Global development agency Christian Aid has released £50,000 to partner organisations in India after more than 6,000 Indian villagers were forced from their homes and 48 were killed by Cyclone Thane.
The storm swept through the east-Indian coastal state of Tamil Nadu on December 30, uprooting trees, destroying roads and buildings and bringing down power lines.
As villagers attempt to rebuild their damaged homes, many communities are still without electricity and clean drinking water. The high winds also destroyed 15000 hectares of paddy crops and 20000 hectares of cashew and jackfruit trees which will both affect immediate survival needs and cause long term impact on livelihoods.
In Tamil Nadu, the two most vulnerable groups of concern to Christian Aid are the socially excluded Dalit community and Sri Lankan Tamil refugees.
In response to the crisis, Christian Aid has launched a Rapid Emergency Response Initiative, providing support to the Organisation for Eelam Refugees and the Rehabilitation and Social Awareness Society for Youths, two existing partner organisations in Tamil Nadu, which have been able to carry out assessments and start relief activities
Emergency food provisions consisting of dry food such as rice, flour and milk powder for two weeks are being circulated along with winter kits of bedding and floor mats for those whose houses have been destroyed.
* Christian Aid: http://www.christianaid.org.uk