Class 9 Moments Supplementary Reader Chapter 6 Question Answers - Weathering the Storm in Ersama

Q.1. When did the cyclone hit Orissa?
Ans. The cyclone hit Orissa on 27 October 1999.

Q.2. Where was Prashant when the cyclone hit Orissa?
Ans. At that time he was in a small coastal town of Orissa, some eighteen kilometers from his village.

Q.3. What was the name of Prashant’s village?
Ans. The name of his village was Kalikuda.

Q.4. Who met Prashant on his way back to the village?
Ans. He met two friends of his uncle on his way back to the village.

Q.5. What had Prashant to push away on his way back to the village?
Ans. Prashant had to push away many human bodies, and carcasses of dogs, cattle and goats.

Q.6. How did Prashant find his house when he reached his village?
Ans. He found only the remnants of the roof of his house.

Q.7. What did Prashant found about children in the relief camp?
Ans. Prashant found that a large number of children had been orphaned.

Q.8. How have the people of the community helped one another?
Ans. The people of the community helped one another with great co-operation.

Q.9. How did Prashant feel when he reached his village?
Ans. His heart went cold when he reached his village.

Q.10. How did Prashant travel back to his village from Ersama?
Ans. Prashant travelled on foot and swim through the deep water back to his village.

Q.11. How did people receive food in Prashant’s village?
Ans. Food packets were dropped by helicopters.

Q.12. Where were Prashant and his friends during the two days of the super cyclone? What did they live on? Where did they get their ‘food’ from?
Ans. 

• The rainwater was entering the house during the super cyclone. So, Prashant and his friend’s family remained on the roof of the house for two days.
• Two coconut trees had fallen on the roof of the house. Prashant and his friend’s family lived on them. They got their food from these tender coconuts.

Q.13. (i) Why was it difficult for Prashant to travel back to his village?
Ans. There was water everywhere. He had to use his stick to locate the road. At some places, it was waist-deep and the progress was slow. Sometimes, he lost the road and had to swim. After some distance, he found two friends of his uncle. They decided to move ahead together. They had to push away many human bodies floating on the water.
(ii) “His heart went cold’ when he reached his village. Why?
Ans. At last, Prashant reached his village Kalikuda. His heart sank. His house was gone. His family was nowhere. In order to look for his family, Prashant went to the Red Cross Shelter. Fortunately, his family was alive. They were very glad to see Prashant. He came to know that eighty-six lives were lost in his village and all the ninety-six houses had been washed away.

Q.14.What were the two important tasks Prashant did after deciding to be the leader of the village?
Ans. 

• The first task was that he organized a group of youths and elders to make the merchant give them rice. They succeeded in their mission. 
• Secondly, he made a team of youth volunteers. They cleaned the shelter of the dirt, urine, vomit, and floating carcasses.

Q.15. How did the villagers make the helicopters drop regular quantities of the flood?
Ans. Prashant and others devised a plan to attract the attention of the helicopters. They deputed children to lie there with empty utensils on their stomachs. This was done to communicate to the helicopters that they were hungry. The scheme worked and the helicopters started dropping food regularly.

Q.16. How did Prashant and his friend’s family pass two days of the super cyclone?
Ans. As the floodwater was rising, Prashant and his friend’s family sat on the open roof of the house. They froze in the cold and continuous rain. Two coconut trees had fallen on the roof. They proved to be a blessing in disguise. They survived by eating tender coconuts.

Q.17. What havoc had the super cyclone wrecked in the life of the people of Orissa?
Ans. 

• The super cyclone was a devastating storm that washed houses away and destroyed hundreds of villages. It killed thousands of people and uprooted a large number of trees. 
• There were dead bodies all around. People became homeless and many children who had lost their parents became orphans. This crazed destruction continued for the next thirty-six hours. The condition seemed grim after the super cyclone.

Q.18. How has Prashant, a teenager, been able to help the people of his village?
Ans. On reaching his village, Prashant found deplorable conditions all around him. He had leadership qualities so he took the initiative to rehabilitate people. He made a team of young volunteers and cleaned urine, filth, vomit, and floating carcasses. His team was fully dedicated to serving others. He persuaded grief-stricken women to look after children. In this way, he became a ray of hope for all.

Q.19. How did Prashant spend his time during the first two days of the super cyclone?
Ans. When the super cyclone hit coastal Orissa, Prashant was at his friend’s house with neck-deep water. They spent two days on the roof of the house and lived on tender coconuts of those two trees which had fallen on the roof.

Q.20. What did Prashant see when he reached his village?
Ans. When Prashant reached his village, his heart turned cold. Houses had been washed away. Only roofs were lying on the ground. The belongings were mixed up and twisted. The tree branches appeared above water. His maternal grandmother was the first woman Prashant saw in the crowd at the Red Cross shelter.

Q.21. How did Prashant manage food for village people?
Ans. A military helicopter dropped some parcels but they didn’t return. The youth task force of the village asked the children to lie in the sand with empty utensils on their stomachs. They were successful in telling the helicopters that they were hungry. So the helicopter dropped regular food and other supplies to them.

Q.22. How did the super cyclone affect the life of the people of Orissa?
Ans. Super cyclone in Orissa in October 1999 proved very devastating. Heavy and incessant rain filled the darkness. Ancient trees were uprooted and crashed to the earth. People and houses were washed away.

Q.23. What did Prashant do for orphaned children?
Ans. Prashant found that a large number of children had been orphaned. He brought them together and put up a polythene shelter for them. He organised cricket matches for children. Prashant tried to set up their children in new foster families made up of childless widows and children.

Q.24. Do you think Prashant is a good leader? Do you think young people can get together to help people during natural calamities?
Ans. Undoubtedly, Prashant is a good leader. He has all the qualities of a leader. 

• He has a special quality of taking initiatives. 
• His vision is quite clear. 
• He faces adverse circumstances courageously. 
• He is a source of energy for others and has great motivational power. 

I think that youth is power. This power can be used to assist society during natural disasters. Whatever job is assigned to the youth in such circumstances they perform their duty with full spirit.

Q.25. How have the people of the community helped one another? What role do the women of Kalikuda play during these days?
Ans. Prashant took the initiative and mobilized everyone to help one another. In this time of distress, the people of the community joined hands together and started relief work. Women started working in the Food for Work Programme and looked after the orphans.

Q.26. What happened in the evening when Prashant was at his friend’s house in Ersama?
Ans. In the evening when Prashant was at his friend’s house, a dark and menacing storm gathered. Winds started blowing at great speed. Heavy and continuous rains filled the darkness. Ancient trees were uprooted and crushed to death. The angry water rushed in his friend’s house, neck deep.

Q.27. Where had Prashant gone on 27th October 1999? Why?
Ans. Prashant had gone to block headquarters of Ersama on 27th October 1999. He had gone there to spend a day with a friend. Ersama is a small town in coastal Orissa.

Q.28. How did the two fallen coconut trees prove a blessing in disguise for Prashant and his friend’s family?
Ans. The cyclonic storm with a high wind velocity of 350 km per hour uprooted many huge and old trees. Two coconut trees had fallen on the roof of their house. This proved to be a blessing in disguise for them. The tender coconuts from the trees kept the trapped family from starving for several days.

Q.29. How were the orphans and the widows resettled?
Ans. Prashant had deep sympathy for the flood victims. He could not tolerate the deplorable condition of women and children. He decided to get them engaged. So, he persuaded the women to work in the food-for-work programme. He made a special arrangement for the children to keep them busy.

Q.30. After becoming the leader of his village, Prashant performed two important tasks. What were they?
Ans. Prashant was a courageous boy. He decided to improve the condition of the village. He became the leader of the village and started work. 

• First of all, he organised the youths and elders of the village into a group. They put pressure on the rich merchant to donate some rice for the poor. 
• They also made the helicopters drop food for the hungry people.

Q.31. Why do Prashant and other volunteers resist the plan to set up institutions for orphans and widows? What alternatives do they consider?
Ans. 

• Prashant and other volunteers resisted the plan as they felt that it would not be proper to set up separate institutions for orphans and widows. 
• The group of volunteers was of the opinion that in these institutions children would not be able to get love and widows would suffer from stigma and loneliness and isolation. 
• The group decided to rehabilitate them in their own community. New families were made and the childless widows took care of the orphans.