Chapter 2: The Tsunami
Chapter Summary
This chapter is a collection of stories describing the devastation and bravery witnessed during the 2004 tsunami that hit parts of India and other countries. The stories are divided into three parts.
Part I recounts harrowing experiences from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. We read about Ignesious, a cooperative society manager who lost his wife and two children; Sanjeev, a policeman who drowned while trying to save the guesthouse cook's wife; Meghna, a 13-year-old who survived by holding on to a wooden door; and Almas Javed, whose family was washed away. These stories highlight the chaos and tragedy of the event.
Part II focuses on Tilly Smith, a ten-year-old British schoolgirl who was on holiday in Thailand with her family. Having learned about tsunamis in her geography class, she recognised the warning signs—the sea slowly rising and foaming. She alerted her parents, who then warned others on the beach. Her quick thinking and knowledge saved many lives, demonstrating the power of education.
Part III explores the idea that animals might have a "sixth sense" to detect natural disasters. The chapter notes that very few animals were reported dead after the tsunami. Elephants in Sri Lanka ran for higher ground before the waves hit, dogs refused to go outdoors, and flamingoes abandoned their breeding areas. This part suggests that animals' acute hearing and senses might help them perceive the Earth's vibrations long before humans can, allowing them to escape to safety.
Questions and Answers
Comprehension Check (Page 27)
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 clinging to.
Answer:
1. True.
2. False.
3. False.
4. True.
5. True.
Comprehension Check (Page 29)
Answer the following in a phrase or sentence.
1. Why did Tilly’s family come to Thailand?
2. What were the warning signs that both Tilly and her mother saw?
3. Do you think Tilly’s mother was alarmed by them?
4. Where had Tilly seen the sea behaving in the same strange fashion?
5. Where did the Smith family and the others on the beach go to escape from the tsunami?
6. How do you think her geography teacher felt when he heard about what Tilly had done in Phuket?
Answer:
1. Answer: Tilly's family came to Thailand to celebrate Christmas at a beach resort.
2. Answer: They saw the sea slowly rise, start to foam, bubble, and form whirlpools.
3. Answer: No, Tilly's mother was not alarmed at first; she didn't know what was happening.
4. Answer: Tilly had seen the sea behaving this way in a video of a tsunami shown in her geography class in England.
5. Answer: They went to the third floor of the hotel to escape from the tsunami.
6. Answer: Her geography teacher must have felt very proud and satisfied that his lesson had helped save so many lives.
Comprehension Check (Page 30)
Answer using a phrase or a sentence.
1. In the tsunami 150,000 people died. How many animals died?
2. How many people and animals died in Yala National Park?
3. What do people say about the elephants of Yala National Park?
4. What did the dogs in Galle do?
Answer:
1. Answer: Very few animals died compared to the number of people.
2. Answer: Sixty visitors died, but only two water buffaloes died in Yala National Park.
3. Answer: People say the elephants ran from the beach an hour before the tsunami hit.
4. Answer: The dogs in Galle refused to go for their daily run on the beach.
Working with the Text
1. When he felt the earthquake, do you think Ignesious immediately worried about a tsunami? Give reasons for your answer. Which sentence in the text tells you that the Ignesious family did not have any time to discuss and plan their course of action after the tsunami struck?
Answer: No, I don't think Ignesious immediately worried about a tsunami. He only felt the tremors of the earthquake. He took his television off the table and put it on the ground so it wouldn't fall and break. This suggests he was worried about damage from the earthquake itself, not a subsequent tsunami.
The sentence that shows they didn't have time to discuss or plan is: "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."
2. Which words in the list below describe Sanjeev, in your opinion? (Look up the dictionary for words that you are not sure of.)
(i) cheerful (ii) ambitious (iii) brash (iv) brave (v) careless (vi) heroic (vii) selfless (viii) heartless (ix) humorous
Answer: I think the following words describe Sanjeev:
- (iv) brave
- (vi) heroic
- (vii) selfless
(Reasons: He was brave and heroic because he jumped into the water to rescue the cook's wife, even after saving his own family. This act was also selfless, as he risked his own life to save someone else.)
3. How are Meghna and Almas’s stories similar?
Answer: Meghna and Almas's stories are similar in several ways. Both were young girls who tragically lost their entire families in the tsunami. Both managed to survive by clinging to floating objects—Meghna to a wooden door and Almas to a log of wood. Both were found in a state of shock and trauma, walking on the seashore in a daze after the disaster.
4. What are the different ways in which Tilly’s parents could have reacted to her behaviour? What would you have done if you were in their place?
Answer: Tilly's parents could have reacted by ignoring her and telling her to calm down, thinking she was just a child being hysterical. They might have scolded her for creating a panic. Fortunately, they trusted their daughter and took her warnings seriously.
If I were in their place, I would have listened carefully to my child. Seeing her genuine fear and remembering she had learned about this in school, I would have trusted her and taken immediate action to get everyone to safety, just as her parents did.
5. If Tilly’s award was to be shared, who do you think she should share it with — her parents or her geography teacher?
Answer: I think Tilly should share her award with her geography teacher. Her parents were brave for listening to her, but it was the knowledge from her teacher's lesson that enabled her to recognise the danger. The teacher's effective teaching is what ultimately saved everyone's lives, so he deserves to share the credit.
6. What are the two different ideas about why so few animals were killed in the tsunami? Which idea do you find more believable?
Answer: The two different ideas are:
1. Animals possess a "sixth sense" that allows them to know when the earth is going to shake.
2. Animals have more acute hearing that helps them hear or feel the earth's vibration. They can sense an approaching disaster long before humans can.
I find the second idea more believable. It is a scientific explanation based on the known superior sensory abilities of animals, whereas the idea of a "sixth sense" is more mysterious and lacks scientific proof.
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