Displaying items by tag: disaster relief

At the time of writing there are 19,300 dead after earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria. Rescuers are running out of time to find people alive under the rubble. The death toll will far exceed 20,000, and without shelter, water, fuel or electricity many survivors could yet lose their lives in a secondary disaster causing more harm than the initial quake. Survivors could face danger inside fragile structures amid aftershocks or freeze outside in the snow. Numerous regions await help which it is impossible to provide on the scale needed. Syrian rebel-held areas have even less access to medical care and supplies. The first UN aid lorries have arrived. Pray for more medical equipment, warm clothes, blankets, field hospitals, hundreds more volunteers, medical professionals and search and rescue professionals. Ask God to strengthen those working tirelessly to help. Pray for urgent donations to purchase tents, beds, medical equipment and gas heaters. For an update see

Samaritan’s Purse (SP) has disaster relief units in Florida, and volunteers are already working to help hurting homeowners after category 4 Hurricane Ian made landfall delivering 150-mph winds, torrential rain, and a massive storm surge that claimed dozens of lives. SP’s North American ministries responded and have quickly established volunteer bases with two partner churches, but they need an army of volunteers. Pray for thousands more to step forward and help the families who have damaged homes. They are urgently needed to serve as the hands and feet of Jesus to help those whose lives have been turned upside down. Teams are mudding-out flooded homes, removing downed trees and debris. Tractor trailers stocked with equipment and supplies are delivering to operation bases. The damage is incredible; people need prayers and support. Pray for all now hurting in Ian's wake, and for local churches facing their own losses while ministering to the suffering. 

An undersea volcano eruption in Tonga on 15 January triggered tsunami waves flooding coastlines from Japan to America. By 20 January volcanic ash had been removed from the runway and the first humanitarian supplies arrived. The aid - water containers, kits for temporary shelters, generators, hygiene supplies and communications equipment - was contactless to ensure Tonga remains free of coronavirus. Limited communication restoration revealed horrendous destruction. Pray for swift and safe clean-up efforts. Australia’s high commissioner said the loss of property had been catastrophic. Along beaches is a moonscape where once beautiful resorts and many, many homes stood. Pray for aid to reach the homeless and for the vulnerable to be relocated to secure places. Pray for the 105,000 people still without any communication to be reconnected and for full internet services to resume sooner than the predicted month. Pray for the missing to be found alive and for the injured to be healed.

On 17 August the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organisation (ACERO) applied to Westminster magistrates court to have its funds released, so that it can send money to victims of the Beirut explosion and a Covid-19 relief project in Armenia. ACERO’s accounts were frozen in 2019 after a judge ruled that the police should be allowed to look into allegations that it funded Islamic terrorism by paying ransom money for the release of 223 Christian hostages held by IS. The charity claims money was sent to help rehabilitate Christian Assyrian hostages following their release. Lawyers argued that there is no longer reason to suspect funds were or will be used for terrorist financing, and it is unconscionable to prevent them any longer from being put to humanitarian use.’

Last year Hurricane Maria caused damage, deaths, and disruption to Dominica’s communication networks for 65,000 people. Survivors needed to let aid providers know what they needed. When help arrived, it didn’t meet people’s needs. Dominicans described initial silence from aid providers. They were frightened by the lack of information after Maria struck. The first responders were amateur radio operators, civilian volunteers, and diaspora communities on social media. When information from national and international responders finally filtered through, it lacked detail; there were inaccuracies, communication delays, and rumours everywhere. People said they wanted to know what assistance they were entitled to and how decisions were made. But fragmented, late, confusing information in the wrong language left people in the dark. As Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut remind us of the devastation large storms can cause, there is a need to make two-way communication a priority in the aid response effort, so that more lives are saved in the future.

North Carolina Baptists on Mission and the North Carolina conference of the United Methodist Church have made a name for themselves during previous hurricanes and disasters by feeding people, clearing debris, gutting uninhabitable homes and rebuilding them. On 12 September, in preparation for Hurricane Florence, they were deciding how to deploy their volunteer armies and equipment. ‘God has opened a lot of doors and given us a lot of opportunity,’ said the Baptists. ‘We are thankful for that. We want to glorify God if we have opportunities to, and we’re looking for the best way to do that right now.’