The Indian Ocean Tsunami: Recalling days following December 26th 2004

I spent my day today flipping through pages from diary with entries from 16 years ago, written on-board flights and waiting at airports during days and moments after the great Indian Ocean Tsunami that struck the coasts and islands of India among 16 other nations. It was a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. Entire towns and villages had been washed away by the Tsunami. 

48 hours after the tragedy struck, I was on a flight to Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal. 2000 people had died on these islands, and 5000 were reported missing. At Port Blair the capital of these islands, we received waves of terror-struck people in ships being evacuated from remote islands and housed in temporary camps set up in schools and community centres. Prayers being said on public speakers, doctors, journalists milling all over the camp, Government officials with sheaths of paper doing their rounds; Searching eyes of families trying to ascertain if they can locate all their loved ones. Its a scene forever etched in memory. 

There was no electricity in the islands. Food and water was scarce. We were operating out of small hotel rooms. For the evacuated people being brought in to Port Blair, we arranged cooked food and set up large tents that could house 30 to 40 families. I visited the district collector’s office to gather more information. With the district collector I shared Biryani served on a newspaper. That would need to last almost for the entire day. We discussed possibilities. Everyone, the government, NGOs and others were in a state of mental paralysis. Every phone call from our Headquarters was eagerly awaited. Many such calls were only to seek more information. I don’t remember how many journalists I spoke to. The team back in our headquarters in Delhi, headed by Anshu Sharma (Co-Founder SEEDS) were on their toes. With few options for transport to these islands, it was a logistical nightmare trying to source any material from the ‘mainland’. It was as if all of us, including people directly hit by the Tsunami were needing external assistance. Our helplessness transformed into a spirit of mutual care. We egged each other to keep our spirits high. Leadership was important. Those few of us who could stick our necks out tried to makes sense of the chaos. We had to be creative in our solutions. Time was of essence. Wading through difficulties, we had to prioritise children and mothers who seemed to be affected the most. It was an amazing scene at the relief camps. There were no differences anymore - no religious affinities, no class boundaries. Everyone was reaching out to each other. 

In my 10 day stay in the islands immediately after the Tsunami, I was as much a victim, as an aid worker and leader. There were daily ‘adventures’. False alarms on the Tsunami were still prevalent. Each time a rumour spread about a possible Tsunami, the All India Radio would announce the falsity of such rumours. I remember standing in the middle of the road trying to send back traumatised families running uphill with their kids and belongings tightly clutched in their hands. The radio warning didn’t seem to reach these people until someone stopped his car, opened the doors and turned up the volume of his car radio. Local paan and cigarette shops did the same. And it seemed to be having an effect. 

SEEDS stayed in the island for three years after the Tsunami. We built homes in the island of hut bay. SEEDS colleagues Mihir, Shivangi and new local members of the team along with 30 other construction workers who travelled from the Gujarat (carrying with them the experience of working in 2001 Gujarat earthquake recovery) worked day and night in these islands. We repaired schools and community centres. We helped prepare a disaster management plan for the city of Port Blair. We helped small businesses with interest free loans to enable them restart their work. All these, with great difficulties in moving across islands, securing permissions to work, manpower shortages and many other difficulties. The presence of NGOs was limited. Most of the attention of civil society response was visible in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. I recall the leadership role of Viveknandan from the South Indian Fishing Federation (SIFFS). The work in Andaman & Nicobar islands largely remained eclipsed. Occasional protests by affected islanders was seen with suspicion and blame put on external agencies working in the islands. 

Even though, ‘mainland’ India remained largely apathetic to plight of the islanders, our work in the islands has has remained among the most memorable experiences of working in emergency response. 

The Indian Ocean Tsunami provided us an opportunity to learn and share from fellow local organisations working in other affected countries in South and South East Asia. The Asian Disaster Reduction & Response Network (ADRRN) came to life as it provided a platform for such exchange and learning. Besides India, I was able to travel and participate in small projects in Sri Lanka, Maldives and in Indonesia. The last project executed by SEEDS was the establishment of coastal bio-shields along the coast of Tamil Nadu (see recent picture). 

The Indian Ocean Tsunami led to some landmark changes both in India and the World. In India, the Disaster Management Act was passed by the Parliament in 2005 that led to setting up of the National Disaster Management Authority; an international information and warning sharing platform was set up (INCOIS); Former US president of Bill Clinton, travelled the region as special envoy of the UN Secretary General. He coined the word “Build back better” that has since become a buzzword for post-disaster recovery. The report of the International Tsunami Evaluation Coalition was a seminal piece of work that shook the aid architecture thereafter. The biggest ever private giving amounting $5.5 billion brought in swift response but it overstated the humanitarian aid system perpetuating stereotype response. For the first time, this was challenged in a big way. The gaps clearly highlighted the need to secure the agency and dignity of affected people while designing response based on contexts and needs. Looking back, it was the experience of aid response to Indian Ocean Tsunami, that formed the groundswell for much of discussions today on localisation and local leadership. 

One of my diary entries dated 19th March, 2005 was written aboard a small ship MV Katchal, travelling from Hut Bay to Port Blair. I was tired and worried. We had to build 600 homes on the island (completely destroyed by the Tsunami) in three months and it seemed impossible in spite of a 31 member team camped in the island. I wrote this entry only to encourage myself. Writing diaries has been a healing journey out of many such personal tense moments in life.