From indiainfo.com

Velankanni (TN): The pilgrimage town of Velankanni in Nagapattinam district, that used to be flooded with devotees from across the country, today wears a deserted look! With roofless and broken shops on either side of the road and debris strewn all over the beach, this coastal town is now a far cry from what it used to be two weeks back.

Around 650 people lost their lives and 961 went missing when the killer tsunami struck Velankanni, the day after Christmas. Majority of those missing are pilgrims who had come to renowned Velankanni Mother Mary shrine, one of the most famed Christian pilgrimage centres in South India.

I just received a call from my wife, who is staying in Velankanni, that certainly confirms this and worse. There are stacks of fishing boats that she says look like someone knocked over a stack of dominoes. Shelter, however is the most pressing problem. At the ophanage they visited today, there is a concrete pad in the courtyard where entire families are sleeping. No bedding, no cover. As the above linked story states and they have confirmed, the government is not paying benefits to the families of the missing. Only those who can show proof, such as a picture of the body. This can be difficult as many were simply swept out to sea. They are, however, still finding bodies on a daily basis, but the state of decomposition would probably preclude identification.