Rapid Response: Gaja Cyclone

The Gaja cyclone hit the Tamil Nadu coast between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam on November 16,2018, killing 63 people and leaving a trail of destruction. The cyclone left 3.7 lakh people homeless. Along its path, "Gaja", Sanskrit for elephant, uprooted thousands of trees, damaged homes and boats in the Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Pudukkottai districts. People in the Oratthanadu Taluk & Thiruvonam regions of the Tanjore district were severely affected due to cyclone, which cost them their livelihood and cottage houses.

The Vattikuti Foundation in India, along with the Vattikuti businesses Altimetrik and Davinta, donated relief materials, including tarpaulins and bed sheets worth approximately INR 2 Lakhs. These were distributed in more than 20 villages, which helped around 250 cyclone-affected families in the Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu, in the regions of Thiruvonam which includes villages of Vengarai, Idaiyankaadu, Sillatthur, Ooranipuram, Thiruvonam Oonjiyaviduthi, Ammangudi, Vettikaadu, Kalirayanviduthi, Raajalividuthi, Vettuvaakkottai & Panikondaanviduthi.