In the last week of October, a severe cyclone called Montha passed over the state of Andhra Pradesh. The region around the Children’s Ark was directly affected. While our media reported extensively on Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean at the same time, Cyclone Montha unfortunately went largely unnoticed. The local authorities declared a red alert and all schools and colleges remained closed. Food supplies were stockpiled at the Children’s Ark in order to be well supplied during the days of the cyclone. All the children and staff survived the storm well. The only damage was to a door, a transformer and some lamps outside. However, the population in the surrounding villages suffered major losses. Here, many simple dwellings could not withstand the storm and collapsed. Entire harvests were washed away and stocks of grain and food were lost. The losses were huge, especially among ordinary people. Many lost their homes and possessions.
