Tsunami survivors flee flooded relief shelters

Temporary settlements and shelters are no longer of any use after flooding caused by October rains. More than 100 people have died, and over 10,000 have fled.


Nagapattinam (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Thousands of families who survived the 26 December tsunami have been forced to leave temporary shelters because of rains which hit southern India at the end of October.

A district official from the southern state of Tamil Nadu said more than 10,000 people were evacuated from relief shelters. At least 10 out of 60 camps sheltering survivors of the freak wave are now flooded and unusable.

"We need everyone's prayers to come through this," said J Radhakrishnan, local administrator.

The October rains killed more than 100 people in this part of India. The state authorities ordered fishermen to remain on land and schools and colleges were closed. On Sunday last, six women were killed in a stampede which broke out during public distribution of food aid.

The tsunami which struck on 26 December 2004 left thousands of families homeless along the south-east coast of India. In Nagapattinam, more than 6,500 people died.