TSUNAMI EFFECT — AN EXPERIENCE NEAR DEATH Ramen Kumar Parui AAI, NSCBI Airport, DumDum, Kolkata, India I first give my sincere thanks to the organiser, in particular to Professor Anjan Kundu, for giving me an opportunity to participate in this workshop and to tell the observed situation and feeling of earth quake during tsunami days. At the time of tsunami I alongwith my family members were at Port Blair. the severest earth quakes due tsunami and experienced the practical situation near death. Here I shall tell my experience facing near death.

We have faced one of the severest earth quakes due tsunami and experienced the practical situation near death. Here I shall tell my experience facing near death. On 25 th December 2004 I alongwith my family members i.e. my mother, wife and son, reached Port Blair Airport at around 12 noon and then went to Holiday Resort Hotel situated at Delanipur in the city of Port Blair. We stayed at the 2 nd Floor (top floor). It is a hilly area, very near sea beach but high from the beach level.

We then went to Corbine’s cove beach enjoyed there with water. More than one hour we spent there. Our feelings were so much pleasant on ocean water; never thought that this pleasant water will become a furious tomorrow (!). From there we went to cellular jail and back to hotel room. For tomorrow our programme was first visit Marina beach, sea coral in the morning and other places in the afternoon. On 26th Dec morning it was around 6-15 AM we are ready, transport will come to pick up us.

On that time we received a telephone call from the driver of that transport scheduled to come ---- I am coming with the car within 5 minutes as because I have to drop one family at the airport. I said – ok. At the time of keeping handsaet my son said--- daddy, hotel is vibrating. I said – no, no. Before ending my word no, our hotel started to oscillate so severely, tremendously that it is not possible to stand still.

I then told– sit down on the floor. Within a few second we see the whole building is vibrating so violently that the standing almirah, TV, Table, chairs, utensils all fall down on the floor with heavy sound. Sitting on the floor we were so helpless that we can not express. Immediately, the walls are separated from the column, leaning so much with each oscillation of earth quake vibration that at any moment all walls would fall down over our body and burried these us. But it is not so. In each time walls are coming to us and then go back, just like coming and going with each oscillation of earthquake.

The situation was like that---- a) we are sure that we all die on falling wall on us, b) although, I my mother, wife, son are very close to each other but unable to hold one another, c) my feeling was that my mother, wife and son will die in front of my eye, but I am so helpless, d) similar feelings also for other members of my family. As the vibration becoming more and more with extreme stage my wife told me some how we have to go out of this room. Somehow holding hands of my mother, wife and son we came near the stair and finally came down

Coming down and sitting on road we saw --- The hotel building is oscillating so violently that it extends nearly few feets on both sides, Cracked spots on road, road is divided into two portion in the middle, car, other vehicles parked on road sides have been sliped down, sometimes voulted up, etc. Overhead syntax water tank fall down. All men are running to take shelter at open space. The peculiarity is that no tree we had seen uprooted, no lamp post fall down.

Within 5minutes the oscillations became slower and slower and gradually we became normal. Meanwhile Police Patrolling van announced that no one can enter the house as because several earth quakes will occur. Not only that they announced the news of ft tsunami waves ( better to mention that police tell the word sea waves, although most of us did not heard the word tsunami) washed out all the things such as men, animal, car, rikshaw whatever were on the path of the tsunami waves. They also warned that another big earth quake will occur at today night 2 O’clock. So, all will be at outside the house.

We were on the road upto 10 AM and request our travel agent to provide a transport so that we can see the tsunami effect. On the way what we see that All roads, area, are full of mud, Almost 20 ft waves are still,jetty broken, Every thing dismantled, boats are on reverse side, No water, no food is available, All are hunting for food, water So pathetic that can not be expressed, only one can

We stayed Port Blair upto 30 th December and back to Calcutta on 31 st December. During our stayed at Port Blair and even today also some questions are still coming in our mind but the answer we don’t know : A) If the transport would come in time naturally we were on the beach. Naturally, myself and whole my family definitely washed out by tsunami waves (i.e. sure death), B) Why leaning walls, though they are separated from the column, not falling on us in spite of coming to us and going back during each oscillation,

C) The situation we faced and what we realised that definitely there is some extraordinary power, whether we can say it as God or any other form. D) Tsunami affected earth quake is purely nonlinear.