Trivialising a tragedy

It was on 26 December, 2004 that Kerala experienced one of the major natural calamities in its history called Tsunami. It hit some parts of the Kerala coast, claiming many lives and causing irreversible damage to property. The unrelenting rains that have gulped the entire state and the fury that has left a trail of destruction, seem more disastrous. The inflow of water to the dams has compelled the authorities to raise the shutters so as to avoid a major havoc. However, this has not helped in solving the problem to any extent. The water from many dams gushed into the homes of thousands of people downstream, destroying everything. Trivialising natural disasters is one of the major reasons that escalated the impact. We take a look at some of the trends that show how serious we are in our approach towards a natural calamity.

Should we capture every rare moment?
The rainy season in Kerala took a wicked turn when the amount of downpour was surpassing every forecast and lead to the opening of the shutters of Idukki Dam, due to heavy rainfall over the catchment area. This is the first time the reservoir's gates were opened in 26 years and the first time in history that all the gates of the dam have been opened. However, people were flocking to Idukki Dam and others to see the shutters being lifted. Amateur shutterbugs were blocking the Marthanda Varma Bridges on the Periyar River, the main entry points to Kochi Airport. The disturbance caused by them forced the cops to install fabric screens on either side of the twin bridges.

Shimmy Rosy, a PhD student, says, “I am very surprised to see the way we ‘educated’ Malayalis react in a time of crisis. The authorities had to invest a part of their valuable time to clear these people from the area. According to me, taking selfies with dams and flooded rivers as backdrops is the height of insensitivity.”

Getting marked safe
Thanks to social media platforms like Facebook that have come up with various options like crisis response, which help the users mark themselves safe during a natural calamity. Vinod Laxman — Assistant Professor in Visual Media and Communications at the Amritha University – Edappally Campus, who marked himself safe during the floods, explains, “Even though I was in no imminent danger, I chose to mark myself safe as I am an artist and have a lot of friends outside the country. All these well-wishers, who are outside India and Kerala, see the disaster as one that has hit the state at large. They do not know which municipality or panchayat precisely is in the danger zone. They like to know if we are safe. That’s all.”

Instances of irresponsible behaviour from at least some people have led the authorities to announce warnings, asking them to stay away from the river banks and places affected by landslides. The official Facebook page of the Chief Minister’s Office has uploaded a number of posts asking people to refrain from taking selfies and avoiding trips to affected areas. Amid the efforts made by authorities and the public to dilute the severity caused by the floods, such incidents are raising questions on the sensitivity of people towards such disasters.

Prevention is better than cure
Disaster should be managed before it occurs and not after the damage is done. According to a Facebook post by Muralee Thummarakudy, Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction in the UN Environment Programme, “Flood is, in fact, not a natural disaster. Rain and water levels increasing in the water bodies is something natural. When we build houses on the water route, we are inviting disaster. In Kerala, before dams came, there used to be inundation of water. During that time, flash floods were a natural phenomenon during rainy season. The inflow of water is one of the reasons why our ancestors didn’t build homes on the banks of rivers. However, things have changed with the advent of dams. It obstructed the flow of water from the mountain range and people started constructing on river banks. It became a trend. Though people have forgotten the natural route of rivers, rivers will not forget.”

He adds, “Situations like this can be avoided by creating a model for releasing water from the reservoir. During heavy rainy season, water can be released in small amounts before monsoon hits heavily. It will keep the dam safe.”