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The rains and floods stopped in December 2005, but our flood relief work continued up to February! Below is a summary of the flood relief work that was undertaken by AID INDIA.
Monsoon 2005 came in 3 phases. The first phase of rains (October 27th) flooded large parts of Chennai and Tiruvallur. The second phase (November 25th) of floods completely submerged villages around Chidambaram, Kalpakkam, Cuddalore, Pudukottai. In the third phase of the floods (December 4th), several huge water tanks broke and flooded large parts of Chennai city. Most villages remained flooded for a few days. Some remained under water for a couple of months! AID INDIA organized both immediate relief work as well as long term rehabilitation support for the flood victims in different parts of Tamilnadu. Phase I October 27th 2005 Immediate Relief On October 27th – even as the rains were pouring down – our volunteers in Chennai began collecting relief materials, going into slums, taking people out into safer areas, setting up relief camps and providing food and blankets during the night. We worked in 7 camps – Saidapet, Triplicane, Central, Koturpuram, Kallukuttai, Choolaimedu and Taramani.
Phase I October 27th 2005 Immediate Relief in Koovathur In Koovathur, the rains on 27th October destroyed many of the poorest people’s houses. Several houses were completely submerged under water. Many houses just broke down. Our volunteers went from village to village to survey the damage and provided the most affected people with blankets, buckets, food and vessels. 
Phase II 25thNovember 2005 Immediate Relief,Cuddalore District 
The second round of rains and floods that started on November 25th affected a much larger area and more severely. Hundreds of villages around Chidambaram, Cuddalore, Nagai, Pudukottai, Thanjavur and Kalpakkam went completely under water. In Chidambaram, Bhuvanagiri and Cuddalore the situation was quite terrible. Complete villages were flooded and neck deep under water. Most villages became isolated pockets. Unlike the Tsunami last December, this time even travel for volunteers and relief workers was quite complicated. And a much larger area was affected. Because of the difficulty of travel and the wide spread nature of the disaster, we limited ourselves to smaller pockets where we could be effective. We immediately contacted several organizations and started organizing relief in these areas. The very next day we helped start a community kitchen in Chidambaram and provided food to 5000 people on the first and second day till the government administration took over. We immediately sent our health van to Chidambaram with our volunteers. The van traveled continuously through deep waters – moving from village to village transporting medicines, volunteers, relief materials, food and also organizing medical camps. The van covered 30 hamlets in about 15 days. Volunteers had to walk in neck deep water for hours to reach some villages. In many places they traveled on “Thermacole Boats” and Catamarams. In Parangipettai and Bhuvanagiri, we worked with the TNSF to provide rice to affected familiesand also to supply bleaching powder to ensure sanitation. We also distributed blankets in a few needy villages through other organizations like AAD 
In the SIPCOT area in Cuddalore, we worked with the Cuddalore District Consumer Protection Organization to provide food and bed-sheets to affected families. Totally 919 families in 3 villages - Semmankuppam, Sangolikuppum and Kudikadu – were helped  
A group of volunteers from Sella Synergy collected funds from their friends. They purchased blankets and rice with this donation. With these relief supplies, 6 volunteers went to two badly affected villages in Cuddalore district – Periapattu and Silambi Mangalam. With the help of TNSF volunteers, they distributed these materials to 700 families. Not wanting to stop with this immediate support, this volunteer group has also decided to form an AID Chapter in Sella Synergy to work on more long term programs. |
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