My legs are still trembling, says tourist who left Andamans

A weeklong holiday on the Andaman and Nicobar islands for the family of a bank employee from Andhra Pradesh turned out to be a nightmare as a tsunami wrecked thousands of lives in South East Asia on Sunday.

Ramana Rao, in his forties and working for the Kakatiya Grameena Bank at Nekkonda in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh, had arrived at Port Blair on December 19 with wife Uma and two teenager kids on a holiday with the 'Leave Travel Concession' (LTC) granted by his office. The company of another colleague and his family only added to the fun in the long-dreamt-of Andamans holiday.

Just as the two families were packing their bags for the return flight on Sunday, disaster struck the islands and brought people stumbling out of their homes onto the streets.

"It was around 6.30 in the morning when we felt rumbling under our feet and the furniture in the hotel rattled. People began screaming outside and we ran down from our second floor room," said Rao.

The security officials made sure that all the residents vacated their buildings and were on the roads. "We spent the entire Sunday night on the road outside the airport till we boarded yesterday's morning flight to Chennai."

"We did not sleep a wink as we were told that there could be another major quake and more tidal waves hitting Andamans," recalled Uma Rao, clutching her son and daughter at the arrival gate of the airport here.

The authorities had organised special flights to fly out visitors from the islands and the Alliance Air plane that carried the Raos had 113 such passengers, fleeing from the Andamans nightmare even as reports kept bombarding them that the tsunami had submerged several islands killing thousands.

"We survived mostly on biscuits and water. Some snacks came later in the day. Even as we huddled along the road and tried our best to smile and joke, there was so much tension all around.

"We felt the rumblings of the earth nine times on Sunday and twice this morning. I still feel as if the earth is moving under my feet, which have not stopped trembling," said Radha Rama Rao, another member of the group.

According to Rao, power failed soon after the quake struck Port Blair and was restored only partially yesterday morning. Phones were not functioning. The three jetties were damaged by the tidal waves. Cracks had developed on the airport building and tarmac.

"Two flights took off for Kolkata on Sunday. Many are still stranded there hoping to get back to the mainland as quickly as possible. They are worried about a second call from the tsunami," said the banker before rushing off to arrange for train tickets for the return journey to Andhra.