Page 45 - Hemas_Piyawara_Book

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.

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