Saturday, March 7, 2015

Jan 1, 2005; a post on andamanicobar@yahoogroups.co.in; revisiting the tsunami of Dec 2004

on andamanicobar@yahoogroups.co.in
Jan 1, 2005

http://www.htnext.com/news/5922_1178504,001500230000.htm
Delhi housewife is 'Angel of Seas' in Andaman
AFP
Port Blair, December 31

A Delhi-based housewife in the Andaman islands has become the centre of a multi-nation effort by ham operators to unite thousands of families separated by the killer waves.
 The Andamans account for about a third of India's reported death toll of 11,330, but thousands more are missing or have been separated from families in the archipelago's 572 islands because of massive damage to harbours, bridges and local ferry services.
Ham radio buffs had not been permitted to operate in the Andamans since 1987 but the ban was lifted in November. Prasad was among the first to arrive to help establish a radio footrprint in the string of islands.
"We arrived here on December 15 to support Andamans as a radio country ...Amateur stations across the world wanted a footprint in these beautiful islands," Prasad said.
 "I did not expect a disaster like this. It is no longer a game and now we must help," Prasad said as her headset crackled with tsunami-related traffic from a high-frequency radio band.
Amateur stations in Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai are now linked with Prasad and the network is growing beyond Indian territory, said Suresh Babu, one of her five co-volunteers.

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