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Several families rendered homeless

R. Sujatha

Their houses along the shore in Ennore, Tiruvottiyur were swept away by waves

— PHOTO: V. GANESAN

WRATH OF THE SEA: Huge waves slammed the Periyakuppam area in Ennore, damaging concrete houses, on Saturday.

CHENNAI: Panic gripped people living along the shoreline in Ennore and Tiruvottiyur as waves washed away several houses, rendering scores of people homeless, on Saturday.

Twenty-four families of Periyakuppam in Tiruvottiyur were evacuated and sheltered at the Kathivakkam municipality school. Food packets were distributed to the more than 100 people sheltered there.

For the fourth day on Saturday, fishermen of Ennore, Tiruvottiyur and Kasimedu watched helplessly as the sea battered the shore. Five-foot-high waves inundated the stretches of boulders along the shoreline on Friday night and Saturday morning.

Fishermen at Periyakuppam recalled that last year, too, during the rough season that lasts from October to December, they had to grapple with seawater entering their homes.

R. Ramachandran, a fisherman, said none of them had ventured into the sea for three days. It is a week since boat owner P. Murugan went fishing. The men sent their families to the relief centre and maintained an all-night vigil.

“I built this house by saving up all my earnings. Three families depend on the boat for a living. When I built my house 10 years ago, it was 500 metres off the shore. Today, the distance has reduced to 30 feet. If I were to rebuild the house today, it would cost me several lakhs of rupees,” Mr. Murugan said.

On Saturday morning, senior officials of the Water Resources Department visited the affected areas of Periyakuppam and Chinnakuppam at Ennore and Appar Nagar at Tiruvottiyur.

As a temporary measure, strengthening of the rubble-mound seawalls in these areas is being taken up. Near Periyakuppam, a portion of the Ennore Expressway has been eroded and restoration work is under way, officials said.

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