“Please alert our Diocesan Partners in and around the delta districts where Gaja Cyclone was expected to have landfall, “ said  Fr.Paul Moonjely, the Director of Caritas India on 14^th November, 2018. He was resonating the concern of Caritas India fearing the destruction that Gaja cyclone was going to bring.

Caritas India management team was in constant touch with  Dr.John Arokiaraj, Caritas  Manager in charge for Tamil Nadu.

“ Make our people prepared to face the fury of the cyclone by deploying our Task Force Teams (TFT), engaging our volunteers to safely evacuate the people located in vulnerable areas,” said Fr.Paul.

A WhatsApp Group was created and started to update information on the current location, path, direction and possible areas of landfall Gaja cyclone. The precautionary measures taken by Government machinery in the vulnerable areas were updated. Tamil Nadu Social Service Society (TASOSS)  led by Fr.Albert Thambidurai joined hands with Caritas India and member Diocesan Societies in responding to the disaster.

The first day after the disaster, through media information, NGOs were happy that not much serious damage has taken place. But from the 2nd day onwards, NGOs including Caritas India started to realise the intensity of damages and the gravity of issue as news about damages started coming from the affected.. The plight of the affected people became deplorable. John Arokiaraj who is also an Executive Committee (Exco) member of Tamil Nadu Inter-Agency Group ( TN- IAG) had series of discussions with the IAG Co-ordinator and other Exco members and it was decided to activate the TN- IAG Nagapattinam /Thanjavur chapter consultation and that brought out the need for immediate NGO response.

In consultation with Caritas Management and the Disaster Risk Reduction Desk, an assessment team was formed by John Arokiaraj that included TASOSS represented by Fr.Albert, Fr.Arockiasamy, Anand and the Task Force and Community Mobilisation Teams of Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Dindigul and Madurai Social Service Societies. Preliminary Damage assessment was undertaken in Pudukottai and Thanjavur and Dindigul districts.

Gaja means elephant in Sanskrit language.  Like an angry elephant, the devastating Gaja cyclone impacted 12 districts in Tamil Nadu taking away 63 human lives.3.41 lakh housing units were damaged out of which 2.8 lakh units were huts indicating that the poorest of the poor have been reduced next to nothing in terms of resources. Overnight the rich and middle-class segments who were depending on agriculture especially coconut farming have become poor as 88102 hectares of agricultural and horticultural crops were affected. More than one million trees are uprooted. In 5 delta districts alone around 4 lakh coconut trees lost in 30000 hectares.

The damages to coconut trees could be seen during the visit to Adirampattinam and surrounding Pattukottai, peravurani , Orathanadu, Pappanadu. At Kodaikanal hills,  landslide occurred in many places. Coastal areas like Sethubavuchatiram, Nagapattinam, Akkaraipettai, Poompuhar, etc., saw damage to 4000 boats out of which 1419 are completely damaged. Pudukkottai, Madurai and Dindigul, people were not prepared as they never thought cyclone will affect their districts and this is their first experience of such heavy winds.

During the field visit on 18^th  November, it was found that around 74 panchayats in Kantharvakottai, Karambakudi, Thiruvarangulam and Pudukottai blocks are affected in Pudukottai district. In spite of truncated access to many villages, the team could see many damaged tiled houses and huts and severe loss to banana, teak, coconut, lemon and cashew cultivation. Many small farmers have lost their banana crops which were ready for harvest.

Some people have managed to borrow money and use available resources to replace roof tiles to get protected from continued rains whereas those who could not manage loans have covered the roofs with gunny bags. Loss of livelihood and property has made many people psychologically depressed. People are panicked and started agitating against delayed Government response.

As many families are dependent on borewells, they could not get water as there is no electricity. For drinking and domestic purposes, people depend on pond water. Interior villages could not have proper access to relief materials. These community people blocked the roads to get the attention of Government machinery. The assessment team could personally experience their plight during the visit to Pattukottai and Adhirampattinam area on 19^th November.

Bishop of Thanjavur Most. Rev. Devadass Ambrose, highlighted the impact of Gaja Cyclone disaster to Caritas India based on the findings of 5 teams formed by him that did the assessment in 5 districts coming under Thanjavur diocese. He has been involved in major disaster response starting from 1977 Nagapattinam cyclone to 2004 Tsunami.

Caritas India has already activated the response mechanism by way of releasing emergency relief grant to the affected  Diocesan Societies which can facilitate the immediate relief measures in the most affected areas. Fr.Jolly,  Assistant Director of Caritas India is on a solidarity field visit to Thanjavur and Tiruvarur to share the concern of Caritas India and also get the first-hand information. Fr Albert, Forum Director of TASOS accompanied Fr. Jolly in the field visit. Caritas India through its Tamil Nadu State Office and DRR Thematic Desk will continue the response in a phased manner. Residents, farmers and fishermen are to be helped.

The task before Caritas India and its partner organisations is to bring the lost confidence among the affected community members by providing psychosocial counseling, sustainable livelihood restoration, providing risk-informed education through continued community engagement.