Trails of destruction from tropical storm 'Sandy' and cyclone 'Nilam':

Weather Gods favoured Sri Lanka

By Ranil Wijayapala

Weather Gods who had no merciful eye on Sri Lanka over several months, turned towards Sri Lanka during the past few weeks triggering thick cloud layers over the country and rains in many parts to recover from the drought which had devastating effect on agriculture sector and the power sector on the country.

However, cyclone 'Nilam' which originated from an area of low pressure over the Bay of Bengal on October 28, as a weak depression about 550 kilo meters North East of Trincomalee and later intensified into a deep depression, and subsequently a Cyclonic Storm by October 30 created fears among the people as a cyclone tapped on the doors of Sri Lanka.

The fear grew as they saw the havoc created by the super storm 'Sandy' in the Caribbean islands, Cuba and later in US and Canada having a devastating effect on the world super power.

The Meteorological Department kept a close eye on the situation and issued warnings to fishermen and also the public living in the eastern coast about the rough sea condition and thus prevented unwanted loss of lives.

Though it was predicted that 'Nilam' would end in Mullaitivu and Kankesanthurai coasts, people there were fortunate enough not to experience it as the cyclone slowed down closer to the shores of Sri Lanka and moved away. Later it made its landfall in Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu on October 31 as a strong Cyclonic Storm with peak winds of 45knots or 85km per hour and moved towards Andra Pradesh and even affecting Nepal.

Therefore, Sri Lanka experienced only the impact of the atmospheric changes due to the cyclone which triggered strong winds and heavy rainfall in almost all parts of the country creating flash floods and affecting nearly 200,000 people in almost 20 districts. The public have been warned to take necessary precautions against lightning and thunderstorms.

The Disaster Management Centre was also on the lookout for any flash floods or high gales that might occur over the past few days.

Many public buildings such as the Colombo Municipal Council and Maligawatte police station were also reported being a few feet under water and massive traffic congestions and delays of trains were also reported.

Minor landslides and blockage of roads caused huge inconvenience and many of them were cleared to make the roads passable for motorists.

The bad weather situation reported in the Nuwara Eliya district prompted the authorities to close schools until Monday as the Land Slide Warning Centre of the Building Research Organisation kept the country alert about possible landslides as Western and Southern slopes of the central highlands, cut slopes, river and stream banks can be at potential risk of landslides, rock falls and cut slope failures with the heavy rains reported in many parts of the country.

It said the districts of Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Kegalle, Ratnapura and Kalutara districts have increased risk and the remaining districts in the Western and the Southern provinces are at medium risk.

The warning issued was extended until improved weather conditions reported in many parts of the country.

However, the fear of huge floods due to the impact of cyclone 'Nilam' on Sri Lank is now diminishing as two days of good weather has enabled around 150,000 people affected from the floods and some of them living in camps to return to their homes as floods in many parts of the country started receding by Friday evening.

According to the Disaster Management Centre around 15,000 who were living in camps were also scheduled to return their homes with the improved weather conditions prevailed during the past two days.

Though Sri Lanka was spared of severe consequences of the cyclone eight deaths were reported across the country due to the strong winds, floods and lightening incidents reported.

The Indian media reported that the Cyclone "Nilam' which crossed the Tamil Nadu coast North of Chennai Wednesday evening between Mamallapuram and Kalpakkam and later slammed into the Andhra Pradesh coast, leaving 11 people dead and causing some serious damage to property.The cyclone had claimed eight lives in Tamil Nadu and three in Andhra Pradesh.

Incessant rains throughout the night have thrown normal life into a state of disarray in the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, caused flooding in several parts. Reports also said the cyclone also pushed the ship Prathiba Kavery from Mumbai to the shore near Elliots Beach. Seventeen people, stranded on the ship, were later rescued by the Coast Guards.More than 200 electric posts were destroyed when the cyclone hit the land in various places and relief and rescue teams across the country's southern states have been deployed to combat the destruction caused by the storm

When 'Cyclone' Nilam was playing havoc in the South Asia the super storm Sandy created trails of destruction to the world super power, the US, and host of other nations including Cuba, Canada and Caribbean islands.

After leaving the Bahamas since October 27 , Sandy followed a track roughly parallel to the eastern coast of the United States. Its centre moved at a distance of roughly 500km from the coast until Oct 28 when it turned North West direction of New Jersey.

Due to its exceptional large size the effects of Sandy were felt along the eastern seaboard of the United States, mainly in the form of strong winds, rough seas and moderate rainfall along the coasts of Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina and Virginia. Approaching land, after the 28, the wind and storm surge impact were the main concern.

Tropical Cyclone Sandy, after causing damage and deaths in the Caribbean moved towards the coast of USA, where it made landfall as a Hurricane of Category 1 with maximum sustained winds of 130 km/h on Oct 30 a few km South West of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The eastern coast of the United States was affected by strong winds, heavy rainfall and severe storm surge flooding that paralysed transport and communications and caused power outage in a very wide, densely populated area. As of Oct 30 , 16 deaths in the eastern US were attributed to the effects of Sandy.

Hundreds of thousands of people in New York were left without power and the transit system, schools, the stock exchange and Broadway were all out of action after a 13ft wall of water caused by the storm surge and high tides brought severe flooding to subways and road tunnels.

The storm that made a landfall in New Jersey on Monday evening with 80mph sustained winds, cut power to more than 7.4 million homes and businesses from the Carolinas to Ohio, caused scares at two nuclear plants and stopped the presidential campaign cold.

President Obama declared a 'major disaster' in New York and Long Island as flooded streets were littered with cars, homes were razed to the ground and tankers washed up on shore.

According to media reports three major airports in the New York area - LaGuardia, Newark Liberty and Kennedy - remained shut down Tuesday. That resulted in more than 15,000 flights cancelled for Monday and Tuesday, almost all related to the storm, according to the flight-tracking services.

According to reports in the aftermath of the super storm Sandy for the first time since 1888 the New York Stock Exchange was closed for two consecutive days due to the weather. Fire destroyed at least 50 homes Monday night in a flooded neighbourhood in the Breezy Point section of the borough of Queens, where the Rockaway peninsula juts into the Atlantic Ocean.

Before it made its way north, Sandy was blamed for the deaths of 65 people in the Caribbean.

According to reports the United States still struggling to recover from the deadly effects of super storm Sandy like any other country with long queues for fuel, and supplies and thousands of workers making their effort to restore the transport services and the power supplies which were yet to be restored.

The ongoing campaign for the US Presidential elections was also affected heavily due to this catastrophe and the President Obama and his rival Mitt Romney had to adjust their Presidential election campaign into relief operations for the affected people.