Tsunami - three days hence

Today is the third day after the Black Sunday. The toll is said to be 65,000. When the news of earthquake in Chennai broke on Sunday morning I was busy setting things up for a family function here. And as I am on leave, I had to follow the events on TV, and in between the personal preoccupations. It has been a tale of suffering, still continuing. Some of the films of slamming waves shot by tourists in a hotel in Phuket, Thailand and in Galle, Sri Lanka are just numbing. Tell tale pictures.

Events such as these are no doubut tragic. But for a journalist they are also very challenging part of their work. In that sense, I am missing my newsroom in the office.

I read that the US and Canada have equipment to monitor activities on the sea bed. They had them as early as 1965. Here we are nearly 40 years later, with no such equipment. Today's reports say that India was even offered some of them. Expensive as these equipments are, and occurence of Tsunamis being rare, the Indian government preferred to keep itself busy with other pressing needs. Yesterday, Kapil Sibal was heard saying that the government is now considering to import these equipment. Better late than never.

I am off to Kolur Mookambika temple this evening.