Cyclone Amphan hits India and Bangladesh

Please pray for our partners in India and Bangladesh, where many have been affect by the ‘super-cyclone’ Amphan. Steve Pearce (Partnership Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific) writes:

 I often contact partners as their day in the Prayer Handbook comes round, The Bishop of Calcutta replied to me in these words,

 ‘Greetings from the Diocese of Calcutta, CNI!

It was so nice and comforting to hear from you and assurance of your prayerful support at this time of immense natural calamity, when cyclone Amphan has wreaked havoc over West Bengal in an unprecedented manner.’

Cyclone Amphan, the worst for over twenty years, made landfall in eastern India and Bangladesh on Wednesday 20th May, It lashed coastal areas with ferocious winds sustaining speeds of over 100mph, a storm surge 5               metres high followed, with heavy rain and floods.

 The effects are amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic. Attempts were made to evacuate three million people, but doing so under social distancing guidance meant evacuation centres could not be fully utilised.

Initial landfall was near the huge city of Kolkata and many of its 14   million people are without electricity and communications have       been disrupted.

  The storm then moved on to Bangladesh where storm surges of up to 5 metres and unimaginable winds swept across this low-lying, densely-populated region. Ronan Gomes is Director of Shalom, the social development arm of our Partner, the Church of Bangladesh; He wrote to me about the effects so far in many of the villages where they are working and mentioned:most people losing their houses in many villages,           

• no food,
• no cooking utensils,
• no safe water,
• no gardens,
• damaged roads and
• damaged embankments.

Of course, all this is set within the Covid-19 pandemic, new cases of which now exceed 1,700 per day in Bangladesh and 6,000 per day in India.

(All pictures are shared from 'Shalom ' The Social Development agency of the Church of Bangladesh.) 

 A prayer

God of Peace and Abundant Life,

You love all of your creation.

We find ourselves at a loss in the face of such suffering,

And seek assurance of your comfort and love.

We pray that your children in India and Bangladesh may find practical and spiritual help,

                as they confront the damage caused by cyclone Amphan

                and the threat to life and livelihood of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Help us as we seek to find ways to live well

                as a unique yet united part of your creation

                and members together of a global human family.

We pray these things

in the name of a parent who created and loves us,

of a Son who know our struggles and suffering,

of a Sprit who breathes life, abundant life.

                                                                                                Amen