An earthquake in a state in your country – date, time, areas affected – the damage caused to life and property -immediate rescue work – rescue task on war footing – national and international reaction and concern – fear of epidemic – measures to control epidemic – fundraising effort. (You include may any other point you think fits.)
Madhubani, Sunday, 13th July, 1986.
It is felt that this earthquake was about on the same scale as the historic 1934 one; on 7.5 Richter scale. Men were shaken out of their sleep by the heavy clattering (=knocking) sound. Men, women, and children rushed out into the streets. Those in their seventies looked aghast (= struck by fear) as if the tremor made them face to face with the specter of the disaster of the ’34 earthquake.
The place and its surrounding areas did not suffer very heavy casualties, as its epicenter (= the highest point of intensity) lay somewhere in the Tarai region (= foothills) of Nepal. Still, roughly 200 odd livestock have lost their lives and an equal number of human lives have been lost. An old school building collapsed and many furniture lay broken and buried under the debris (=ruins). Seven villages have been washed away as a Kosi dam cracked asunder (= apart). Many areas remain isolated and marooned (=immersed in water); the electric poles, and telephone wires are uprooted.
People, however, feel that men are lucky about the time, as it was in the small hours of the morning at 5.30 a.m. and on Sunday. Almost everyone was at home. This reporter met some persons of the older generation who had experienced the earlier earthquake. It was dead of night, they said, and terrible winter. Compared to that this was almost a childish game in its horror and panic. That had taken a much heavier toll on lives and the air was rent (= torn) by painful cries of loss and panic.
In his press conference, the District Magistrate presented a picture of how the relief operation teams had fanned out. At his instance, I visited Nirmalli which is a flood-prone area. It is protected from the ravages/destructions of the Kosi by a ‘ring- bundh’. The earthquake caused some cracks in it through which the floodwater was tricking in. However, I found the administration promptly stepped in. Sandbags loaded in trailers are being piled almost on a war footing and now the situation seems well under control.
The towns are relatively safe, as the men here are more aware of hygienic hazards (= risks). The hospitals also cater (= attend) more to their needs as here, in India, personal influences have more weight than moral considerations. But the conditions of the villages are indeed miserable. Illiteracy, want of resources and the sorry mess (= miserable mismanagement) of the conditions of the government dispensaries seem to have put the villages at bay (= in a distressful situation). But there is, still, a saving grace..” The Bharat Sevak Samaj and The Ramkrishna Mission and such philanthropic (= working for the public good) organizations have sent volunteers. They have installed temporary health camps and are also working hand-in-hand with other teams of the World Health Organisation.
The measures to restore order and normal conditions are at work. The DDT and bleaching powders are being liberally sprayed at selected spots. Thanks to some foreign and national news agencies, the day-to-day situation is getting good coverage (=exposure). The Prime Minister has released a substantial sum from his Relief Fund. Thanks to the units of exposure (= agencies of publicity), now the local authorities of the different centers have to be up and doing, lest they face criticism.
