Parishes and convents in Tamil Nadu are sheltering homeless in the wake of Sunday's disaster
Archbishop of Pondicherry: "My diocese is devastated, but we must rebuild the mission. Food, drinking water and shelter are needed.
Pondicherry-Cuddalore (AsiaNews) -- "I am absolutely devastated to see the near annihilation of my diocese as well as 1,500 km of India's coastline." These are the grief-stricken words of Monsignor Michael Augustine, Archbishop of Pondicherry-Cuddalore, one of the districts hardest hit by the tsunami in Tamil Nadu (South East India). "This tragedy smashed and destroyed entire families, on the day we were to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family," said Archbishop Augustine in an interview with AsiaNews. "A Protestant church in Chinglepeth, about 100 kms away from our Cathedral, just caved in, killing instantly all the 100-odd worshippers who had gone there for Sunday service."
"A pall of gloom has descended upon Cuddalore," he went on to say, "People are in total shock and unable to react. Some 50 villages have been totally washed away."
But Archbishop Augustine is not giving in to disheartenment. "There is no time for grief and remorse," he stated, "we have a mission. The flood waters will have contaminated drinking water and food will be scarce."
From early this morning, December 27, the entire diocese has mobilitated in reaction to the emergency. "Our Fathers have gone into the remotest areas with medical and emergency relief materials. We hope to fine some sign of life, as many people are missing and unaccounted for. All parishes and convent schools have been opened to provide shelter, clothes, food and drinking water. We have also set up temporary shelters in some villages."
"The nuns of Pondicherry and Cuddalore, a small town near Chennai (formerly Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu) are taking women and children into their convents. "It was a moving sight for me to see these distraught women and adolescents being brought to the convent for shelter, food and clothes."
The Pondicherry Church is working closely with state and district authorities. "I have also assured local administrators that our medical relief facilities will be at the service of all victims of this disaster. We also have to help these people to reconstruct their homes."
The tsunami triggered by a massive earthquake in Indonesia on Sunday has been the worst in four decades. Killer tidal waves have killed some 14,000 people (unofficial figure) and left tens of thousands homeless. Many victims had been caught by surprise as the tidal waves razed the entire South Eastern Coastline; others, mainly fishermen, drowned while out at sea.
In Tamil Nadu, India's worst-hit area, more than 3,500 people lost their lives. The Marina Beach in Chennai (Madras), the world's second largest, was strewn with dead bodies hours after the tsunami. With Sunday's full moon, hundreds of observant Hindus had been taking their ritual bath in the sea when a wall of water engulfed them, killing them instantly.
Some 41 villages along the Marina Beach coast line were devastated by the tsunami, where the tragedy took on an even greater proportion: in these villages, which depend on fishing, the tsunami wrecked their very means of livelihood, with the destruction of fishing boats and lodgings; even homes built in concrete were swept away
Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who arrived here on Monday morning from Hyderabad, did an aerial survey of the Nellore district (Andhra Pradesh), where seven people were killed by the surging waters. Mr Patil will meet with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and other officials in Chennai to take stock of the rescue and relief operations.
Mr. Patil will also visit affected areas in Tamil Nadu, including the hardest-hit Nagapattinam, where 1,900 people were killed. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, closest to quake's epicentre near the Sumatra coast, were also badly hit, with 1,000 deaths, including 23 air force personnel and their family members.
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28/01/2005
