Even after 20 years, tsunami still haunts people of Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Even after 20 years of the deadly tsunami of 26 December 2004, the devastation which killed more than 400 people and left nearly 3,000 missing still haunts the residents of Campbell Bay and Car Nicobar in the Nicobar district of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Located nearly 535 km from Port Blair, the Nicobar district suffered the maximum damage during the 2004 tsunami. Even today, the debris of damaged houses, defence quarters, schools, a church and government establishments send shivers down the local people's spines.

At Tamaloo village in Car Nicobar, signs of the large-scale devastation are still visible, and every year, the Nicobarese tribes gather at 'Death House' — a separate community house where Nicobari tribes, as a part of their rituals, remember their friends, family and relatives who passed away.

Tamaloo village headman Paul Benjamin recalls that terrible time: "After the Christmas celebration, we were getting ready for prayers at the local church. It was a festive mood. Around 6 a.m., on 26 December 2004, we noticed the sea started receding nearly 3 km, followed by high-impact tremors. The entire island was shaking.

"We have never seen nature's fury so strong before. There was no warning system. Minutes later, I saw a monstrous wall of waves rushing towards us. We started running towards the hilly areas to save ourselves."

"There was complete chaos," he continues. "People were running for safety, buildings collapsed like packs of cards. Some people fainted due to the high density of tremors. I rescued my wife who was trapped in the kitchen and all of us took shelter in a jungle in a hilly area. People were begging for rations to feed their children. We didn't have anything to eat. Whatever ration we had, we kept it for children and [the indisposed]. Rest survived on coconut water for five–six days."

As per government statistics, 269 people died while 583 went missing from Car Nicobar (nearly 274 km away from Port Blair). In Teressa Island (Luroo to locals), 54 died and six went missing. From Chowra, 41 died and 17 went missing. Campbell Bay saw 20 deaths and 520 missing. Katchal Island (in Nicobar district) had the maximum number of persons that went missing, though: 1,635. Only one person was actually reported dead in Katchal in the tsunami. Across Kamorta and Trinket Islands (both in the Nicobar district), 295 and 75 people are still missing; one each were declared dead from these two islands.

In Nicobar district alone, a total of 387 people died and 3,131 went missing (presumed dead) in 2004.

Speaking to PTI, Prahlad Singh, gram panchayat pradhan of Laxmi Nagar, Campbell Bay, said, "I lost some of my close friends in the tsunami. I was standing outside my house when I felt strong tremors. There was a jungle in front of our house and we could not see the sea. Then, I climbed up on a coconut tree and saw huge waves gushing ferociously towards our island."

A similar impact was also felt in South Andaman and Little Andaman, which reported 7 and 34 deaths respectively. No one went missing from South Andaman, but 13 people went missing (presumed dead) from Little Andaman.

"The most horrifying moment was when bodies started surfacing in the sea. They were decomposing fast and we were helpless. Some clung to a tree for hours and were later rescued. Somehow we managed to save our lives, but till today tsunami continues to haunt us," Prahlad Singh said.

That ill-fated day also abruptly ended Meghana Rajshekhar's playful world. She was the daughter of an IAF officer posted in Car Nicobar when the tsunami took her parents and little brother away. She was 12 years old then. Her father was a meteorologist with the Indian Air Force. She drifted in the sea on a wooden plank for two days before she was rescued.

Speaking to PTI, deputy commissioner, South Andaman district, Arjun Sharma said, "The scale of relief operations is particularly noteworthy, as evidenced by the total number of cases processed and the substantial amounts sanctioned and disbursed. Taking a lesson from the tsunami, now the administration here is fully prepared to handle such natural disasters in future with advanced technology."

"We provided shelter to 823 affected families in South Andaman and 1,973 affected families in Little Andaman. We have also provided compensation to nearly 1,203 affected people who lost their land in South Andaman," he said.