Page 45 - Hemas_Piyawara_Book
P. 45

CHAPTER 06











                                       The Hemas Tsunami Foundation






                hen the tsunami hit! It was December 26 , 2004 and Sri Lanka was on holiday.   of more than 500km per hour caused devastation along the coastlines of Sri Lanka,
                                                 th
            TBeing both Boxing Day and poya, families in their numbers flocked to the beach   Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles,
            and others boarded trains or went by car, van or bus to holiday destinations, just   Somalia, Tanzania and Thailand.
            before another year began and work and school life resumed.
                                                                                    While reaching Indonesia within minutes, the tsunami hit Sri Lanka about 2 hours
            The Indian Ocean that surrounded this island and its sun-kissed and frothy-foam   later – the first wave engulfing Kalmunai on the east coast at 8.27 a.m. and other areas
            covered beaches had been an attraction for men, women and children. The sea was   between 8.27 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. The tsunami caused extensive damage along more
            never feared. It was where the children built sand castles or laughing with delight   than two thirds (over 1,000km) of the coastline from the north through the east and
            rushed towards the ebbing waves to dip their feet or shouted in glee as the tide chased   south to the western coast.
            behind them.
                                                                                    More than 31,000 people were killed, more than 4,000 were reported missing and
            There were no ominous warnings on that fateful morn. Just talk that muhuda goda   nearly 550,000 were left homeless. While nearly 40% of the dead were reportedly
            galanawa (the sea is coming into the land) in the south, in a country which was not   children, many of the survivors were also orphaned. Hundreds of thousands of
            even familiar with the word ‘tsunami’ – a series of huge waves triggered by a quake.  buildings including homes, schools and hotels were destroyed and economic activities
                                                                                    such as fishing, tourism, trading and small-scale industries, severely disrupted.
            That day, the benevolent sea turned malevolent and sent incredibly high waves
            crashing onto land, destroying anyone, anything and everything in its path……  The Central Bank estimated the total damage to be around US$ 1 billion (4.9% of the
            ..a train packed to capacity with holidaymakers was swept up and dashed back,   Gross Domestic Product – GDP) and reconstruction to cost around US$ 1.8 billion
            a mangled wreck, like a toy crushed by an angry child.                  (8.9% of the GDP).

            The toll of this natural disaster was horrendous. According to the Central Bank of Sri   “Coping with natural disasters of this magnitude has to be done with extensive support
            Lanka the undersea earthquake registering 9.0 on the Richter scale, later upgraded to   from the public, private and non-governmental sectors as well as the international
            9.3, struck in the Indian Ocean at 6.59 a.m., Sri Lanka time. It was the most powerful   community,” the Central Bank urged.
            earthquake since the one which struck Alaska in 1964, which measured 9.2 on the   The worst destruction was along the eastern and southern coastal belt with the
            Richter scale. It triggered a series of tsunamis that caused the worst natural disaster   northern coastline being affected to a lesser extent. In the east, Kalmunai and adjacent
            in modern history. Waves as high as l5 metres (about 50 feet) travelling at a speed   areas were badly pummelled by the waves.


                                                                                                                                                     37
   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50