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| Sunday, 2 January 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Kalutara caught in the tidal wave Nobody ever thought that December 26th would be such a fateful day, until the tidal waves smashed into the coastal areas from KKS to Negombo. As a resident of Kalutara I had the first hand experience of this traumatic incident. It was just another day for all of us until 9.00 a.m. on Sunday when we heard people scream and lament as they rushed onto the Galle Road from all the by-lanes. It was only then that we got to know that the tidal waves had smashed into the railway tracks and people had fears that it would hit further in.
Never being affected by such a violent natural disaster before, there was no immediate reaction. Some were carrying some of their valuable belongings while others were running as fast as they could. It was really pathetic to see a boy carrying his pet cat in a cardboard box and his dog tied up in a chain amidst the protests of his parents. Buses and lorries were packed with people, who were trying to escape the fury of the sea. One of the girls with whom I spoke said that this was the first time that she felt fear for her life. "When we were in school we were taught that Sri Lanka was free from natural disasters. So it is a blessing to be born in a country like Sri Lanka. But now we do not have that 'luck' any more," she said. Although people had fears that another tidal wave would hit the coastal areas at night, luckily nothing of that nature happened. A few tourists who were bathing in the sea were reported missing, in Kalutara. The aftermath of the tidal waves in Kalutara, though less severe compared to other areas, found several people displaced. A fisherman said that "the sea was calm and quiet until it absorbed all it's waters into the sea and all at once came back as a gigantic wave with full force. The first one was not that destructive, and even the second one was not that huge. But the third one reached the top of coconut trees and nobody waited to see it's aftermath, but ran away. "Now we have come here only to see the debris", he mourned. A Provincial Council member said that, what the displaced needed urgently was milk powder, pillows, mats and milk feeding bottles as most of them were children. She further said that most of the food packets were stale by the time they reached relief centres, as they were sent from distant areas. "It would be better if people can volunteer to collect the materials and prepare meals somewhere close to the relief centres", she added. According to a social welfare officer in the Kalutara Divisional Secretariat, "all donations will go to relief camps according to the Grama seva division, and the best way is to give the donations to the divisional secretariat. The names of the relief centres can be obtained from there," he said. An elderly woman, who lost her entire family told us that though she was all alone, she was happy in a way, because there were still people around who cared for her. She did not want sympathy, she just wanted to get on with her life and carry on. |
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