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branches of trees just visible above the dark waters. Young Prashant
decided to go to the Red Cross shelter to look for his family.

Remnants: small remaining quantities

When Prashant reached his village, Kalikuda, he became numb on
seeing the remains of his house. Their belongings were scattered in the
water and some things hung on the branches of the trees, just above the
flood water. He decided to look for his family at the shelter set up by the
Red Cross society.

Among the first people he saw in the crowd was his maternal
grandmother. Weak with hunger, she rushed to him, her hands
outstretched, her eyes brimming. It was a miracle. They had long given
him up for dead.

eyes brimming: eyes were full of tears

At the Red Cross shelter he saw his maternal grandmother. She
appeared weak but was glad to see that Prashant was alive. She rushed
to him with her arms open and her eyes full of tears. It was a miracle for
her as the family had thought that Prashant would not have survived the
storm.

Quickly word spread and his extended family gathered around him, and
hugged him tight in relief. Prashant anxiously scanned the motley,
battered group. His brother and sister, his uncles and aunts, they all
seemed to be there.

Motley: desperate, varied in appearance or character
Battered: injured

As Prashant’s extended family came to know that he had come, they
gathered around him and hugged him in relief. Prashant saw that
everyone was worried and injured. He met his siblings, uncles and
aunts.

By the next morning, as he took in the desperate situation in the shelter,
he decided to get a grip over himself. He sensed a deathly grief settling
upon the 2500 strong crowd in the shelter. Eighty-six lives were lost in
the village. All the ninety-six houses had been washed away. It was their
fourth day at the shelter. So far they had survived on green coconuts,
but there were too few to go around such a tumult of people.

Tumult: uproar of a disorderly crowd force

The next morning Prashant realized that he had to get over his emotions
and take charge of the situation. The huge crowd of around 2500 people
in the shelter was full of sadness as they had lost everything in the
storm. 86 people had been killed by the super cyclone. They had been