some

Record ID: 1891470

  • Title: India's tsunami survivors rebuild lives after 2004, but painful memories remain for some
  • Date: 20th December 2024
  • Summary: (MUTE) DRONE FOOTAGE OF WAVES CRASHING AGAINST SEA WALL MADE BY LOCALS / TREES PLANTED AROUND HOUSES TO PROTECT COMMUNITY FROM INCOMING TIDES CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA (DECEMBER 17, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER DISTRICT COLLECTOR OF NAGAPATTINAM, J. RADHAKRISHNAN, SAYING: “So probably even if a tsunami comes, and again, very, very poor hit areas like Akkar
  • Embargoed: 3rd January 2025 05:42
  • Keywords: Chennai India Indian Ocean Nagapattinam Tamil Nadu Tsunami aerial anniversary coast coastal town destruction devastation drone fishermen fishing town harbour mangroves
  • Location: NAGAPATTINAM, CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA
  • City: NAGAPATTINAM, CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Disaster/Accidents,Earthquakes/Volcanoes/Tsunami
  • Reuters ID: LVA004822219122024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Twenty years after a catastrophic tsunami killed her husband and son, 54-year-old Gandha, who lives in her hometown of Nagapattinam in southern India, still carries the weight of that tragic day.
    “When I hear the word tsunami, my whole body shivers at the thought of my husband and child,” said Gandha, who did not provide her surname.
    The devastating Indian Ocean tsunami, triggered by a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province on December 26, 2004, claimed more than 230,000 lives across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and nine other countries.
    At a stone's throw from where Gandha resides now is a sea wall, which now stands as a bulwark against high tides.
    "Considering the density of population (in villages) like Pondicherry, that (sea wall) at least will save those places," said J. Radhakrishnan, a former district collector in Nagapattinam and a key figure in the area's post-tsunami relief operations.
    At the time, Nagapattinam had neither a warning system in place nor a way to escape the giant waves as they approached.
    “It gave us an opportunity to reflect on what could be done better. There were no escape routes earlier, buildings were not earthquake-resistant or you know, cyclone-resistant and in fact, risk insurance was next to nil," said Radhakrishnan. "So these were all built-in during the rebuilding program."
    Following the 2004 disaster, millions of dollars have been invested in establishing a network of seismic and tsunami information centres, installing sea and coastal instruments, and constructing warning towers along the coastline.
    The government has also implemented a robust disaster management and early warning system, and has undertaken the redevelopment of defensive infrastructure in affected regions.
    Authorities also moved homes further inland and created "shelter plantations" in coastal towns like Nagapattinam, planting huge plots of trees and mangroves near shorelines to protect the communities and mitigate the impact of natural disasters.
    Gandha now lives in a house built by the Indian conglomerate Tata, a concrete structure that stands in stark contrast to her previous home that was "a hut made from coconut leaves and other things".
    Although life has moved on for many who survived the disaster, Gandha says her grief still lingers.
    "We were fully satisfied with the menial earnings of my husband. We were happily living, me and my husband, along with our children. Now, we have a great house but we are not happy because we lost my husband and child. I am now living for my other two children.”
    (Production: Sunil Kataria, Bhushan Kumar, Gabriel Goh, Ariel Wee)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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