Contact: Taun Cortado, Gospel for Asia, 972-300-3120
CARROLLTON, Texas, May 22 /Christian Newswire/ -- At least 200 people are confirmed dead and hundreds of thousands are homeless as a result of flooding on the island nation of Sri Lanka.
"This is the worst flooding to hit the country since the Asian tsunami devastated Sri Lanka in 2004," said Gospel for Asia President Dr. K.P. Yohannan. "They had absolutely no warning that this huge storm was on the way. It took them totally by surprise."
Yohannan had just spoken with Lal Vanderwal, GFA’s country leader in Sri Lanka, who reports that entire villages are underwater.
"Their homes are flooded and they've lost everything," Dr. Yohannan said. "The children don't have any clean clothes to wear and their schoolbooks have been destroyed."
The flooding was caused by torrential rains that inundated the teardrop-shaped island for more than a week. Sri Lanka, a country of 18.6 million people, is located off the southeast coast of India. Its location in the Bay of Bengal makes it subject to the seasonal monsoon weather pattern. The monsoon rains, which last for months, usually arrive in the last few days of May. Meteorologists say these disastrous pre-monsoon rainstorms were intensified by Cyclone Laila, which recently blasted the Bay of Bengal and is devastating some of India's coastal areas. While Cyclone Laila spared Sri Lanka, it is blamed for 16 deaths in India.
Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Center reports that more than 600,000 people were displaced by the flooding. Many of those affected are the poorest of the poor who live in low-lying areas and shanty-type structures, which have no chance against the brutal force of the driving rain or the fast-moving floodwater. One major city is facing a grim situation with more than 40,000 homes damaged by the floods, and subsequent landslides. More from Christian News Wire
No comments:
Post a Comment