Weathering the Storm in Ersama NCERT Solutions, Summary & Word Meanings Class 9 PDF

Ans: The super cyclone brought immense destruction to Orissa. It washed away hundreds of villages and killed thousands of people. Trees were violently uprooted, and houses were smashed. Dead bodies of humans and swollen animal carcasses floated everywhere in the dark floodwaters. Survivors were left homeless, grieving for their lost loved ones, and starving in overcrowded, unhygienic shelters.

Ans: Prashant stepped up as a true leader when the elders were paralyzed by grief. He organized a task force of youths and elders to force the local merchant to give them rice. He gathered branches to light a fire and cook food. He organized groups to clean the shelter of filth, urine, and vomit, and to tend to the wounds of the injured. He also ingeniously used empty utensils on children's stomachs to signal rescue helicopters for food drops.

Ans: The community, under Prashant's guidance, stopped relying on the government and started helping themselves. They formed foster families where childless widows took care of orphaned children. The youth cleaned the shelters and gathered food. The women of Kalikuda initially fell into deep depression, but Prashant persuaded them to start working in the "Food-for-Work" programme run by an NGO, which helped them heal by keeping them busy and providing for the community.

Ans: Prashant and the volunteers resisted the government's plan to set up separate institutions because they felt that in such institutions, children would grow up without love, and widows would suffer from stigma and loneliness.
As an alternative, they decided to resettle the orphans and widows within their own community itself. They created foster families made up of childless widows and orphaned children, ensuring they lived together with love and mutual emotional support.

Ans: Prashant and his friend’s family took refuge on the open roof of their strong brick house as the water level rose. A blessing in disguise occurred when two coconut trees fell on the roof. They survived the freezing two days by drinking the sweet water and eating the tender flesh of those coconuts.

Ans: Prashant's 18-kilometer journey back to his village was harrowing and dangerous. He equipped himself with a long, sturdy stick to locate the road under the deep floodwater. At places, the water was waist-deep, and he had to swim. The most horrifying part was that he had to push away numerous dead bodies of human beings (men, women, and children) and carcasses of dogs, goats, and cattle that the current swept against him. Despite crying and fearing that his family was dead, his strong determination kept him moving until he reached Kalikuda.