Analysis
India: A disaster made worse by poverty
INDIA SAW more than 15,000 killed as the tidal wave pounded southern fishing villages with Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands the worst hit. Thousands are still missing. In Andhra Pradesh alone, 400 fishermen were missing immediately after the first strikes.
The Hindu newspaper, published in southern India, reported that 40 children playing cricket on a beach in Cuddalore drowned when a massive wave pulled them out to sea. One local man, who lost two sons playing on the beach, said: “I suddenly saw waves 30 to 40ft high. People just froze, they didn’t know what to do.”