Barely had Andhra Pradesh recovered from the devastation wreaked by the worst-ever cyclone in its history in 1977 when another cyclone hit its coastline on May 11, 1979.

About 500 people died and over a million were rendered homeless. In what must have been a painful flashback for most survivors of both the cyclones, bodies were recovered from beneath debris of houses and underneath uprooted trees.

In Nellore, which was the worst hit, 15,000-odd evacuees had to wade through carcasses of dead cattle to reach to safety. Long-distance train services was hit, and passengers in transit had to get off at wayside stations. Losses ran to about Rs. 500 crores.

The most telling tale in Andhra's painful passage from one cyclone to another revolves around Soglagundi village. Completely wiped out in the 1977 cyclone, the village's reconstruction was completed a few days before the cyclonic storm but the rains washed it away again.

To help settle those who had been uprooted from their houses-once again, TOIRF invited contributions from its readers. The collection was then disbursed by TOIRF to local voluntary agencies involved in rehabilitating the survivors.