Prepared, not scared after alert

CHENNAI: Manimegalai was the Panchayat President of Poompuhar fishing village when the tsunami struck on December 26, 2004. She organised evacuation for her village and once the rehabilitation work was completed, most residents moved back to a place not far from where they were staying. But the memories of long ago came alive on Wednesday evening as an earthquake in Indonesia caused tremors in Chennai and led to a tsunami warning being issued.The news had Manimegalai and others from her settlement moving to safer ground. “There is no fear like the last time, but we just want to be safe,” she said.Chandrababu (43) of the same village lost his house and most of his possessions. “We did not feel the earthquake, but since the government issued warnings, all of us moved about one kilometre inland,” he said.The scene at Kovalam was a bit different, according to fisherman M Murthy. “We made sure that the women and children were at least 200 to 500 metres away from the beach,” he said. Apparently, no one had moved too far inland from the village after the warning. Murthy said that there was some fear on seeing the water receding a bit soon after the tsunami warning, and people started running inside.“The low tide is usually around 6 pm. From our experience in the 2004 tsunami, we know how the sea looks right before it strikes, so although we are not really worried, it is better to be safe,” he said. The survivors were a gritty and determined lot. However, the tinge of apprehension persisted as they moved a few metres away.