Parishes and Convents in Tamil Nadu to Shelter the Homeless of Tsunami Disaster

Chennai – The parishes and the convents in Tamil Nadu are working overtime as shelter–homes for the thousands of people who were displaced by the killer waves that rocked the coastal regions of South India on December 26, 2004.

“I am absolutely devastated to see the near annihilation of my diocese as well as 1,500 km of India's coastline," said Rev. Michael Augustine, Archbishop of Pondicherry–Cuddalore, one of the districts hardest hit by the tsunami in Tamil Nadu.

“This tragedy smashed and destroyed entire families, on the day we were to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family,” said the Archbishop. “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."

Though grief–stricken, yet, Archbishop Augustine has not given up hope. "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 the morning of December 27, the entire diocese has mobilized in reaction to the emergency. "The parish priests 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 Archbishop said, adding, "The nuns of Pondicherry and Cuddalore, a small town near Chennai, 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 Archbishop also stated that the Pondicherry Church is working closely with state and district authorities and local administrators have been assured 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,” he concluded.

The tsunami triggered by a massive earthquake in Indonesia on Sunday, December 26, 2004, has been the worst in four decades. Killer tidal waves have taken some 150,000 lives so far and have left around 5 million people homeless. In India alone, it has left over 14,000 dead. Many victims, including tourists and fishermen had been caught by surprise as the tidal waves razed the entire South Eastern coastline. Thousands are still reported missing.