-----Original Message----- From: Lynette Dumble [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Sunday, November 14, 1999 1:00 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [GSN] The Orissa supercyclone - Lack of food, water takes a toll of victims From: Lynette Dumble <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Dear all, More on the human impact of the Orissa cyclone: "At Jhatipari village, under Japa panchayat, the villagers made a head count and found that only 171 of the 1,817 of residents had survived the tidal wave. But in the past few days, the numbers shrank to 113 with mostly children and women succumbing to continuous hunger". No prizes for guessing which humans get worst hit! - Lynette. ==================== http://www.timesofindia.com/today/15indi1.htm The Times of India, November 15, 1999 Lack of food, water takes a toll of victims By Rajaram Satapathy ERSAMA: While the supercyclone and the accompanying 20-foot-high tidal wave killed thousands at a stroke in Ersama block, the lack of drinking water and food has taken a heavy toll of the rain-soaked and wind-beaten people as well. At Jhatipari village, under Japa panchayat, the villagers made a head count and found that only 171 of the 1,817 of residents had survived the tidal wave. But in the past few days, the numbers shrank to 113 with mostly children and women succumbing to continuous hunger. ``Survial in the post-cyclone period has become more torturous than the fateful morning of October 29 when the tidal wave rolled most of us to death. We passed the initial four days eating coconuts and pumpkins floating all around. After that, there was nothing else at hand except the stink of decomposed bodies,'' said Govinda Das, who lost six of his family members. The story was no different in other villages which this correspondent visited wading through slush in which human corpses and animal carcasses floated. Nibash Chandra Phandakar of Nagri village, who works as a compounder in a Cuttack nursing home, lost 10 of his 16-member family. Over 250 of the 362 people in this village were dead. ``After being swept away a few kilometres, we caught hold of a tree trunk and took shelter on it for four days. On the second day, my elder brother was hungry. There was no fresh water available. So I swam to the nearby field, collected some tender coconuts and gave him. He looked a little cheerful but after a few hours started sinking. His legs and hands soon turned stiff. His body fell off the tree with a splash as my bhabi (sister-in-law) on the other branch cried out,'' he pointed out. According to Pratap Chandra Sukla of Kiada village, 18 of his neighbours died after the cyclone due to want of food and drinking water. When contacted, Jagatsinghpur district collector Niten Chandra agreed that there was a possibility of people succumbing to such post-cyclone shortages. ``But the district administration cannot be blamed for it. The entire government agency here collapsed in the cyclone. Even I was trapped in my house for three days. The road to Ersama re-opened only on November 5. It is still not possible to touch several villages by road. I have yet to know about the situation in Padampur panchayat, which is closest to the sea,'' he said. Amid the shadow of death and starvation, hundreds of hungry survivors can be seen queuing up for a morsel of cooked food doled out at free kitchens and by some voluntary organisations. At Naubelari, the last point to be approached by road so far, people had trudged and waded through water from points as far as 10 km away in search of food. And each had a harrowing tale to tell on how he or she survived the surging sea water walls and how many family members had perished. Officials said as many as 35 villages had been completely washed away. In villages like Sankha, only four villagers had survived. --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- Hey Freelancers: Find your next project through JobSwarm! You can even make $$$ in your sleep by referring friends. <a href=" http://clickme.onelist.com/ad/jobswarm1 ">Click Here</a> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
