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| Sunday, 2 January 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Trail of destruction All around the coastal belt from Negombo, right upto Jaffna was devastated by the fury of the sea and its monstrous lashing waves which virtually swallowed buildings and left a trail of destruction with many people dead. Don Asoka Wijewardena and Samangie Wettimuny give us a first hand account of what they saw in the devastated areas.
Last Sunday Sri Lanka experienced an unprecedented and terrible tidal wave which devastated the Southern and Eastern coastal areas. The merciless sea waves that rose up to 40 feet tore through many solid buildings and did not spare their strength. It has already killed around 25,000 people, destroyed houses, bridges, roads, hospitals and entire fishing gear. Beruwela which is fast becoming a popular tourist city was severely affected by the tidal waves as most of the coastal hotels and houses of fishermen were completely destroyed. Almost all residents in the area were just screaming as parents lost children, elders, sisters and brothers and even their pets. Although most of the people in this area are Muslims, irrespective of religious denomination everyone had volunteered to help one another, especially to dispatch the injured to the nearest hospital. Cars, three wheelers, lorries and buses were scattered here and there and it was really a pathetic situation for the human eye. In the Aluthgama, Balapitiya and Ambalangoda areas, the horrible tidal wave had also played havoc destroying vehicles, roads, bridges, buildings and killing a number people who never expected this sort of situation to happen. Galle town had become a reservoir of greasy water and a large number of families including infants lost their lives due to this sudden natural disaster. Many organisations hurried to collect dry rations, clothes and drinking water for the victims in the area who were yelling due to the loss of human lives and their properties. Almost all the coconut trees along the beaches had been uprooted some told us that about 1,000 fishermen in the areas were missing. Galle, famous for its ramparts and natural harbour, was in a state of shock and disbelief...... The angry waves have torn through the quiet lives of the people. Galle town had no store or shop to call its own. Everything has been destroyed. The Galle bus stand has been ruined, with buses turned upside down due to the force of the waves that tore through. Many of the shops were housed in ancient buildings conserved by the Department of Archaeology but now lie in utter ruin. The Galle cricket stadium has been completely destroyed with the whole grounds being swallowed by the hungry sea. In between Galle and Matara the damage caused to the infrastructure by the tidal wave seems to be unaccountable. Relief measures promptly taken by some organisations had begun to pour, especially in the form of food items. In Dikwella around 500 people who survived were staying in a temple and we were told that the Chief incumbent of the temple had arranged for food parcels to be distributed among the victims but no organisation had been informed about the plight of these people. We could also see a number of both government and non-governmental organisations bringing in collected food items, prepared food and clothes to victims who had fallen into despondency and some victims were unable to eat due to shock and unexpected catastrophe that had befallen them. Between Matara and Kataragama the tidal waves had caused irreparable damage to the entire infrastructure in the area and killed thousands and thousands of people. We could see people carrying the injured and some bodies of people to hospitals and in Talangama heavy casualties were reported. Medical assistance to the injured had been prioritised as a number of organisations had provided essential medicine like bandages, analgesics and even injections to voluntary medical teams to treat the victims. It was a melancholy situation along the whole coastal belt since the fury of the sea took its toll. A large number of voluntary organisations,temples,both governmental and NGOs forgetting cast, creed and religion had come forward to help the victims who were inconsolable due to the irreparable loss to life and property. We also saw a large number of dead bodies being loaded into trucks for burial as they had decomposed. This was done on the instruction of District and Divisional Secretaries after taking pictures of the bodies. Hambantota is another area where nature had caused ruthless damage killing a large number of people and devastating the entire infrastructure of the area. It was commendable that some bakery owners of the area had started to issue bread packets and drinking water to the stranded victims and there was an unbearable stench by the side of the Hambantota road as some bodies had become decomposed and had not been removed. Although the death toll from this natural disaster is around 25,000, more bodies are being found in the affected coastal areas. The government and state corporations have already set up emergency relief operation centres for the affected. More loss of life will come to light only after life gets back to normalcy. |
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