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  • Category: Miscellaneous
    Points:5

    Have you got any experience of a disaster?

    During the disasters, people get trapped in dreadful situations and wait for some help from the various departments from Govt as well as private agencies. Severe storms, floods, cloud burst, glacier shifting, hurricane, forest fires, fires in busy business places, and many other such disasters happen and create a havoc for the people trapped in it. The helping agencies or disaster management groups have a great challenge during such times and carrying out the relief work is not an easy job.
    The cooperation from local people who are not directly affected by the disaster is also a very crucial factor during such times.
    Have you ever got trapped in a disaster of any kind? Or you were involved in the help operations for the affected people? Please share your experiences.
  • #778482

    Points:5
    When I was in my school then we were living in a hill town and at that time the houses were constructed with stones but there was a lot of wooden work for providing doors, windows, ceilings, etc. A good amount of paint was applied to the wooden works and from outside house looked quite decorative.
    We were living in an independent house just at the end of a big market where houses were connected to each other and on the ground floor various shops were selling a variety of items. There were a few grain stores also where people bought grains, oil, etc for the regular use.
    One day in the night in one of the shops because of kerosene oil spillage a fire started and soon it became a big fire as it spread from one building to other. People living on upper storeys quickly evacuated and came out and went away from fire. At that time there were no fire extinguisher vehicles but water connection for it. So using hoses the municipal staff was trying to control it but once the building wooden parts and paint on them caught fire then it could not be controlled and about 100 metres long stretch of that market gutted in that fire which was there till early morning. As our house was very near we also evacuated and took shelter in the nearby town hall.
    By morning we found that due to the road in between the fire was contained only upto the end of that market and did not catch to this side where we lived.
    There were a lot of relief operations by the authorities and people were provided shelter and food for quite some time. As the buildings were only 2 to 3 storeys there was no fatality as people were quickly out of their houses.
    Thoughts exchanged is knowledge gained.

  • #778484

    Points:3
    I had to face disaster in different forms in different places. I wrote in detail about one such experience on this platform. Sharing the link for interested readers: Personal experience of Cyclone Thane.

    Hope the readers would like to read the nightmarish experience of the team being coordinated by me.
    (a) Those who have forgotten Noakhali, how can they protest Sandeshkhali?
    (b) Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it. ---------- Salvador Dali

  • #778498

    Points:5
    I was involved in many rescue operations after the disaster. I was a member of the Disaster Management Committee of Nalgonda District of Telangana. The district collector is the chairman of the committee and the Director of Factories is the Convenor of the committee. We attended some mock drills for various groups to train them to know how to react in case of a disaster. We attend mock drill programs conducted in various industries in the district. We trained many executives in making their on-site and off-site emergency plans for their establishment and then conducting mock drills as mentioned in those plans.
    As a member of the crisis management committee, I was also trained in organising food, water etc for the people who suffered. I was a guest faculty in the Administrative Staff College, Hyderabad and I gave training to industry professionals in dealing with emergency situations in their organisations.
    drrao
    always confident

  • #778505

    Points:4
    Partha, I went through your article giving a nice account of the disaster that you experienced. Normally I try to put my comments in such articles but somehow I missed that one may be by that time it was not in the feed or pushed back to next pages or to category pages. Thanks for giving an opportunity to me to go through it.

    Dr Rao, it is nice to note that you have such a varied experience about disasters, disaster management, and also have imparted training to the people.

    I hope more members would share their experiences in this regard.
    Knowledge is power.

  • #778513

    Points:4
    I faced a disaster during my school days when a nearby dam cracked due to heavy rains. Nobody expected such thing to happen because the area is usually safe from floods. The colony where I lived was flooded with neck deep water and we have to take shelter at home of people living in multistorey buildings. It was a very dangerous situation because snakes were seen and water kept rising beyond our imagination. There was no electricity for two days because everything was submerged in water. Thanks to the people in the colony, we all faced the situation bravely by supporting each other during the crisis. It was the only natural calamity I ever faced in my life. There have been cases of earthquakes of strong intensity many times but thanks to almighty nothing was damaged.
    Humble yourself or life will do it for you!

  • #778514

    Points:5
    While working in SAIL as a chargeman in a Fuel and Oil Laboratory, I had an opportunity to face an experience of disaster. The situation was beyond my expectations. I was in a B shift when I was the only Lab Analyst and the colleagues supposed to report did not turn up. However, a khakasi reported for cleaning the different items such as flasks, and beakers containing oils and fuels. Everything was going smoothly but all of a sudden I was called by my senior officer for a meeting at around 7. 45 pm.
    During that time the Khalasi was alone and he poured the hot mixture of oil and fuel in the basin where the water was running. The resultant mixture of oil and water caused an outburst of fire which ultimately caused a serious burn of his face. The situation for both of us was really tough. . He was hospitalized for at least for a week but the dark spot on his face always made me realise guilt. Though it was purely an event beyond our control but it was hard for me to forget that accident.

  • #778519

    Points:5
    Let me also share my experience in this regard. After completing my UG course in my home town I went to another town for doing my PG. My hometown as well as this another hometown where I went for my PG were hill towns in the state of Uttarakhand.
    There were some college holidays and I planned to go to my hometown for a few days. It was a bus journey of about 7-8 hours through the Himalayan foothills and the road was having curves and bends as per the topography of the area.
    It was rainy season and there were some minor land slides on the way which were quickly cleared by the road maintenance people and vehicles were stopping for some time and plying ahead. When we had completed about half of the journey we came to know from the vehicles coming from opposite side that there were 2-3 massive landslides about 10 km ahead affecting a long stretch of the road and it would take at least 8-10 days to get it cleared and till that time people will have to walk on foot to other side and the buses coming from other side would return back and they can go to their destination.
    It was a shocking news and we reached the last point where we were asked to get down and move ahead on foot to catch a bus on the other side. But you cannot go to other side just like that because it is not possible to walk on the debris of the land slide and it is dangerous also. So we had to climb uphill about 1 km and then walk a bit and then climb down about half a kilometre to the point where the buses from my home town were parked.
    I did not have much luggage so I could manage to reach the other side in about 2 hours but I was too much tired and exhausted. Many people opted not to venture ahead like that and decided to return back.
    The buses on other side waited for 3-4 hours for all those who were walking and coming to this side and then left for my home town. So, I reached my place late by 8-9 hours in the midnight and it was a horrific experience.
    Knowledge is power.

  • #778566

      

    Points:3
    We physically witnessed the havoc created by Hud-hud cyclone during Oct'2014 at Visakhapatnam. Though we are living in a posh area and in Naval officers' colony, it proved the rich and the poor are the same for a disaster. Huge trees have fallen and blocked the area, we couldn't go out, power failure and restoration took place after 3 days, no milk, no phone connectivity and what not. That was a horrible experience to remember!
    Regards,
    Jagdish

  • #778569

    Points:5
    I have seen heavy rain downpour etc., I heard a huge disaster during 1964 and we were much worried about our Grand father's return from Chennai to Madurai as trains, electric current were disconnected in many parts of South Tamil Nadu.
    But physically I never forget the disaster we faced during 2010 in Chennai. We never expect the flood water inside every house including ours one. When the water slowly entering into the house itself we moved out to the nearby uncle's house who was in first floor apartment. But I went to our house with my wife and brother to see the situation we got shocked that our house was found in a 4 feet level of water. To the house itself, with blind thought, we go there in hip level water on the roads where we noticed snakes, dead dogs, frogs etc., In our house we saw the gas cylinder came to the outside from kitchen by floating. Refrigerator, television, computer, my brother's music systems everything floating the water inside the house. After got drained water it took three days to clear and clean the house and faced a huge loss. To the crown of this effect, myself and my wife got sever fever after cleaning everything which made us to lie for further a week.

  • #778574

    Points:4
    No I have not but my father used to tell that in 1978 the level of Yamuna river rose to an extent that there were chances of flood and we all went to the top floor of our neighbor's house with food and other necessary stuffs but there was no flood. We were fortunate that we didn't face flood situation that time and came back to our home after a day or two.

    I don't remember the exact year when I was in Maharashtra , maybe 1993 when there was plague outbreak everywhere and we all who were living in the hostel came back to our home and went back to the college after 15 days when everything became normal.
    Sanjeev

    " The two most important days in your life are the day when you are born and the day you find out why? "
    – Mark Twain

  • #778583

    Points:5
    In September 2023, we (my wife and her most trusted assistant) went to Lansdowne (Uttarakhand) for two days. The weather was fine during our journey. However, on the day of our return, there had been a heavy downpour since morning. We came to know about landslides on the road from Lansdowne to Kotdwar. Movement of heavy vehicles, including buses, was canceled. But, we had a reservation for the afternoon on the same day. We found two good Samaritans travelling in a small Alto car. We convinced them and they gave us a lift to Kotdwar. The person who was driving was an exceptionally good driver and he drove brilliantly on the dangerous road where huge stones were lying. We reached Kotdwar without any incident and visited very famous Kotdwar Sidhbali Temple as advised by them. In the afternoon, we took the train to Delhi.

    In November 2023, I was ordered by my office to visit the Central University located at Garhwal Srinagar (Uttarakhand) just before the visit of the President to attend the Convocation of the University. My wife opined that I might not be able to inspect such a prestigious institution alone and so she accompanied me! We took a car from Delhi and reached Garrhwal. But again at the time of return there were a series of landslides. Fortunately, there were many JCBs (due to the impending visit of the President to attend the Convocation of the University) and the roads were cleared quickly. But there were landslides even on the outskirts of Hrishikesh. In this case, the driver of our car was experienced and professional and we ultimately reached Delhi although after six long hours.
    (a) Those who have forgotten Noakhali, how can they protest Sandeshkhali?
    (b) Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it. ---------- Salvador Dali

  • #778585

    Points:5
    Some members have shared their experiences facing landslides while travelling in hilly regions especially in rainy season. As I was brought up in a hill town in Uttarakhand I had a number of such experiences during my movement out of my town.
    What I observed is that some of the hill ranges in that part of the country are solid rocks and it takes a lot of effort to carve out roads through them. At the same time there are places where loose soil is there though apparently from outside it looks firm. These are the places which are prone to landslides and sometimes a great part of hill slides down and practically a new road is to be made out in that affected region.
    During the last decade due to increased military activity in the border area these roads have got attention of army as well as border road authorities and a good part of it is widened and special metal nets are put on the loose soil to stop it from sliding by allowing the extra water to seep through the net.
    Knowledge is power.

  • #778589

    Points:5
    There was a big cyclone in the year 1977 in Coastal Andhra Pradesh. I was in M Sc first year and studying at Andhra University, Visakhapatnam and I was staying in a hostel. My Parents were in our native place in East Godavari Dt of AP. That was a tropical cyclone and more than 10,000 people died. The worst affected area is Diviseema of Krishna Dt. The university declared holidays and they advised us to be in the hostel only and not go anywhere. The whole university area is submerged in water and nobody was able to go out. My native place was also severely affected and no communication about my family. Many students were sent as members of the rescue team and they went to the severely affected area and helped the people there.
    Many students went to their native places and I also managed to reach my home somehow. It took 24 hours where as the normal journey time was 6 hours.
    drrao
    always confident


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