A hut was all that 50-year-old Farida and her husband had to their name until the Cyclone Gaja blew it away. Today, they squat with their grandchildren near the remains of what was once their home, trying to halt passing vehicles in the hope of getting something to eat. Farida says she doesn't even have a change of clothing. "We need a house; we need that to at least make some food. Build us a house, please," she mumbles. They, however, are just but a few among the over three lakh people who have been literally forced onto the streets across Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur and Pudukottai districts.
