NCERT Book Class 8 English The Tsunami

The Tsunami

Before you read

Look at the map of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands given here. Now read the sentences below. Rewrite the incorrect ones after correcting the mistakes.

1. Katchall is an island.

2. It is part of the Andaman group of islands.

3. Nancowry is an island in the Nicobar group.

4. Katchall and Nancowry are more than a hundred miles apart. (Hint: the scale of the map is given.)

5. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are to the west of India.

6. The Nicobar Islands are to the north of the Andaman Islands. Andaman and Nicobar Islands North Andaman Middle Andaman Lower Andaman Port BlairAndaman Sea Little Andaman ANDAMAN ISLANDS 

A tsunami is a very large and powerful wave caused by earthquakes under the sea. On 26 December 2004, a tsunami hit Thailand and parts of India such as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the Tamil Nadu coast. Here are some stories of courage and survival.

Did animals sense that a tsunami was coming? Some stories suggest that they did. These stories are all from the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago.

Ignesious was the manager of a cooperative society in Katchall. His wife woke him up at 6 a.m. because she felt an earthquake. Ignesious carefully took his television set off its table and put it down on the ground so that it would not fall and break. Then the family rushed out of the house. When the tremors stopped, they saw the sea rising. In the chaos and confusion, two of his children caught hold of the hands of their mother’s father and mother’s brother, and rushed in the opposite direction. He never saw them again. His wife was also swept away. Only the three other children who came with him were saved.

Sanjeev was a policeman, serving in the Katchall island of the Nicobar group of islands. He somehow managed to save himself, his wife and his baby daughter from th  waves. But then he heard cries for help from the wife ofJohn, the guesthouse cook. Sanjeev jumped into the waterto rescue her, but they were both swept away. Thirteen year-old Meghna was swept away along with her parents and seventy-seven other people. She spent two days floating in the sea, holding on to a wooden door. Eleven times she saw relief helicopters overhead, but they did not see her. She was brought to the shore by a wave, and was found walking on the seashore in a daze. Almas Javed was ten years old. She was a student of Carmel Convent in Port Blair where her father had a petrol pump. Her mother Rahila’s home was inNancowry island. The family had gone there to celebrate Christmas.

When the tremors came early in the morning, the family was sleeping. Almas’s father saw the sea water recede. He understood that the water would come rushing back with great force. He woke everyone up and tried to rush them to a safer place. As they ran, her grandfather was hit on the head by something and he fell down. Her father rushed to help him. Then came the first giant wave that swept both of them away.

Almas’s mother and aunts stood clinging to the leaves of a coconut tree, calling out to her. A wave uprooted the tree, and they too were washed away. Almas saw a log of wood floating. She climbed on to it. Then she fainted. When she woke up, she was in a hospital in Kamorta. From there she was brought to Port Blair. The little girl does not want to talk about the incident with anyone. She is still traumatised.

Comprehension Check

Say whether the following are true or false.

1. Ignesious lost his wife, two children, his father-in-law, and his brother-in-law in the tsunami.

2. Sanjeev made it to safety after the tsunami.

3. Meghna was saved by a relief helicopter.

4. Almas’s father realised that a tsunami was going to hit the island.

5. Her mother and aunts were washed away with the tree that they were holding on to.

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 8 English The Tsunami