SOS Chatnath Homes >> Tsunami >> About Pudukuppam  
 

Eighteen village children lost their lives in the tsunami.

        Pudukuppam, a small coastal village perched on the sea in Nagarpattinum district near Poompuhar town, suffered some of the most tragic losses of any town in the area. Losing 50 people and homes where 150 families once lived, life for this tiny village changed irreparably on December 26th. In the aftermath of the tsunami, the government sanctioned SOS Chennai to work on livelihood development and permanent reconstruction of the village.
 
 
      Before the tsunami, Pudukuppam looked much like any other small coastal fisher community. Village families lived in a collection of cement houses and thatched roofed mud huts that started only 20 meters from the water’s edge. Some homes had running water and sewage facilities, most had electricity, televisions and radios. Children walked about 2 km to the nearest school, toddlers played in the newly constructed Balwadi Care Center, and fishermen had easy access to open water.  
 
  Fisher-family huts filled this beach before the tsunami.  
 

Even Cement homes were destroyed beyond repair.

Village Women share stories from December 26th.

Men typically took their catamarans out on the ocean in the early hours of morning before dawn and returned with the day’s catch before noon. Women would then take the fish to market, and assume responsibility for washing, preserving, and drying the catch. Although this little village faced problems prevelant in all small towns, the people of Pudukuppam enjoyed a generally comfortable lifestyle.

Being the Sunday after Christmas, most village families were home when the tsunami hit on the morning of December 26, 2005. Children played on the beach, women and families prepared meals in homes, and only a few men were out fishing. No one was prepared for the force of water that would destroy homes, take away lives, and change the face of the Pudukuppam community.

 
     
 
 
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