Velankanni...
350 km south of Chennai [Madras].
Once a port that traded with Rome and Greece, the tiny commercial center gradually lost its importance to the larger city of Nagapattinam.
The canal built to link this town with Vedaranyam still lies to the west. The Vellayar, a minor branch of the Cauvery River, runs south of the town and discharges into the sea. The town was among the worst hit by the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
Vailankanni town was among the worst hit...
by the massive 26 December tsunami...
that was triggered by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
The tsunami struck at around 9.30 am on that Sunday, when pilgrims from Kerala were inside the church attending the Malayalam Mass. The water did not enter the shrine, but the receding waters swept away hundreds of pilgrims who were on the beach.
The shrine's compound, nearby villages, hundreds of shops, homes and pilgrims were washed away into the sea. About 600 pilgrims died. Rescue teams extricated more than 400 bodies from the sand and rocks in the vicinity, and large number of unidentified bodies were buried in mass graves.
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