Cable TV show saves islanders

THE Friday night slot on the National Geographic channel was a favourite with Abdul Razzak, showing gripping documentaries on natural disasters.

A year later, those programmes would help Razzak save the lives of 1,500 members of the Nicobarese tribe across five sea-facing villages where gigantic waves razed everything in sight on St Stephen’s Day.

There were no ships scheduled to come toward the remote Indian island of Teresa, home to 3,500 people and part of the Andaman and Nicobar chain.

Mr Razzak, an employee of the Port Management Board posted on Teresa port observation tower, thought he would sleep late.

“Suddenly the observation tower was shaking. I and two of my colleagues woke up and we ran down,” he said. “Then, I remembered what I used to see on National Geographic last year, every Friday, 8.30pm to 9.30pm.”

Tsunami can be caused by three events, Mr Razzak recalled: an undersea earthquake, a volcano erupting within the sea, or a massive boulder plunging into the water.

“I immediately told my colleagues to take my motorcycle and rush to as many villages as they could, and tell them to evacuate immediately,” said Mr Razzak.

Mr Razzak himself ran past the jetties and the villages, screaming “Go back. Go to the hills. The water is coming!”

Men, women and children scrambled up hills, almost two miles away.

The five villages were razed to the ground, as their 1,500 residents watched on.

Only three people died - two women and a baby.

However, help did not reach the island for five days.