ACT brings relief to Cyclone Jal affected in South

A global alliance of churches and related agencies has intervened to aid victims of Cyclone Jal in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

The strong winds and showers earlier this month claimed several lives and displaced people after villages were inundated by the surge and flooding.

Action by Churches Together with its local partners is proposing to assist over 3,000 dalit and tribal families with food and non-food items through the ACT Rapid Response Fund.

The goal is to "enable dalit and tribal families, severely affected by Cyclone Jal, to survive and get back on the path to recovery, through providing basic food and non-food (clothing) items," ACT said in a statement.

At least 54 people have been killed by the recent rain and flooding. North Chennai in Tamil Nadu was one of the worst hit areas. In Andhra Pradesh, around 700 villages in the coastal areas were evacuated and over 70,000 people from four districts were given shelter in relief camps.

Although the government assured financial aid besides food and clothing, to date, no assistance has reached the dalit and tribal families mostly in remote villages.

The victims, ACT said, were "approaching churches to help them with urgently needed food and non-food items." The ACT Secretariat has already approved the use of about 2.5 million rupees from its Rapid Response Fund.

Through its local partner, the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (UELCI), ACT purposes to make relief materials immediately available to the victims. The total duration of the relief program will be two months.