When heavy rain lashed Tiruvarur district on Friday, T. Sivapakkiam was left with only an umbrella as she stood outside her hut that had been destroyed by Cyclone Gaja. Her four goats stood exposed to the downpour at Thenparai, a village near Mannargudi in Tiruvarur district.

“I was eking out a living by selling candies and other eatables for children on a push cart on the main road leading to my village. I also sold tea whenever there was demand,” said the 68-year-old widow, who had lost everything in the cyclone.

Her hut and push cart had been destroyed, and she was waiting for relief materials to arrive. “The mango and jackfruit trees behind my hut were also damaged, and I have been left with nothing to eat,” she said.

Elangovan, of the nearby village of Kurichi, found a way to save his four cows. His cattle shed collapsed the day Gaja struck coastal villages. The cows survived, and he temporarily converted the local bus shelter into a cattle shed.

Mannargudi MLA T.R.B. Raja said the situation was really desperate, and he couldn’t get adequate support from the government. “Ration shops were charging 15 for kerosene. I took up the issue with the Ministers when they passed by this area. We have very few generators to meet our requirements,” he said, adding that the government could have easily mobilised support from all parts of the State.