The Tsunami

 

Kevin Lopez

Tsunami is a natural calamity that causes huge destruction and loss of life and property. Alongside the story of deep sorrow are reassuring details of courage, survival and resilience.

Summary

The first story is about Ignesious. His wife woke him up at 6 a.m. sensing an earthquake. Ignesious put the television on the ground to save it from the quake. Then all the members of the family rushed out. When the tremors stopped, they saw the sea rising. This caused them confusion. They ran but in opposite directions. His wife was swept away. Her two children along with her father and brother were also lost. Thus Ignesious lost his wife, two children, his father-in-law and his brother-in-law in the tsunami. Brave Sanjeev Sanjeev was a policeman. He managed to save himself, his wife and his baby daughter. Then he heard the cries for help. These were from John’s wife. John was the guest house cook. Sanjeev jumped into the water to save her. They both were swept away and drowned. Fortunate Meghna Meghna was 13 years old. She was swept away along with her parents and seventy-seven other people. She held on to a wooden door and kept floating on it for two days. She was brought to the shore by a wave and saved. Tragedy of Almas Almas was ten years old. The family was sleeping but her father had woken up. He saw the water receding after the tremors. He knew it would come back with great force. He woke everyone trying to rush to a safer place. As they ran his father fell down. Almas’s father rushed to help him. Then came a big wave and swept them both away. Her mother and aunts were washed away too. They were swept away with the tree they were holding on to. A Log of Wood Almas saw a log of wood floating. She climbed on to it. Then she fainted. She woke up in a hospital in Kamorta. II Intelligent Tilly This is a story from Thailand. Tilly’s family had come to Thailand from England to celebrate Christmas. It was December 26. She was standing with her family on the beach. Tilly and her mother Penny Smith both saw the water swelling. The beach was getting smaller and smaller every moment. They saw the sea slowly rise and start to foams. Tilly saw the sea making whirlpools. Bad Signs Tilly’s mother was not alarmed by these signs. Tilly remembered the video that her geography teacher had shown in the class two weeks before. It occurred to her that these were the sure signs of tsunami. She screamed and asked her family to go off the beach. The mother did not sense anything terrible. She, however, felt that her daughter must be right. Tilly the Saviour Tilly’s parents took her and her sister to the swimming pool at the hotel. Many others also left the beach with them, “Then it was as if the entire sea had come after them.” The family took refuge in the third floor of the hotel. The building withstood the force of the tsunami. If they had stayed on the beach, they I would have been dead III The Animal Sense Some people believe that animals possess a sixth sense. Tsunami killed 1,50,000 people but only a few animals died. In Yala National Park in Sri Lanka sixty visitors were washed away but only two animals died. In the same Park people had observed three elephants run away from the beach an hour before the tsunami hit. A man on the coast near Galle in Sri Lanka had two dogs. On that fatal day of tsunami they refused to go to the beach with their master. So the master too stayed back. Thus the dogs had saved his life also

Word Meaning

Archipelago-    a group of many island and the surrounding sea     दीप समूह | Tremor-  a shake, quiver कम्पन| Relief helicopter-   helicopter bringing help to others    राहत कार्य मे लगे हेललकाफ्टर | Recede-to move back    दूर जाना | Daze-   surprise  सदमे की स्थिलत |Clinging- to grip tightly  सख्ती से पकड़ना |Traumatized- disturbed   आघात | Triggered-  to start something  शुरू करना |Swelling-  expand सूजन |Massive-  bulky   विशालSwept away-  to be washed away  बह जाना | Terrifying - scaryडराने वाली Hysterical-    uncontrolled emotion   अनियंत्रित भाव | Surge-  force  लहर उठाना | Whirlpool- a swirling body   भंवर उठना |Slammed-    to strike forcefully   तेजी से बंद करना|Entice-  to attract or lure ललचाना Acute-  quick   तीव्र |Species-  a type or kind of organism   प्रजाति | Perish-   to die   नष्ट होना | Carcass-  remains शव |

QUESTION AND ANSWERS

1. Why did Tilly's family come to Thailand?

2. What were the warning sign that both Tilly and her mother saw?

3. Do you think Tilly's mother was alarmed by them?

4. Where had Tilly seen the sea behaving in the same strange fashion?

5. Where did the Smith family and the others on the beach go to escape from the tsunami?

6. How do you think her geography teacher felt when he heard about what Tilly had done in Phuket?

Ans:

1. Tilly Smith's family came from England to celebrate Christmas at the beach resort in Southern Thailand.

2. They had already experience a massive earthquake off Northern Sumatra earlier that morning Tilly’s mother saw that the water was swelling and the beach was getting smaller and smaller. Tilly saw that the sea was slowly rising, bubbling and forming a whirlpool.

3. Tilly's mother could not understand what was happening and only realised that it was serious when Tilly got frightened and mentioned what a Tsunami was.

4. Tilly had seen the sea behaving in the same strange fashion in a video of tsunami which was shown in her class by her geography teacher.

5. The Smith family and the others on the beach runback to the hotel. As they saw the whole sea was coming out, they took refuge on the third floor of a hotel. 6. Her geography teacher felt very happy as her lesson and video could help Tilly aware of the Tsunami and what happens before it. She could manage to save her family and many other families from tsunami waves.

 

Answer using a phrase or a sentence.

1. In the tsunami 150,000 people died. How many animals died?

2. How many people and animals died in Yala National Park?

3. What do people say about the elephants of Yala National Park?

4. What did the dogs in Galle do?

Ans:

1. Although no data is given in the story but it says the number of dead animals was far less compared to human casualties.

2. Sixty visitors and only two water buffaloes died at the Yala National Park. No other dead bodies of any animals were found.

3. The people at the Yala National Park had seen three elephants running away from the Patanangala beach about an hour before the tsunami hit.

4. The dogs of Galle refused to go for their daily run on the beach.

 

Working with Text Discuss the followings in class. Then write your own Answers.

1: When he felt the earthquake, do you think Ignesious immediately worked about a tsunami? Give reasons of your Answer. Which sentence in the text tells you that the Ignesious family did not have any time to discuss and plan their course of action after the tsunami struck?

Ans: No, when he felt the earthquake, Ignesious, did not think about the tsunami. He thought only about the tremors. That was why he took his television off the table and put it on the ground. In fact, the Ignesious family did not have any time to discuss and plan their course of action after tsunami struck. That was why there was only chaos and confusion. The following tells it clearly: “In the chaos and confusion, two of his children caught hold of the hands of their mother’s father and mother’s brother and rushed in the opposite directions.”

 

2: Which words in the list below describe Sanjeev, in your opinion? (Look up the dictionary for words that you are not sure of.) cheerful ambitious brash brave careless heroic selfless heartless humorous Use words from the list to complete the three sentences below. (i) I don't know if Sanjeev was cheerful, ________ or _________. (ii) I think that he was very brave, ________ and ________. (iii) Sanjeev was not heartless, ________ or _________.

 

Ans: The words that would describe Sanjeev are brave, heroic, and selfless. (i) I don't know if Sanjeev was cheerful, ambitious or humorous. (ii) I think that he was very brave, heroic and selfless. (iii) Sanjeev was not heartless, brash or careless.

 

3: How are Meghna and Almas's stories similar?

 Ans: Both Meghna's and Almas' families had washed away in tsunami but they were the only members from their respective families who had survived. Both of them kept floating in the sea for days. Meghna floated in the sea for two days holding on to a wooden door. She was brought to the shore by a wave. Similarly, Almas climbed on to a log of wood and fainted. She woke up in a hospital. Both the girls were traumatised after the incident. While Meghna was seen walking on the seashore in daze, Almas does not talk about the incident to anyone.

 

 

4: What are the different ways in which Tilly's parents could have reacted to her behavior? What would you have done if you were in their place?

 Ans: Not taking her seriously, Tilly's parents could have tried to calm her down thinking that she had been frightened by something. As a result, they could have been washed away by the tsunami waves. If I were in their place, I too would have listened to her and realised that there was a danger approaching. Consequently, I too would have rushed away from the beach.

 

5: If Tilly's award was to be shared, who do you think she should share it with - her parents or her geography teacher?

 Ans: If Tilly's award was to be shared, she should share it with her geography teacher who made her aware of tsunami in the first place. It was this awareness that helped her save so many lives.

 

6: What are the two different ideas about why so few animals were killed in the tsunami? Which idea do you find more believable?

 Ans: The first idea is that the animals have a sixth sense. They know when the earth is going to shake. The second idea is that the animals have a more acute sense of hearing. This helps them to hear or feel the earth’s vibration. In this way they sense the coming disaster much before the human beings. So they run away to safer places. This is scientifically proven that animal can hear the approaching natural disturbances as they can hear sound with low frequency which we can't. This idea is more reasonable.

 

 Moral

We should realize the importance of doing whatever possible to save human and animal life, to participate in relief work and to understand the concept of disaster management. One should show acts of courage, care and compassion in the bitter struggle of survival and rehabilitation.

 

USEFUL LINK