Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bangkok (Agenzia Fides) - "It is the first time that six Southeast Asian countries are affected simultaneously by powerful floods. It is a great emergency, the worst in 50 years, and Caritas of different countries are becoming active for relief. The confederation of Caritas Internationalis is ready to launch a global appeal ": says to Fides Fr. Cesario Sixto Sanedrin, head of Asia and Oceania office in Caritas Internationalis, commenting on the disaster of major proportions that has hit the Indochinese Peninsula and the Southeast. According to the first data provided to Fides, over 700 people - one quarter of them children – have been killed and more than 8 million people have been affected by the floods in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines.
The monsoons beat down with violence, torrential rains and typhoons have devastated the region, destroying homes, livelihoods and infrastructure, while the meteorological situation could deteriorate further during next week.
In Myanmar - informs "Karuna", the local Caritas - in the province Chin, of Christian majority, people desperately need food and shelter after heavy rains have damaged roads and bridges. In Thailand, one third of the provinces are flooded by the waters, and hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to find temporary shelters in the past two months. There is insufficient food, water and sanitation, says Caritas Thailand, while the damaged health services raise concerns about outbreaks of waterborne diseases. Even in Cambodia, there is an urgent need of food, drinking water and medical care for over 300,000 people.
The people of Laos and Vietnam have suffered flooding and inconvenience, many villages have found themselves totally isolated, while the population has seen flooded lands and unusable for agriculture.
The Christian communities in Southeast Asia, informs a local source of Fides "are working as volunteers for emergency aid and have launched a movement of prayer, so that the flood ceases, so that all who those who have lost their loved ones may be comforted in their pain, and so all those in need receive help, asking for the support of Christians around the world". (PA) (Agenzia Fides 24/10/2011)
