Thirty-eight years after the deadly Diviseema cyclone hit the Krishna-Guntur coast of Andhra Pradesh, memories of the disaster still remain fresh in the minds of residents of the island villages. Two people who witnessed the ghastly Diviseema ‘uppena’ recount their experiences:
Mandali Budha Prasad,
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The waves rose really high, as high as a palm tree. It was the worst storm to have hit Indian shores since Independence. Thousands of people were killed in villages that were either marooned or washed away by flood waters. The worst-affected areas were in the Krishna river delta. On the island of Diviseema, which was hit by a 6 m high storm surge, hundreds of bodies floated in the waters, and bodies bloated beyond recognition were consigned to mass pyres.
My father Mandali Venkata Krishna Rao was the education minister of the State then. He came to know about the intensity of the cyclone only the next morning. There was no transport facility, so he went on foot to the affected regions. The then Chief Minister Vengal Rao was informed of the incident at the airport, and he ordered immediate relief operations.
Thousands of bodies lay strewn and it was not easy for the authorities to dispose them of. My father motivated people to help remove the bodies by taking the lead. He constituted a ‘Shava Sena’ of people who carried bodies on their shoulders to be cremated. Members of the Sena later doubled up as ‘Safai Sena’ by cleaning up the villages.
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Aid poured in from national and international agencies. The arrival of American evangelist Billy Graham was the game-changer. His appeal to the world to rise to the need of the cyclone-hit population resulted in a tsunami of relief material flooding in from all directions.
Several service organisations adopted the affected villages. The Ramakrishna Mission took the lead by adopting Palakayatippa that had almost become a ghost village. The RSS adopted Deendayalpuram, which was inaugurated after restoration, by Atal Behari Vajpayee, and then Prime Minister Morarji Desam attended the inaugural of Ramarkrishnapuram (earlier called Gollapalem). A village that was brought back to life by the evangelist was named Billy Graham.
In the aftermath, volunteers of Divine Life Society built the first cyclone shelter, and the authorities worked on a Cyclone Contingency Action Plan, which is in effect till date.
Later, the World Bank sanctioned funds for initiating development works in the cyclone-prone areas.
G. Vijayam,
Executive director,
Atheist Centre,
Vijayawada .
The impact of the Diviseema cyclone was enormous. I remember the tin and palm leaf roofs of our houses being blown away.
Communications were not so advanced then, and transport was difficult. We were unaware of the intensity of the cyclone. We learned about it only on American radio. The killer wave spared only a few who managed to climb up palm trees or coconut trees.
Lack of awareness among people was a major bane. Acute scarcity of food and drinking water were the immediate issues to be addressed. Such devastation was unheard of in the history of India. Aid flowed in, but confusion reigned supreme among donors.
Our Naastik Kendram (Atheist Centre) coordinated relief and rehabilitation operations. Donors were a mix of local, national and international agencies.
The monster waves taught people of this region a big lesson on the need for disaster preparedness.
The tragedy struck during the harvest season which draws a large population of migrant workers to this region. Many of them died in the cyclone.
For fair distribution of aid, we identified regions that were not touched by the donors and did the needful. World experts like American disaster relief specialist Frederick Cuny came and studied the impact. Mr. Cuny observed that many people died as they ran in the direction of the sea.
In the aftermath, Indira Gandhi, who was the Opposition leader, visited the place.
The Atheist Centre distributed agricultural implements and bullock carts to farmers to help them piece their life together.
A series of workshops and trauma counselling helped a great deal the many widows and orphans left behind by the cyclone in the affected villages.