Seychelles collects funds for India flooding; Local resident thankful to have survived

Thiribura Sundari looking at photos of flooding in Chennai where she comes from (Rassin Vannier Seychelles News Agency)

(Seychelles News Agency) - A Seychellois citizen feels lucky to have escaped with her life after traveling to India for a family wedding in Chennai, a city ravaged last month by massive floods.

Flood waters deluged Thiribura Sundari’s ground floor apartment, sweeping away personal items including precious family photographs. But despite sadness over that loss, she is thankful to be alive.

“If I had stayed for another two days, I would have drowned in that water. I would not have been here alive today,” Sundari told SNA in an interview Wednesday.

The flooding around Chennai began last month and has killed more than 250 people. It is believed to be the region’s worst flooding in decades.

Efforts are being made in Seychelles, an island nation in the western Indian Ocean, to raise money to assist the victims. Seychelles has a strong Indian community that is now mobilizing to assist victims in Chennai.

Residents and organizations such as the Lions Club of Seychelles have already contributed generously, said D.V Sharma, media executive and coordinator for the Chennai Relief Fund.

The fund will finish collecting money this week and send the assistance to India in a show of solidarity.

“We are calling anyone who are wishing to donate big and small to contact the Indian Association of Seychelles,” he told SNA.

Sharma noted that there are many families in Seychelles who have roots in India and many others who travel there for medical treatment.

Sundari, 48, knows that well. Her now-flooded apartment is adjacent to Miot Hospital, a medical facility frequented visited by Seychellois residents that was also damaged by floodwaters.

The floods that swept through Sundari’s apartment stole away all her childhood, family, and wedding photos. She described the loss as painful but knows that many others suffered far worse.

“I can always go and get another picture,” said Sundari. “People have lost everything. People are without food, and now there is an outbreak, children are being infected. India is a big country, people are trying to help, agencies are trying to help, but still this is a big disaster, a big calamity for India.”