Presbyterian Church in Ireland - Mission Overseas - TEARFUND: Aid sent after floods in India affect 25,000

21st August 2010

TEARFUND partners are providing food and other essential aid to thousands of women and children hit by severe flooding in northern India.

Heavy downpours have brought devastation to rural communities in and around the town of Leh in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, affecting 25,000 people.

Chering Dorjay, a leading councillor on Leh’s local authority, said: "The district of Leh has witnessed the worst natural disaster in its history."

Vulnerable

Tearfund partner, the Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief (Eficor), is shipping in food and other essential items, such as blankets, clothes, cooking utensils, water containers and hygiene kits. This aid is being targeted at 500 families, principally mothers with children and pregnant women.

A hundred sets of spades and pick axes are also being dispatched to help volunteers from fellow Tearfund partner, the Moravian Institution, clear away flood debris.

Hundreds missing

Like neighbouring Pakistan, the rains caused flash floods which unleashed tones of soil, sand and stones, bringing massive damage to low-lying valleys, killing 165 people, with more than 400 others missing.

Eficor staff visiting the villages of Sabo and Choklamsar found utter devastation, with homes and possessions washed away, as well as crops. Many survivors were in shock.

An Eficor spokesman said, ‘Most houses made out of mud were washed away and the houses still standing are filled with two feet of mud. Apricot and apple orchards and agricultural fields have been turned to barren land.’

Winter risk

Access to Leh district is difficult due to the hilly nature of the area and the damage to roads connecting it. Power supplies have been knocked out and communications disrupted.

Survivors have either moved to higher hills for safety, to other unaffected areas to live with extended family or are to temporary camps run by the Indian security forces.

With winter coming, a big challenge will be the lack of shelter for those affected by the floods as temperatures can plummet to between -20C and -40C.

• Please pray for people affected by the flooding in Leh and for those helping them.
• Pray for the swift restoration of water supplies and that disease does not break out.
• Pray for wisdom and strength for EFICOR and EHA staff as they commence relief in the most difficult terrain in Leh.

Source: Tearfund
Photos: Eficor/Tearfund

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