Pichavaram mangroves

Tsunami & Pichavaram mangroves

Pichavaram mangrove wetland, occupying an area of about 1400 ha, is located about 280 km down south of Chennai, in the Cuddalore District. Fishing and farming communities belonging to 17 hamlets utilize the resources of the Pichavaram mangrove wetlands of Cuddalore District. Out of these 17 hamlets, 6 hamlets are under physical coverage of the mangrove wetlands, 5 hamlets are located on or near to the open beach and not protected by mangroves. Remaining 6 hamlets are far away from mangrove forest. There was no damage to 6 hamlets that are physically protected by the mangroves but hamlets located on or near to the beach have been totally devasted.

Tsunami & Mangroves: Field visit was made to the Pichavaram mangroves and no major damage was noticed; a few trees located very close to the sea uprooted. All the hydrogen sulphide loaded soil and debris deposited on the forest floor are washed away, which will have positive impact on mangroves. Pichavaram mangrove forest protected hamlets namely, T.S.Pettai, Vadakku Pichavaram, Therkku Pichavaram, Meenavar Colony, MGR Nagar and Kalaingar Nagar against the fury of tsunami. Total families in these hamlets are about 1228 and total population is about 6191. These hamlets are located between 100 m to 1000 m from mangroves. In these hamlets seawater has not entered into the village and there is no loss of property.

However, 4 women belonging to MGR Nagar, who were fishing nearby the sea were washed away and died. It is seen that mangrove trees in rows located close to the sea got uprooted due to the impact of the tsunami and beyond that there is no damage. It seems mangrove forest reduced the impact of the tsunami by two ways: a) velocity of the tsunami water greatly reduced after it entered into the mangroves due to friction created by thick mangrove forest and b) volume of water reaching a point is greatly reduced since tsunami water, after entering into the mangroves, is distributed to all the canals and creeks that are present all over the mangroves. A number of fishers who were fishing in the nearby the sea but moved into mangrove water after seeing huge wave of about 10 to 15 feet coming to the beach experienced these. One of the fishers said, "we saved the mangroves by restoring them and it saved our life and property by protecting us" of about 10 to 15 feet coming to the beach experienced these. One of the fishers said, "we saved the mangroves by restoring them and it saved our life and property by protecting us"

Damage to mangrove resource user hamlets Some of the fishing families belonging to hamlets such as Muzhukkuthurai, MGR Thittu, Chinnavaikal, Pillumedu, Kannagi Nagar and Mudasalodai fish in the mangrove water seasonally and a few families annually. Since these hamlets are located either near to mangroves, thereby not under the physical cover of the mangroves or on the beach they are devasted by the tsunami. Some of the hamlets such as MGR Thittu, Chinnavaikal, Pillumedu and Kannagi Nagar are located about 50m from the high tide line. These hamlets are first developed as temporary settlements. Impact The following are the impact of the tsunami in the above-mentioned hamlets.

1. Loss of lives
2. Loss of and damage to fishing gears and crafts
3. Loss of thatched houses with mud walls and huts
4. Damage to houses
5. Loss of all livestocks
6. Loss of all household items, including cooking vessels
7. Loss of personal properties including jewels and hard cash
8. Loss of textbooks and other items of school students
9. Total salinization of lands and water resources, including drinking water.

Loss of lives in these villages is given in Table 1 and a few are reported missing. Loss of crafts and gears (which can not be repaired) are given in Table 2: Table 1 Loss of lives in the hamlets affected by tsunami in the Pichavaram region

Hamlet	Total family	Total population	Casualty
			Adult	Children
Muzhukkuthurai	155	512	4 (M 4; F 4)	3 (M 1; F 2)
MGR Thittu	173	856	24 (M 6; F 18)	26 (M 17; F 9)
Chinnavaikal	50	211	5 (M 1; F 4)	6 (M 1; F 5)
Pillumedu	45	120	5 (M 1; F 4)	7 (M 1; F 6)
Kannagi Nagar	10	30	2 (M 1; F 1)	0
Total	433	1729	40	42

Table 2: Fishing crafts lost due to tsunami

Hamlet	Catamaran	Catamaran with engine	Dugout canoes/thoni	Fiberglass boats
Muzhukkuthurai	10	27	0	10
MGR Thittu	0	0	0	43
Chinnavaikal	0	0	10	31
Pillumedu	0	0	20	0
Kannagi Nagar	0	0	5	0
Total	10	27	35	84

1 Catamaran is about Rs.10000/-, Catamaran with engines, Rs.30000/-, Thoni 30000/- and Fiberglass boats Rs.80000/-. Each fisher lost fishing net worth of about Rs.15000 to 25000/-.