Sunday, July 31, 2005

Intresting article from Google Groups

Here I have posted the following news item which I got from Google Groups Original Location

The book, Tsunami, published by the National Institute of Science Communication And Information Resources (NISCAIR), reinforces what many have always maintained: animal behaviour forewarn of an impending natural disaster, like Tsunami.

Not only that, the trauma caused by the Tsunami impact can be easily relieved through traditional Indian systems of medicine and therapy like Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Yoga, meditation and naturopathy.

“A close look at animal behaviour during the recent Tsunami event (December 26, 2004) is also a revelation in terms of early warning, signs of danger. Surprisingly, while the giant waves killed over 30,000 people, they seemingly missed wild beasts. Wildlife officials in Sri Lanka reported that no elephants died. There was not even a dead hare or rabbit.

There were no reports of animal carcasses,” says the book.

Both wild and domestic animals fled to safety. Along the Cuddalore coast in India, where thousands of people perished, buffaloes, goats and dogs were safe. Flamingos that breed this time of the year (December) at Point Calimere wildlife sanctuary also flew to higher grounds beforehand.

The book cites some strange animal behaviour before the Tsunami hit the coast. Elephants trumpeted and ran towards higher grounds, dogs refused to go outdoors, zoo animals rushed into their shelters and bats frantically flew away. “Perhaps, this instinct and attention to nature’s warning signals is what saved the indigenous people in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands from the wrath of the Tsunami as they fled to safety at the first indications,” the book says.

The book documents several ways how the coastal people were forewarned in ancient times. These includes changes in animal behaviour and in some cases, sudden receeding of sea water near the coast. Oceanic earthquake, at times, causes landslides in the seabed which results in a sudden recession of water along the coast. Fishes, marine creatures and reefs become visible.
But this sudden recession of water is followed by a lush of waves.

The book details how this knowledge of nature’s warning system was lost to the modern man causing thousands of deaths. “The dramatic increase in coastal population throughout the world has put more people at risk today. Of the roughly 4 billion people who live in Asia, 7% live near the coasts,” the book records.

There are other natural warnings too. Tremours may be felt along the coast, often large Tsunamis are accompanied by a roaring sound like that of a train or an aircraft. In some cases, oceanic earthquake causes landslides in the seabed which results in a sudden recession of water along the coast. Fishes, marine creatures and reefs become visible. But this sudden recession of water may be followed by a lush of waves.

The book also records how in the post-Tsunami period some victims were relieved of the trauma through the traditional medicine and therapy, including yoga and meditation. These therapeutic measures are for physical, mental, social and spiritual well being in a most comprehensive way and presents a close similarity to the concept of health as propounded by the World Health Organisation (WHO)

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