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An Interview with CARE's
Earthquake Relief Team Leader

C.S. Reddy, an Indian national and team leader of CARE's relief efforts in Gujarat, speaks about his first-hand experience in the earthquake zone, and the priorities and challenges of rebuilding…

by Wendy Driscoll, CARE press officer

Q: Where were you when the earthquake struck?

A:

C.S. Reddy (right), team leader of CARE's emergency response in Gujarat, and Tom Alcedo (center, facing camera), CARE's director in India, speak with a group of villagers in Bhuj. Photo: Wendy Driscoll © CARE 2001.

"Hyderabad. It's a town in southern India at least 900 miles from the epicenter, but we still felt it. At the time, we did not know how big it was. But by the next day it was known, and I called Tom [CARE India Country Director Tom Alcedo] and said: 'Tom, what are we doing?' We were scheduled to have meeting, but I said there was no question of having a meeting when there is a disaster. A few hours later he called me back and said: 'Pack your bags. You are chosen to be Team Leader.' That night I arrived in Gujarat."

Q: Have you ever responded to an earthquake before?

A: "No, but [previously] I was involved in a 1999 cyclone in Orissa, so I had disaster experience."

Q: What was it like when you arrived in the quake zone for the first time?

A: "On the night of January 27, I arrived in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's largest city. The airport already was full of rescuers coming in. I saw rescue teams with their sniffer dogs. My hotel room had a big crack in the wall, and at 6:40 a.m. the next morning, we all were awoken by a serious aftershock. The bed was swinging back and forth. The tremor measured 5.5 on the Richter scale. All the people in the hotel ran onto the lawn and stayed there for an hour."

Q: Why did so many people die in this earthquake? A: "The first and most important reason is the intensity of this earthquake. I read in the Indian newspapers that the Indian Richter scale failed. It could only measure intensity up to 7. This was more than that - the strongest quake in the past 50 years.

"There is no preparedness of the people for earthquakes. Now that it is over you see all the outpouring of help from the local groups and businesses, there are so many people coming filled with love and empathy for the victims. But there was no preparedness before this happened on what to do for an earthquake.

"[Also] there is irregular application of building codes in terms of earthquake-resistant houses and quality of construction.

"On the positive side, the deaths would have been many more if it had been a working day. This was a holiday and everyone was home. It is easy to come out of the houses, but harder to come [down the stairs and elevators] out of offices."

Q: Since this is an earthquake zone, should people move permanently away?

A: "No. People belong to a place. They have their own identity, their own culture, their own feeling of motherland and belonging. Some feel that their forefathers lived here and thus it is their village, their town. The person who [lives] near the sea and who knows they will be hit by cyclones won't stop sailing. And where will they move to? Livelihoods elsewhere will be more difficult to find. Anyway, every area has some risks, whether it is crime or pollution or whatever."

Q: What can be done to make homes safe the next time a quake hits?

A: "The most important aspect is community preparedness for disaster. It is about knowing the dos and don'ts. When they are building their homes, their offices, their schools they should follow the building code. The government needs to play a role here [and] do some quality checks.

"There is a lack of awareness of how we can build houses that are earthquake resistant. We need to integrate learnings about how to build quake-proof homes and prepare for disaster into pre-existing programs. Civil society is very important here. The youth clubs, the women's groups, the private businesses all can play a role in passing on this information.

"If you want to turn this disaster into an opportunity, you need to start thinking about how to inculcate these things while this disaster is fresh in people's minds so that it becomes common knowledge. The government can issue instructions and orders, but they cannot persuade people. If private organizations and community groups can play that complementary role, there is greater scope for minimizing loss of life and property [in the future]."

Q: What is CARE doing to help quake victims? A: "In terms of relief, we are distributing tents, blankets, lanterns, floor mats and other supplies. Over the long term, the rehabilitation program needs to take the community's needs and aspirations into consideration. The emphasis should be how we can help them attain their desires, rather than merely 'adopting' a village. If you provide everything, then the people become passive. If you build a home for them, they will feel they are living in someone else's house. We want them to feel they have contributed.

"Gujurati people are very enterprising and self-supporting, and need to be helped in a way that encourages these qualities. We should look at loans instead of grants and subsidies. My own feeling is that giving them micro-credit [loans] will really help change their lives. CARE has this strength of promoting self-help groups for economic security, so we are uniquely positioned to do this."

Q: When you are not providing aid to earthquake victims, what do you do? A: "I joined CARE in 1989. My background was statistics and operations research. I started with evaluations and moved into the primary health care program, where ultimately I was acting director for the CARE Primary Health Care Unit. I've since moved on to Andhra Pradesh [in southern India] where I currently work as Director.

"By the way, I was a CARE beneficiary as a student. CARE had a big meals program that supplied food to tens of thousands of children in India, and I distinctly remember the CARE milk powder. It was very good at that time."

Reddy was at the forefront of CARE's relief operations in Orissa after cyclones lashed the coastal state, killing thousands and leaving millions homeless. CARE was the first international humanitarian agency on the scene, and tackled the immediate crisis by providing food aid for more than 1 million people and survival kits for families most in need. As survival needs were met, CARE moved to help people rebuild their homes and their lives. CARE's role in Gujarat will follow the same progression, in the first instance seeing to immediate needs and in the next, helping the people of Gujarat rebuild.

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