04/12 • SOUTH EAST ASIA FLOODS
A devastating wave of floods and landslides has swept across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and southern Thailand.
A devastating wave of floods and landslides has swept across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and southern Thailand, triggered by prolonged heavy rain and severe weather.
In Indonesia, torrential rains caused rivers to overflow in West Sumatra, burying communities under mud and debris. As of this week, at least 708 people are confirmed dead, with hundreds still missing or trapped in remote areas.
In Sri Lanka, over 330 people have died following widespread flooding and landslides caused by Cyclone Ditwah — the deadliest storm to strike the island in decades.
And in Thailand, 176 lives have been lost to flash floods across southern provinces, with homes, roads and farmlands destroyed.
In all three countries, emergency responders are racing to reach cut-off communities. The threat of waterborne disease is rising. Food, safe water, shelter and fuel remain urgent needs.
Sadly, these disasters have received limited global attention, despite their enormous scale. Scientific consensus indicates that storms like these are growing more frequent and more intense — a pattern consistent with a warming climate.
The cruelly routine consequences of these events are borne by the most vulnerable — families living in poverty, remote communities, and frontline workers.
PRAYER POINTS:
- We pray for those who have lost homes, loved ones, or livelihoods in the floods — may they find comfort, shelter, and support in this time of great need.
- We pray for responders, aid workers, churches and local leaders — may they be strengthened to serve, restore, and protect their communities.
- We pray for world leaders and climate decision-makers — that they would act with courage and urgency to protect the earth and those most vulnerable to its changing climate.
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