The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake that had a magnitude between 9.1 and 9.3, triggered a series of lethal tsunamis on Decembember 26 2004 that killed over 310 000 people, making it the deadliest disaster of recent history. The tsunami killed people over an area ranging from the immediate vicinity of the quake in Indonessia, Thailand and the north-western coast of Malaysia to thousands of kilometres away in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and even as far as Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania in eastern Africa.
The third largest country affected by Tsunami was India, particularly the southern state of Tamilnadu. Nagapattinam was the worst affected district in Tamil Nadu, with more than 6,000 people killed in the tsunami tragedy. But the plight of the affected people prompted a widespread humanitarian reponse and today, after six months of this tragedy many relief organisations along with their Indian counterparts are trying to help these victims in composing themselves and leading again a normal life. Austrian NGO Volkshilfe in association with the Indian NGO Peoples Development Association is also working for the
rehabilitation of the fisherman communities of Nagapattinam. The director of Peoples development Association Dr. Joe Velu and Dr. Gundi Dick of Volkshilfe shares about their activities in an interview with Sarita jenamani.
More information could be found on the homepage of
Volkshife: http://www.volkshilfe.at/index_fischer.htm