Gujarat Cyclone Operation Blue Angels Tsunami Ex-Kurnool

Gujarat Cyclone

Cyclonic storms in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon months are a common occurrence.Originating from a low pressure area, the system gains All IAF Meteorological Sections were put on high alert from 06 Jun 98, and constant interaction with India Meteorological Department (IMD) at Mumbai and the (IMD) Centre at Ahmedabad resulted in 24 hours tracking and plotting of the cyclone, which was passed down as forecasts to Service and civil authorities in the Saurashtra and Kutch region. A Disaster Management Cell (DMC) under the direct command of the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Western Air Command was set up at the Command Operations Room to liaise with the State Government and initiate necessary actions. All aircraft were evacuated from IAF bases at Jamnagar, Bhuj and Naliya and flown to predetermined destinations. In this meticulously planned and smoothly executed drill, more than 60 aircraft (including helicopters) were flown out on 08 Jun 98 alone. The 20 odd aircraft that were under repairs were lashed to the ground and picketed. In addition to passing regular forecasts to civil agencies, all airbases took precautions to minimise storm damage; as a result, even though the storm passed right over Jamnagar airbase (with a measured wind speed in excess of 200 kmph, at which stage the measuring instrument broke) causing serious damage to buildings and installations, not a single fatality/serious injury was sustained.

A high degree of co-ordination between the IAF and the Gujarat Government resulted in the successful accomplishment of all tasks requested from the IAF. Not a single mission was turned down, ranging from conveying senior Govt functionaries (like the Prime Minister, Raksha Mantri, Home Minister, Chief Minister and His Excellecy the Governor of Gujarat and others) to supplying food, conveying troops, Navy divers and relief equipment, search and rescue missions etc. The close liaison between the IAF and the State Govt lasted well after the crisis was actually over. In addition, the entire IAF was alerted and standing by in readiness all over the country. Vegetables and food supplies were flown in from diverse locations like Agra, to be transported to the affected areas. The personnel involvement of IAF men and families is evident from the fact that during the crisis, the personnel of Air Force Stations in Gujarat voluntarily contributed food and clothing to the cyclone affected people in the surrounding areas.

During the crisis period, large quantities of supplies and personnel including troops and Navy diving teams were delivered to the affected area, accomplished by flying over a hundred sorties in just a week. This airlift started on the day after the storm itself.

The IAF also carried out many missions in coordination with the Government of Rajsthan as well as the Border Security Force. These included mercy missions, like the one on 11 Jun 98 which resulted in the rescue by a Chetak helicopter of a BSF Jawan stuck waist deep in quicksand. On another occasion, a Mi-8 responded to distress message from the "Clipper Kawa", with the vessel subsequently recovering from the situation.

Faced with a situation of extremely degraded operational capability, personnel at these bases rose to the challenge in the best traditions of the IAF. Despite the damage to their homes, these personnel continued to labour at their work stations with single minded, dedicated and devotion to duty, resulting in the runways being brought to an operational standard with the basic navigational systems powered by improvised mobile generators, all within 12 hours. This superhuman effort, besides plugging the gap in the operational capability of the sector, permitted senior officials to be flown in and relief operations to proceed unhampered.

Operation Blue Angels

On 18 Aug 98, just after midnight, all the people at Malpa, a small village along Mahakali river in Pithoragarh district of UP hills, woke up to a thundering sound. Before they could orientate themselves, a huge chunk of the mountain towering above the gorge broke off and came crashing down, on the tiny settlement, near the river bed which was accommodating over 200 people that night including 60 pilgrims. Among the pilgrims was the famous dancer Protima Gauri Bedi.

For all the tasks at Malpa, which is an extremely narrow gorge, four Chetak and Cheetah helicopters were considered necessary. Being based nearby, they were the first to be ready. For airlifting passengers in bulk from Gunji and to airlift dead bodies en-mass, six Mi-17 helicopters were requisitioned from HQ Western Air Command, ex Hindon and Sarsawa airbases. Two AN-32 aircraft were kept at short notice standby to airlift any casualties and dead bodies to required destinations expeditiously.

The inhospitable terrain coupled with persistent bad weather in the region imposed constraints in immediate evacuation of stranded pilgrim. Despite this the Mi-17 task force not only evacuated all the pilgrims of 9^th, 10^th and 11^th batches of Kailash-Mansarovar yatra, but also maintained the supply of essential commodities in the areas cut off after the tragedy.

In completing Operation Blue Angles, the Air Force helicopters flew 277 sorties in 135 hours. They carried 15 injured and 566 passengers to safety; brought out 37 dead bodies and moved approx 17,110 Kgs of rations and medicines. The total quantum of load carried by the Air Force in this short period from 22 Aug 98 to 29 Aug 98 worked out to 43,510 Kgs

ROLE OF THE IAF IN THE TSUNAMI RELIEF OP SEA WAVE;

OP RAINBOW; OP CASTOR

On 26 December, the last Sunday of the year, a small news ticker on one of the news channel read “Mild earthquake rocks Chennai. No damage reported”. This turned out to be the understatement of the century, as the unfolding events later demonstrated.

An undersea earthquake occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) on December 26, 2004. The earthquake originated in the Indian Ocean just north of Simeulue island, off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake generated a tsunami that was among the deadliest disasters in modern history, which devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, South India and up to Tanzania, with waves as high as 18 m (55.8 feet). The majority of deaths recorded were in Indonasia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India and Maldives.

The magnitude of the earthquake increased from the initial report of 6.8 to 8.5, 8.9, and 9.0. New studies estimate the strength at 9.3; It was the largest earthquake since the 9.2 magnitude Good Friday Earthquake off Alaska in 1964.

The epicentre of the main earthquake was some 160 km (100 miles) west of Sumatra, at a depth of 30 km (18.6 miles) below mean sea level (initially reported as 10 km). This is at the extreme western end of the Ring of Fire, an earthquake belt that accounts for 81 percent of the world's largest earthquakes. The earthquake itself (apart from the resulting tsunami) was felt as far away as Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore and the Maldives.

An estimated 1200 km (750 miles) of faultline slipped about 15 m (50 ft) along the subduction zone where the India Plate dives under the Burma Plate. The rupture proceeded north-westerly at a speed of about 2 km/s (1.2 miles/s), beginning off the coast of Aceh before it turned northwards towards the Andaman and Nicobar Islands The India Plate meets the Burma Plate at the Sunda Trench, where it subducts the Burma Plate, which carries the Nicobar Islands, the Andaman Islands and northern Sumatra. Beside the sideways movement between the plates, the sea bed is estimated to have risen by several metres, triggering the tsunami waves. The waves did not originate from a point source, as mistakenly depicted in some illustrations, but radiated outwards along the entire 1200 km (750 miles) length of the rupture. This greatly increased the geographical area over which the waves were observed, reaching as far as Mexico and Chile.

In the aftermath of the resultant death and wide scale destruction, in addition to providing succor to its own, India was quick to extend help to Sri Lanka, The Maldives and Indonesia. Mobilising with impressive speed the first relief package to Sri Lanka was underway within 12 hours of the disaster. The operations were fully underway in the neighbourhood by day 3.

The tsunamis affected 2260 Kms of the Indian coastline besides the entire Nicobar Islands. The tidal waves on the mainland were between 3 to 10 meters high and penetrated between 300 m to 3 kilometers.

One of the peacetime roles of the Indian Air Force is to assist the civil administration in dealing with natural calamities. Over the years the IAF has had fair experience in tackling such situations, what with the air effort put in during the Latur earthquake in central and the Gujarat earthquake in western India a few years back.

THE FIR

After the mild tremors felt along the east coast of India, the first inkling that all was not well was the message received at the Air Force base at Chennai. The Do-228 based at Carnic, switched on its HF at 0730h and transmitted a May Day message to the Oceanic Control Centre, Chennai. The message read as follows: -

“MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY, Chennai, Chennai Chennai this is Victor Juliet Golf on ground at Carnicobar. Carnicobar hit by a severe earthquake and flooding of the island by tidal waves. Island is sinking, request immediate rescue and relief”.

Immediate Response

The Armed Forces launched operation “SEA WAVE” for relief, rescue and evacuation. This was co-ordinated by the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS). On receipt of the first information about the disaster, at 0815 h on 26 Dec 04, Air Headquarter swung into action and set its machinery in motion. A Disaster Relief Cell was set up at Air Headquarter Operations Room, on a round the clock basis.

Two AN-32 aircraft were immediately put on alert in Headquarter Southern Air Command. Other Commands Headquarters were also instructed to keep their aircraft in readiness for the expected Rescue Relief and Casualty Evacuation Operations. The first AN-32 aircraft was launched at 1000h and the second at 1036h for Carnic with refueling halts at Tambaram and Port Blair. Both aircraft landed in Carnic by 1636h. Meanwhile, a Do-228 was also launched from Port Blair, with AFCC on board, for a first hand assessment of the situation.

RELIEF OPERATIONS

Command & Control

The overall responsibility for coordinating relief work was given to Headquarter Integrated Defense Staff with representatives from Ministry of Defence, Service Headquarters, Coast Guard, MEA, MHA, MOCA and Ministry of Shipping etc. Meetings were held twice daily to rationalise various relief requirements, to allocate resources for undertaking relief work and to determine future requirements.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands

An Integrated Relief Command was also set up under the LG Andman & Nicobar Islands with CINCAN as the Vice Chairman.

Airlift Resources. As the magnitude of the disaster became clear, resources in addition to the already tasked AN 32 , the AVRO and Do 228 fleets had to be garnered. With the normal air logistic operations underway, only two IL-76 aircraft were available for relief work. Two IL-78 aircraft were also de-modified and pressed into the relief operations. Four Do 228, Four AVROs, Seven IL-76s, 15 AN 32s and 16 Helicopters were pressed into action for this Operatioins.

Mainland Relief

Air Effort for Coastal States. As an extensive and effective land transport communication system exists on the mainland, the Air Force involvement for the relief was rather limited. Since the damage was restricted to immediate coastal areas with rest of the support infrastructure intact the air effort requirement was relatively less and surface transport was used for relief operations. However, air effort was used for reccee of affected areas, Cas- Evac, rescue operations and a few sorties for landing bulk supplies. A total of 67 sorties and 96 hours, were flown towards this task.

Island Relief

Speed was of essence in order to save precious lives and to mitigate further effects of the disaster. A massive airlift operation was therefore put in place from the mainland. The aircraft involved were heavy lift IL-78/IL-76, medium lift An-32, AVROs and Do-228. The Heptrs used were MI-17, MI-8 and Chetak/Cheetah.

The Air Bridge. An Air Bridge was soon established for the A&N islands, Sri Lanka and The Maldives; the main hub-centres were Delhi, Chennai, Tambaram and Carnicobar/Portblair. While airlift operations were undertaken from all over the country. Bulk/major supplies were lifted from Delhi/ Bombay/ Calcutta/ Bhubneshwar/ Ahmedabad and flown directly to Carnicobar by the IL-76/78 aircraft. At the Indian Air Force base at Car Nicobar, owing to water ingress and sustained IL-76 Operations, the runway was declared unfit for IL-76 Operations on 04 Jan 05. Thereafter, IL-76 aircraft normally landed only at Port Blair, except when operationally essential/unavoidable.

Operation 'SEA WAVE' : Airlift Operations for Andaman & Nicobar Islands

The first two An-32 aircraft landed at Tambaram and from there proceeded to Port Blair/Carnic after readjusting the load to 3.2 T. Refuelling was not available at Carnic due to suspected contamination. However, fuel was subsequently declared fit at Carnic. Average round trip from Hyderabad -Tambaram-Carnic-Port Blair-Tambaram-Hyderabad was 11 hours.

From Port Blair and Carnic, the southern islands such as Campbell Bay, Nan Cowry and Katchall etc were supplied by Heptrs/AN-32/Do-228 aircraft. The Landing strip at Campbell Bay remained available for Operatioins.

Additional Helicopters. In order to meet the additional requirement of airlift resources for Southern Island Operations, five additional heptr were flown in from the mainland to Carnic following the land route of via. Chittagong-Yangon-Diglipur-Port Blair-Carnic. The ac were in place and operational by 02 Jan 05.

Operation 'RAINBOW': Airlift Operations for Sri Lanka

At the request of Sri Lankan Govt six medium lift helicopters were sent to Sri Lanka to undertake relief Operations. Three helicopters positioned on 27 Dec 04 and three on 28 Dec 04. The helicopters undertook Cas Evac, distribution of relief supplies, deployment of medical teams and air dropping of food while operating from Katunayke and Minneriya bases.

Total air effort involved including ferry of aircraft, was 445 missions, 316:10 hours and tonnage and pax lifted were 328.845 tonnes and 882 respectively. The helicopters returned on 22 Jan 05.

Operation 'CASTOR' : Airlift Operations for Maldives

Two Para drop modified, long range AVROs were tasked to proceed to Maldives on 28 Dec 04 at the request of Maldives Government for assistance. These aircraft undertook inter-island operations within Maldives carrying out landings on various short field runways. Their task was to undertake Cas Evac, air landing of food, water and other supplies and deployment of medical teams.

Total air effort involved was 155 sorties 198.00 hours and tonnage and passengers lifted were 169.425 tons and 885 respectively. The ac returned to India on 31 Jan 05.

Salient Features of Air Operations.

(a) Flying Time. Average flying time for an IL-76 round trip was about 10 hours. For the An-32 it was even longer.

(b) Loading /off loading time. The ‘On Ground Time’ on an average was 6 hours for loading and 3.4 hrs for off-loading.

(c) Refuelling Constraints. No fuel was initially available at Carnic due suspected contamination. An-32s had to refuel at Port Blair and other aircraft at Chennai.

(d) Crew Fatigue and Flight Safety. After the Bhuj experience, these aspects were kept sharply in focus.

(e) Status of Navigation Aids/Runway Lighting. There is an urgent need to upgrade the status of Navigationl Aids/Runway Lighting.

(f) Type of Relief Equipment. The relief equipment ranged from basic feed, water, shelter medical hospitals to generators, boring equipment, common equipment and building material etc.

FLOOD RELIEF EX- KURNOOL

Unprecedented rains in North Karnataka from 29th Sep 2009 onwards flooded several districts and cut off areas like Bijapur, Bagalkot and Bellary, some places receiving over 50 cms of rains in a single day. The floods inundated the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers. Karnataka released 25 lakhs cusec of water from Almatti and Narayanpur dams in a single day, a record of sorts. With Andhra Pradesh itself in a grip of severe rains in the last week of September, all reservoirs were brimming to their capacities. On First October, reports were received that water levels were rising dangerously in the town of Mantralayam. The water levels rose so much that it submerged most of the villages inhabited as far as one km from the normal river bank. That condition of these villages was critical is an understatement.

The water levels were so high that a village which was about one km away from the river bank was also totally under water. The nearest bank was too far away now and the water levels were as high as roof tops. With water levels still rising and most lives hanging around on these roof tops, villagers were not sure whether they were going to survive the next hour or not.

To their rescue came the helicopters of the Indian Air Force. Four helicopters of IAF under the command of Gp Capt Rajesh Isser were tasked to provide relief and rescue operations to the people of flood affected parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. On Second of October, the task was challenging as operating conditions were critical with villagers in a dire state of survival. Marginal weather made the task even more challenging. The flood relief and rescue missions were carried out with a zeal and passion rarely seen, yet in a most professional manner by the air warriors of the IAF.

To add to the tough conditions, the fuel bowser was unable to reach Kurnool due to the breaks in the road bridges over Krishna and Tungabhadra. On one side the fuel bowser was stuck 20 nm short of Kurnool town and on the other the fuel requirement was mandatory to continue any type of rescue/relief operations. Analysing the gravity of situation, the Task Force Commander got airborne and on assessment of the situation realised that there was no clear dry ground available to allow the bowser to approach without getting bogged down owing to rains. Keeping in mind the Flight Safety aspects, a landing spot on the national highway was selected and a decision to operate from the NH-7 taken. The rescue and relief missions continued.

A total of eight rescue missions saved 47 lives that would have surely perished. Each mission was a daunting and challenging experience in itself. The missions varied from picking up people from roof tops to those surviving on trees. In one case, a total of nine lives were stuck on a roof top. The increase in water flow washed away half of the house along with four persons, leaving behind the remnants with remaining five persons hanging on between life and death. To their fortune, and within no time, a Chetak helicopter came as a saviour. All of them were winched up in the nick of time as per the District Collector’s report.

In another case, a family of four consisting of husband, wife and two small children aged between four and six each were stuck on a tree in the centre of the fast flowing river. It was not an easy task to rescue these people from the centre of tree with all its branches spread around. No orders or procedure exists that specified the manner in which such a mission could be undertaken. The crew of the Chetak helicopter used their ingenuinity and experience and rescued the entire family in a most professional yet flexible approach. After their rescue, the crew noticed that their condition was very critical and their skins were totally parched and coming out in flakes. They had been stuck in that tree for over 72 hours without food, water and sleep. Every such mission makes helicopter pilots the world over feel proud of their machines.

Many relief missions were carried out during the seven-day ordeal. A total of 1,20,000 kgs of relief material including water, food and medicines were dropped to the victims who were in dire need. People were stuck on roof tops and the small Chetak helicopter was able to carry out drops accurately roof-to-roof. It was a difficult task as the area to drop food/water was very small and in the centre of a furious and fast flowing river. The IAF carried out these operations in a most accurate and efficient manner. These relief material were not only a must for their physiological needs but more importantly to generate in the victims ‘a will to survive’ and a ray of hope to live another day.

All missions were efficiently carried out by seven helicopters of the IAF. Each mission, whether it was a flood relief operation by the pilots or a rescue mission, was a daunting task taken on with professionalism. The entire mission can be rightly summed up in the words of District Collector of Kurnool in the press conference on 07 Oct 09 where he stated “…. The people of Kurnool will always be indebted forever to the efforts of helicopters of the IAF. Not only did the IAF save 47 lives, but helped 6000-7000 people everyday to believe that survival and help was just around the corner”.