DANCE OF DEATH::Mainak Mazumder in GREEN PLANET : Writing (Tsunami) blog at Rediff iLand

Please do take sometime to read this post. Its a bit long, but it will definitely give you valuable information about Disasters and its Management.

A father struggled amongst that water to reach his daughter. The daughter, clinched to the tree staring at that helpless dad to rescue her. Her scary eyes looked around in search of her mother. That mother no-where to be seen. Moments of anxiety, mixed with fear. As she looked, she could see another huge wave agressing with a killer instinct towards her father. "Dad.... dad... I love you dad".. that was the last word her father heard from her daughter. Moments later, 'She' became a orphan. Strange!!! but its true that the beautiful charming sea turned into a ruthless slayer.

Just imagine a gigantic sea waves, moving nearly at the speed of a jet plane, appearing without a warning and hitting the coastlines just like a 'Water Bomb'. Laoded with enormous energy, the "killer" waves do wreck havoc by flooding several kilometers and each and everything on its way and draging hundreds of victims into its grip. The only saving option; the long broken trees becomes a mass of humanity as everyone tries to grip it and waiting for a miracle to save them. But that miracle never occured and slowly the sceptre of death falls on everyone, leaving a trail of total destruction and the ruinous waves simply spelling "A DISASTER".

It became so sudden , that one attributes to ones fate. Except for a chance event, everyone might very well be alive. As the DANCE OF DEATH started, the beautiful beaches brimming with life, a few hours ago, transformed into GRAVEYARD WITH DEAD BODIES LYING AMID TORN FISHING NETS, SMASHED BOATS AND DEBRIS STREWN ALL AROUND. Millions suffered the terrifying brunt of the assault while thousands of people died an unnatural death. The total Asian death toll, estimated to be 1.5 LAKH is shocking!!!!! even thosuands of people are still reported to be missing. The survivors have numerous tales of sorrow; the only thing that is left after the slayer tsunami showed its ugly face.

"Still today, the sounds of wailing and mourning of the dead are still echoing wide in the vast coastlines traumatized by tsunami..."

The horrendous story of December 26, 2004 still remains fresh in our minds. Nature rules us all. The beautiful nature that sustains the entire living world on our planet has a furious dace as well. Imagine gigantic sea waves, moving nearly at a speed of a jet plane appearing without a warning and hitting the coastlines like a "Water Bomb". Nature was at its fiercest best on this fateful day, as a massive undersea earthquake, measuring 9.0 on the Richter's scale, with its epicenter close to the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra Island, first shook this region violently. So, powerful was this earthquake that it made the Earth wobbles on its axis! The tsunami disaster – killed thousands of Nicobarese, the main inhabitants of the Nicobar Islands, who had their villages established along the coasts. Most of the villages are flattened and washed away by the waves, leaving behind some remnants and a desolate look. The sounds of wailing and mourning of the dead people still echoes wide in the vast coastlines traumatized by the Tsunami. Still, the human mind hammers on the fact that the mysteries of Nature are unfathomable and we the mere mortals, only have the power to scientifically predict the occurrence of such a calamity. But here lies one question to human beings, "Is this thought rational?" with proper pre disaster management plans, we can stop disaster of our lives if not to property.

From a purely ecological point of view, the broad opinion is: what occurred was a natural process and nothing much can be done or tried in terms of restoration. But is it really purely natural disaster or human ignorance that lead to the catastrophe. The sheer thought that we cannot have such types of disasters, lead to the catastrophe. Continuous deforestation of the 'natural barriers' – The mangroves; brought death sentence for thousands. Of course human beings need to exploit natural resources, if we have to lead a secure life. Human beings need to exploit his environment and nature needs to maintain her stability. A kind of compromise has to be reached, otherwise a breakdown occurs. The most important question that comes into our minds is that: To what degree can this disturbance be absorbed by nature? India's lengthy coast stretches over 6000 km; supporting numerous fishing communities and driving the economics of the coastal villages, towns and cities. On the average, there are two tsunamis per year somewhere in the world, which cause damage near the source. Approximately every fifteen years a destructive Pacific wide Tsunami occurs. Tsunamis travel approximately 700 kmph in 4000 m depth of sea water. In the 10m of water depth, the velocity drops to about 36 km /hour; just for example, the Tsunami from Sumatra Coast earthquake traveled to Tamil Nadu in about 2 hours. These killer Tsunamis travel very fast in the oceans and lash on the shores with greater velocity and capable of flooding 1.5 km (1500 m ) from the coast.

The coasts are the "new frontier" for economic expansion, particularly in the post-liberalization period. If the spatial analysis, of the growth of our gross national product could be undertaken, it would indicate that it is higher for the coastal tract. Considering that many of our major and fast expanding cities are along the coast, such a conclusion will not be a miss. The most unfortunate of this "new- frontier" expansion is that this "new" developers are fortified with greater political and economic power and seldom they take the original inhabitants into confidence. To add to the woos of the Environment Department, the protective natural barriers are hunted down in the name of "Development". Sustainable development of the coastal tract and greater entitlements and capabilities for the poor can be ensured only with a new structure of rights to the natural assets in the coastal area eco-system, which covers both land and sea. Development along coastal stretches is severely restricted under a regime comprising the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) notification of 1991; the approved coastal zone management plans (CZMPs) for each state or region. In February 1991, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF) framed regulations under the Environment ( protection ) act of 1986 (EPA) and the Environment ( protection ) rules of 1986, to preserve a coastal zone extending over a strip of land up to 500 m from the HTL along the entire Indian Coast. These regulations, popularly known as the CRZ regulations, severely restrict development on about 3000 sq km of the coastal India.

Protection against the deadly Tsunamis has been a long time discussion; subjected to long years of debate. But there is a 'natural barrier', which kept on protecting our coast from natural hazards. 'Mangrove' plants are those that can survive high salinity, tidal extremes, strong wind velocity, high temperature and muddy anaerobic soil – a combination of conditions hostile for other plants. Mangroves are successfully adapted in colonizing saline inter-tidal zone at the interface between the land and the sea along the deltas, shallow lagoons, mud flats, bays and backwaters in tropical and subtropical sheltered coastlines . Mangroves not only protect the coastal communities from the fury of cyclones and coastal storms, but also promote sustainable fisheries and prevent sea erosion. They also serve as the home to a variety of flora and fauna. In 1999, the Super – Cyclone destroyed much parts of Orissa, but those areas, which were adjoined by Mangrove forests suffered less damage. Life taught very good lessons to the original inhabitants and to one's wonder; they started raising Mangrove nurseries and plant mangrove saplings in the degraded areas. The most important thing about the Mangrove forests is that they help to stabilize our shoreline and act as a 'Natural Barrier' against 'Natural forces' like Hurricanes and cyclones as well as encroachment by the sea and thus check soil erosion. The best thing about the Mangroves is that they are self-propagating. Sustainability of our natural barriers, their proper care, maintenance, effective management and proper knowledge about this life savers is a need of the time, where information ( reliable or unreliable ) travels at internet speed. Measuring and reporting about the progress to the needful departments is a critical management tool in today's high speed, interconnected, "24-hours news" world. Along with that we need to teach our masses about the importance of nature's gifts and the idea of conserving them. If the plans are not put into service immediately, then a day might come when the "News-headline" have to report again about the losses to precious lives under SLAYER HURRICANES ,TSUNAMIS or DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKES. Let us together join hands and resolve ourselves for protecting our Natural Barriers and create a SAFER, GREENER and STRONGER INDIA in years to come.