PUDUCHERRY, India—The death toll from cyclone Thane that pounded the southern coast of India on Friday, has risen to 47, as locals spent the first days of the new year struggling to recover.
Thane’s powerful 140 kmph (87 mph) winds and torrential rains battered fishing villages overnight Friday leaving a trail of destroyed homes, uprooted trees, and power outages on the Tamil Nadu coast and the territory of Puducherry (also known as Pondicherry).
As holidaymakers in the French town tourist area of Puducherry celebrated New Year’s, locals were preoccupied with salvaging belongings and worrying about how they will survive in the coming days.
“There has been no food for two days. Few food packets were supplied once,” said Lakshmi, 65, on Saturday, who lives on Puducherry beach.
“Water destroyed everything. Waves splashed atop our house and broke roof tiles. We took shelter in the nearby temple,” says Lakshmi while spreading the family’s soaked clothes retrieved by her grandson on the concrete to dry.
For most of the families who rely on fishing, like Lakshmi whose son is a fisherman, immediate survival will be at the behest of relief agencies until damaged catamarans and fishing boats can be repaired.
Kala, 40, and her husband are homeless and sleep on Padminithottam Street, about a third of a mile from the shore. This couple braved the cyclone night in the open air under the door-canopy of a shop.
“It was a harsh night for us. Wind was howling and we saw huge trees around breaking and walls crashing. Things were flying around and something hit me on my face and tore through my upper lip. My husband works as a day laborer—no work means no food. We’ve lived on two cups of tea each for the past two days,” explains Kala who was offered some biscuits and bread by her neighbors on New Year’s Eve.
Kala and her husband are lucky, escaping with only minor injuries. The total death toll by Sunday in Cuddalore, Puducherry, and other coastal villages of Tamil Nadu had increased to 47, with most people dying from electrocution, falling trees, or collapsed buildings. Cuddalore has been worst affected in terms of deaths and property damage.
In Theprayapeta, a hamlet of 45 fishing families on the south Puducherry coast, the main tar road, which until three days ago was a popular cycling destination for tourists, is now completely engulfed by sand. All the homes were destroyed and virtually every fishing boat was either lost or badly damaged.
“We have lost all we had. We have only sunlight and sand. Government provides food and water in packets. Children cannot go to school either as they have lost their books,” said 53-year-old fisherman Akthamma, standing by his house, which collapsed like a house of cards.
A complete assessment of the cyclone damage will still take some days as families brace for more nights in the open.
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