Andaman Island Tsunami Updates

Over US $500 Millions (Rupees. 2,000 Crores) Donations for Tsunami from over 100 World's Largest Companies such as eBay, Google, etc.,

2005-05-31T19:49:00.000-07:00

We hope you might be interested in this article. Tuthika Raised over US $500 Millions (Rupees. 2,000 Crores) Donations for Tsunami from over 100 World's Largest Companies such as eBay, Google, etc.,

The Press Release is at our URL as follows

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005sponsored/6/prweb244482.htm

http://www.helpamerica.us/hethfoco.html

http://www.indiawest.com/cgi-bin/news/viewNews.cgi?article=1112829549&Department=Magazine

http://www.ptinews.com/pti/ptisite.nsf/0/589a7b53e2a2237565256fcf0045fe66?OpenDocument

Regards,

Jean Sheyngis
Associate Director
Phone: 001-(888) 229-8167, Phone: (630) 776 5870 USA code 011
HelpAmerica International
Office of the Director ( Mr. Rao Tuthika )
675 West Roosevelt Road,
Chicago / Glen Ellyn, Illinois - 60137, USA.
website: www.HelpAmerica.us
Fax: 1-(630)-344-1312, 001-(630) 469-6731,
E-mail: Press@HelpAmerica.us

Current Situation in the Andaman Islands

2005-01-24T09:59:00.000-08:00

All tourists have long been safely evacuated from all the different islands
& sent to Chennai or Kolkata (as per respective destinations). There has not
been a single casualty or injury amongst any of the tourists. This is simply
because there wasn't much damage in & around the tourist destinations/spots
of Andaman islands - like Port Blair, Havelock or Neil Island. The maximum
damage has been in the Nicobar group of islands - where tourists are not
allowed to go/visit anyway.

All the hotels & resorts here are OK and fully functional. The regular
inter-island ferry services have also been restored. Most of the tourist
spots/points have also re-opened. So, things are coming back to normal here
very fast now.

There was a temporary prohibition (just as a precautionary measure) on scuba
diving for sometime - which has also now been removed. So, tourists can now
once again go for diving, snorkeling, game fishing, etc.

The coral reefs of this archipelago are very rich in spread and diversity -
second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. In April 2001, an
international team of Indian, British and Australian scientists conducted a
10-day remote sensing and rapid survey-based study on the Andaman coral
reefs. The survey showed that the Andaman coral reefs had been hardly
affected by coral bleaching that devastated coral reef systems worldwide in
1998. Another threat to the corals - the presence of the "crown-of-thorns"
starfish - was also non-existent in the Andamans.

Though there has not yet been any extensive study of the coral reefs &
marine life after the tsunami, but the preliminary studies have indicated
that they are very much OK.

It is to be noted that more than 60% of the population over here is either
directly or indirectly dependent on Tourism. So, our appeal to all tourists
worldwide is to NOT stop visiting these islands out of panic & fear. Please
be rest assured that it is absolutely safe to visit here. So, please do come
& visit these pristine & exotic islands in order to help us in rebuilding
our economy which was & still is very much dependent on Tourism !!!

Thanks & regards,

Koushik Neogy (mr.)
Director
A&N Islands Tours & Travels
20/4, AIR Road, Delanipur,
P.O. Box - 669, Haddo P.O.
Port Blair - 744102
Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India
Phone: 0091 3192 245068
Mobile: 0091 9434260321 , 9434284088
Fax: 0091 3192 245070
Email: anislands@yahoo.com , info@andamanisland.com ,
anislands@rediffmail.com
Website: www.anislands.com , www.andamanisland.com

Foreign tourists stranded in Andaman

2005-01-09T18:13:00.000-08:00

There are more than 150 foreign tourists stranded in
Andaman & Nikobar islands of India, in the Bay of
Bengal. I have read in a leading Bengali newspaper on
Jan 6 (look at
http://www.anandabazar.com/archive/1050106/6desh1.htm
if you can read Bengali) that they have lost all their
money and belongings, and most of them are either
starving or are on very little food. The local people
are no very cooperative and the airliners are flatly
refusing all their pleas for air ticket home. Worst of
all (this is actually quite unbelievable): the Indian
immigration officials are harassing them for
overstaying their visa!

The breakup I got from the newspaper is as follows:
Total about 200 people stranded.
55 Israelis
30 British
20 Americans
17 French
11 Japanese
10 Norwegians
10 Germans
8 Austrians
5 Swedes
4 Swiss
4 Dutch
3 Australians
3 Canadians
2 Russians
2 Irish
2 Czech
2 Fins
2 Taiwanese
1 Dane
1 Belgian
1 New Zealander

Most of the tourists are at the main island Port
Blair, but there are some in smaller islands lie
Havelock and Neil.

I have called the Foreign Office on Jan 6 and reported
this. Please do what you can to get them out of there.

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
All your favorites on one personal page Â Try My Yahoo!
http://my.yahoo.com

Missing Persons

2004-12-31T13:04:00.000-08:00

For those of you worried about people they know to have been on Havelock or Neill - please do not worry. They are likely to be fine. Most people were choosing to continue their holidays as planned rather than panic and flee to Port Blair where they would have heard reports that the Indian locals are still camped out in the streets and hotels are closed. Tele-communication has always been a problem for these islands (thay were due to receive a new exchange on 26th January 2005).

Havelock Island

2004-12-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

Confirming the earlier reports -- Havelock seems to have been mostly spared, in terms of massive damage to life and property. There has been flooding, comms are down and the regular ferry schedules are disrupted - however, as far as we know, that is about it.

No news is definitely good news: if your friend or family member was on land (and since the first tremors happened at 7:15am, most likely s/he), then s/he should be safe. While being stranded is an inconvenience, it is not a serious problem as there is ample food/water on the island, and the Navy is also working on evacuating all tourists to Chennai or Kolkata.

Received from DIVEIndia on Havelock Island

2004-12-27T09:17:00.000-08:00

"We have received relatively positive news about the situation in Havelock. While there had been some flooding, things were mostly ok and no incidents had been reported involving people who were physically on the island at the time - and yesterday's
inter-island ferry was also safe.

Our shop premises, staff and customers are, to the best of our present knowledge, completely safe."

More news from DIVEIndia on Havelock

2004-12-27T01:21:00.000-08:00

"We have received word of a new earthquake hitting the islands. Initial references to Havelock are again promising - 500 people are stranded on the island, but that is a relative inconvenience, as the Navy is mounting expeditions to rescue tourists and in any case, food/water are not in short supply on the island.

Do note that as of right now, inbound tourism to the island has been stopped.
Also, local inter-island ferries are not operating.

As such, if you are planning to visit the Andamans in January, we STRONGLY
recommend that you postpone your trip to February or even later.

DIVEIndia is suspending operations for the time being - we will post an update
on the website once we have a date for re-opening."