IndiaSaranya was only nine years old when a tsunami struck a small village in the state of Tamil Nadu and swept away all 15 years ago.

Saranya lost her home and four siblings in a tsunami that hit the coast of more than 10 Asian countries, killing more than 230,000 people on December 26, 2004. The town of Nagapattinam, including the village of Saranya, is the worst hit in India with more than 6,000 deaths, mostly fisherman families living a few meters off the coast.

This natural disaster has completely changed the life of Saranya and her family. As a fisherman, Saranya's father struggled to make ends meet, as government aid and aid organizations were maintained for only a few years.

After her mother died in 2017, Saranya had to help her father to raise her younger brother and younger sister. The family also had to find ways to cover the medical costs for her disabled brother Mohan.

"After the tsunami, my family was given a sizable amount of money so they lived very well. But life became extremely difficult after the money ran out," she said.

Saranya is married and is pregnant with her first child. But she said her family could hardly cope with the current difficulties and challenges.

"I'm very worried about my two younger siblings because my father doesn't have money to buy food or send them to school," Saranya said. However, she understood and sympathized for her father because he was also heavily affected by the disaster 15 years ago. "The present life is really hard," Saranya said.