Orissa
Americares India provided lifesaving medical supplies and treatment to victims of a fierce tornado that swept through rural Orissa. The brutal storm killed 16 people, hospitalized 200 patients and affected 18,000 others.
At two medical relief camps set up in Orissa, hundreds of the injured patiently lined up to receive care alongside downed power lines and homes with missing rooftops. Broken bones and severe bruising were common among the battered villagers, who were sometimes trapped under collapsed walls, hit by flying debris and tossed high into the air by strong winds.
Packets of nutritional supplements were distributed to the relief of malnourished families. And to help those who lost all of their belongings to the storm, clothing was provided to more than 80 children in the tornado-ravaged region.
The Americares India team, mobilizing and leading a group of volunteer doctors over the course of a few weeks following each flood, treated nearly 3,000 patients from villages in the flood-ravaged Kendrapara district of Orissa, the hardest hit district of heavy monsoon rains.
The Americares India team was the first to arrive, mobilizing a medical unit that treated more than 1,500 patients within 4 days.