Plus

Plus

Learning from Heenbanda's tsunami adventure
Six months after the tsunami disaster, all the talk is on rehabilitation and reconstruction. Not much attention is paid to educating the people on what should be done in case of a tsunami hitting our coastline again. But a few organizations are paying some attention to this aspect.

Two well-illustrated Sinhala booklets are being distributed by Sarvodaya – one meant for children and the other for adults. 'Tsunamiya' is the simple title of the booklets, an adaptation of a Japanese original. They have been published by the Asian Disaster Reduction & Response Network (ADRIN) and Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) in association with the Government of Japan.

A simple storyline gets the reader involved. Heenbanda is a farmer in a coastal village. His paddy field was on top of a hillock, from where he could see the entire village. It was harvest time. He had harvested the paddy and collected it in a heap. One evening he was watching the villagers gathering at Maggie Akka's house for a pirith ceremony. Suddenly he noticed the earth shaking. Is it an earthquake, he wondered. Then he saw the sea. It had receded from the shore. He knew it was a sign that a tsunami was coming. Heenbanda had to let the village know. He shouted at the top of his voice, yet no one heard him.
Then he got a brain wave. He set fire to the heap of paddy to alert the villagers. They came running to save Heenbanda's harvest. He told them not to worry about the harvest but to quickly get everyone to run away from their homes. They all gathered at the hillock and watched the entire village disappear. Yet their lives were spared.

While maintaining the main structure of the story, there is a little twist in the book for adults. Here Heenbanda sets fire to his boutique and gets the villagers’ attention. The 12-page booklets in colour get the message across loud and clear. It's written in simple language and the colourful drawings are eye catching and effective.

Protective measures
The books also explain what a tsunami is and how it occurs. Here again the book for adults has a more elaborate explanation. Satellite pictures and illustrations on what happens before and after an earthquake help us get a clear idea. Simple instructions are given as to what should be done when an earthquake occurs. Get away from the coast, move to a higher elevation or a three storied building is the first bit of advice.

Don't wait to see the waves, don't start packing your things, avoid going to the beach to bathe or fish – you are told. You are warned even to get away from rivers.

The need to map out strategies has been stressed and a series of protective measures to be taken as a protection against tsunamis has also been listed. These include the preparation of maps related to tsunami risks, holding of seminars and workshops, training, erection of sign boards, building of artificial hillocks, coast protection bunds and breakwaters.

True, a tsunami has come and gone. But it's never too late to be educated about it. Publications of this type will certainly contribute towards understanding the dangers of a tsunami and be prepared at least for the future.

Back to Plus