When nature threw a hissy fit on April 11, 2012, the earth trembled, the ocean churned and the people of Chennai rushed to the beach to catch the spectacle “live” (Times of India). Thankfully, they remained alive as nature spared them their stupidity and the trauma of tsunami after landing an 8.6 blow to Banda Aceh, Indonesia, one of its favourite punching bags. While people tweeted, the sea level rose by 10 cm in Chennai and Vishakapatnam and by…whoa…40 cm in Campbell Bay, Nicobar island.
Unlike in 2004 when “the people in the know” had been rendered senseless by nature’s fist of fury, the country’s storm chasers like the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services and the Tsunami Early Warning System rapidly warned 28 countries within the Line of Fire while critical infra establishments like subways and ports went on a reflexive shutdown mode.
Okay, this time, we were let off on a slight technicality of the earth being shaken horizontally rather than vertically. But if nature had thought to do so otherwise, then the huffing and puffing ocean would have definitely roughed us up.
So people, if you have that irresistible urge to tweet in the face of danger, try a 140 character-building exercise of saving lives while saving yourself. Send location feeds and warnings, evacuate to higher grounds, don’t use elevators, carry a box of disaster supplies, put on a dust mask, and during an earthquake, kindly drop to the floor or take cover under a desk and hold on for dear life. It also helps to have a battery operated portable radio in case your internet connection ditches you as in India it is wont to do.
Recalling the Bee Gees not to subtle point on it, “…feel the city breakin and everybody shakin, and we’re stayin alive, stayin alive…ah, ha, ha, stayin alive, stayin alive” .
Sangeeta Mahapatra 