As alerts of a second tsunami attack sounded across Cuddalore’s coast, many survivors here simply refused to be herded back to the safety of the town. Running away from death now would mean running away from life itself, they argued. For, leaving to the sea the few things they had salvaged would mean nothing to come back to.Policemen blew whistles, listening nervously to reports crackling on their walkie-talkies about the sea rising in Chennai and Pondicherry, and asked people to clear out. Those who couldn’t dodge the policemen carried whatever they could and trudged to crowded relief camps.The latest official death toll in Cuddalore is 571, going by just the bodies recovered so far. In the two islands, Chinnavoikkal and MGR Thittu, there is no sign of life but for the cattle left behind. Most residents managed to get to safety, taking the first boats to the mainland. Some 450 survivors are in the local hospitals, the more critically injured have been sent to Pondicherry’s Mahatma Gandhi Medical College.SUBRATA NAGCHOUDHARYPORT BLAIRA chill cut through this island this afternoon after a high alert was sounded by the administration for fresh tremors of high intensity and a second tsunami around 12 pm. There was no second wave but the alert left around 3.2 lakh people panic-stricken. As radio sets crackled and ships transmitted the alert, the message was on air too. Around 12 pm. Lt Governor Ram Kapse asked people to move away from the coastline. Residents rushed to the Secretariat and AIR building, two of the highest points here.Puspa Tyagi of Junglighat, got a call from her daughter in Delhi. ‘‘Mummy, please get out of your house and flee to a hillock nearby. And for God’s sake, get out of the island as fast as you can,’’ she cried. Within minutes, Puspa ran to a nearby hillock, joining hundreds.Much later, as the terror subsided, Lt Governor Kapse said the warning was issued based on reports from various channels. ‘‘It was in the interests of the people that the warning was made. It’s good luck that nothing happened. Let’s hope for the best,’’ he said.JANYALA SREENIVASPONDICHERRYUntil this morning, Karaikkal, a fishing hamlet in Pondicherry, was struggling to get back on its feet. The fresh warning brought the nightmare alive again.Just as the sun was coming over fishermen pulling down nets entangled in trees sprinkling drops on their head in obeisance, shrill whistles and announcements on microphone by the RAF went out. ‘‘Please abandon everything and run from here,’’ it said. It was 10 am. Then, officials closed the Karaikkal bridge.S. Valaikana, a fisherman who lost two children, was busy pulling his half-crushed motorboat ashore. Others joined in, some of them having lost their boats and nets. ‘‘The nets have simply been ripped apart. When the boats haven’t survived, how could they?’’ asked Selvam. About 400 fishermen died in Karaikkal when the waves hit. ‘‘Most of the children who used to play here are gone,’’ said Rajannan. As the warning fizzled out, they got down to work. ‘‘We are not catching any fish today but being in the water with a net in hand makes you feel you are alive and kicking,’’ says Mohanan.
