Book Excerpt from A few Good Men & the Angry Sea

Chapter 2: Christmas and After

As the bewildered personnel stood looking out towards the sea, they were stunned to discover that the water had withdrawn much more than it did even during very low tides. As a result, the brilliant coral, glistening in multiple colours, was exposed from under the water for the first time. Intrigued, some adventurous officers grabbed their cameras and rushed to the shoreline.

The sea continued to recede and the officers had an eyeful of the brilliant blues, reds, oranges and yellows of the exposed corals, little understanding the sinister implications of this beautiful sight.

Squadron Leader N S Dihot had just bought a video camera and decided this was an opportunity not to be missed. He dashed down to the beach to get the footage he wanted.

A damaged camera was washed ashore a few days later; the man was lost forever.

After a while, the sea appeared to return to normal, except for the strong waves and constant churning.

The water level now started to rise and soon crossed the high-tide mark. It was as if the ocean was issuing a warning of what was in store.

Had the IAF personnel been aware of the signs that indicated an impending tsunami wave, I believe the casualties would have been fewer. But in the panic induced by the tremors, the instinct was to stay close to their homes, which were situated near the beach.

The water continued to rise to the plinth level of the houses, and then inundated the ground floors closest to the sea.

That got people moving. Since the runway was on much higher ground, they began moving towards it. But some still sought refuge on the first floor of their homes or those of their friends; the women were reluctant to venture out in their nightclothes.

One panic-stricken group of about twenty-five people decided to climb above the first floor where there was just enough place for the overhead water tanks. Later, this decision was to prove fatal.

Many people had run to the relatively higher ground of the runway of the Air Force Station, which began filling up with people, some of whom had managed to pack a few of their belongings. The security wall on the far side of the runway was ordered to be broken down so that should the waters reach this far, the people could run towards higher ground beyond.

Labourers housed in a camp close to the sea had been the most resourceful. They had quickly moved themselves and their bags to higher ground on the edge of the runway. They had been brought in from the mainland by contractors engaged in construction activity on the airbase. Most of them were from Bihar and Odisha and had some idea of how to cope with flood situations that occurred frequently in their home towns.

Group Captain Bandopadhyay drove up and down the main road, giving lifts to people moving towards the runway. Subsequently, his car was washed away by the first wave and he was reported missing. He miraculously escaped and returned to camp after a few hours.

(Excerpt published with permission and rights from Vitasta Publishing)

( See interview: After the tsunami: rebirth of an island )