12/29/2004: Tsunami Relief Update
Tsunami Relief Update
Churches in Tamil Nadu Responding in One of Asia's Hardest Hit Areas
The present situation of the people in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu state is very critical. They are without water, clothes or medical aid. Believers Church, with the support of Gospel for Asia, is taking initiatives to provide food, water, clothes and comfort to the affected people in this time of great distress. Four teams of pastors, missionaries and laymen have already been deployed in this area.
According to the government sources, at least 7,000 people died in Tamil Nadu state, which is one of the two worst tsunami-affected parts of Asia. The costal areas of Chennai city, Cudalore, Nagapattinam and Kanyakumari were the hardest hit. BBC reports that the death toll from the tidal wave disaster is now in excess of 80,000. Thousands of people are still missing. The slums and the villages along the coast were completely destroyed, and many villages are still under water.
The refugee camps set up by the government are overflowing with people who have lost all their possessions and almost all of their family members. When we visited the villages, we could see only heaps of broken walls where there were houses only a few days ago. Then we saw rotten dead bodies lying unattended. There are too many corpses and too few volunteers. Even after three days, most of the dead have not been buried.
There is a very bad stench in the air from the rotting corpses, and there is a likelihood of diseases breaking out. The water is already highly polluted - people in villages have no running water.
Sis Uma, 36, is a believer and a member of Believers Church at Killai, Nagapattinam. On the morning of the 26th she was going to church, carrying her Bible in her hand. She was walking by the beach when the tsunami wave attacked and took her away. When she realized what had happened to her, she saw a damaged boat floating nearby and held on to the boat with one hand and held her Bible with the other hand. She did not want her precious Bible to go even at that time of crisis. She began crying out to the Lord for help. She was in this dangerous situation for nearly ten hours before rescuers came in a helicopter and by God's grace saw her and rescued her. She lost all her belongings and now is in a hospital.
A Christian brother, Rajan, 33, was on his way to do some carpentry work with nine neighbors in Nagapattinam. When the seawater came rushing at them, he understood the situation and prayed and ran as fast as he could. The water dashed against them from behind, and all his friends were killed. He alone escaped. He praises God for protecting his life.
"Why has God allowed us to face such a loss in our life?" asks Rajendran, 40, digging a pit in Killai to bury his sister. He also lost his 12-year old daughter in this calamity.
These two family members lost their relatives and belongings. Not knowing what to do, they mourn for their dear ones. Everything they had was destroyed in water. "Why were we created in this world?" they asked GFA workers.
Sis Kalavathi, 38, of Killai mourns her beloved son's death. She has not yet found her husband, who went fishing on the day the tsunami hit. Her house and all her belongings were lost. She is staying at a refugee camp at Killai.
Common burials are beginning to take place. A power shovel in Killai digs a pit to bury the victims of the tsunami attack.
Near Killai, a village of around 500 people used to exist here. It was completely washed out by the wave. Today there is not a single hut left in this place.
Another village where 350 people once lived on the coastal side of Killai was also washed away, becoming an empty plain.
Thangaraj, 33, of Mulukkuthurai, found and being taken for burial.
Burial of two tsunami victims in Killai; relatives of our believers. Lakshmi, 35; Preetha, 7.
GFA workers distribute clothes in a marriage hall where about 250 survivors find refuge. Affected believers are staying in the nearby Believers Church.
Pastor K.V. (left) comforts a mother who lost her entire family to the wave.
People who lost homes and family gather in the marriage hall, where they have stayed the past few days.
Most of the leaders as well as the pastors are involved in relief work. Please pray for us. We will frequently update you with further information.
Thanking You Yours in Him, K. P.
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