Tsunamis' Ripple Effect Felt By Jacksonville Residents
POSTED: Monday, December 27, 2004
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Tidal waves spawned by a powerful earthquake left paths of devastation throughout Asia over the weekend, and local residents are feeling the effects.
The natural disaster has claimed nearly 24,000 lives so far, and the death toll is rising. Humanitarian efforts are under way, and officials said hundreds of Americans are still missing.
A Jacksonville man vacationing in Madras, in South India, survived the deadly tsunamis.
Shivkumar Mahadevan spoke with Channel 4 Reporter Hetal Gandhi on the phone Monday about what happened when the wall of water hit:
"I was probably 100 meters from the ocean and I was at a friend's beach house. It was about 9 o'clock in the morning. We were up and there was a sound of an 18-wheeler going on the road. We ran and saw the ocean coming and then the only thing we could think of was: Wait a minute, something strange was happening, the ocean's coming too far. We rushed upstairs to take a look at what's going on, and before we could see anything … the water started pushing in further and further. In a few minutes the front lawn was totally soaked and we started hearing sounds coming from the fishing village. So I said, 'We've got to stop to help those people.' Actually, quite a few people died in front of our eyes. It wasn't a nice sight."
Mahadevan said that, despite the panic and confusion, he tried to help some victims.
"There was this hut and we heard this little girl crying. All we heard was a whimpering, so we went in there and dragged her out. She ended up going to the hospital and we just found out today she didn't make it either. But four others in that hut perished yesterday. This was a small village -- about 800 people."
He said he hopes to return to Jacksonville Jan. 7.
Raj Sood, president for the local Indian Cultural Society, said he needed help from the local community -- from financial donations and supplies to volunteers for the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations.
Meanwhile, another local man has been making frantic calls to his family in India, and has already learned that one relative has died and several are missing.
Westside resident Nagappan Ramamurthy, who had just visited his home village in June, said his hope begins to dwindle with each passing hour and says he only hopes that the bodies of any lost loved ones will be found.
Anyone who wants to get information about friends and relatives affected by the tsunami may call (888) 407-4747.
Copyright 2004 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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