Indonesia (MNN) — Floods and landslides have killed over 150 in East Timor, Indonesia. Rescuers continue searching for as many as 70 missing people. See video footage of the disaster here.
Vincent Michael of FMI says, “Indonesia is made up of a group of islands called the Greater Sunda Islands and the Lesser Sunda Islands. And the Lesser Sunda Islands is where this latest flood happened: in the southeast part of Indonesia.”
Tropical Cyclone Seroja drenched several islands with rain, triggering landslides of hardened volcanic lava. The storm displaced over 8,000 people.
It’s rare for a cyclone to hit Indonesia so directly. But Michael says these types of flooding events have grown more common in recent years. “Infrastructure and flood prevention has always been a nightmare in Indonesia, and probably always will be. But in a relatively poor country where they don’t have a lot of money for infrastructure projects, it is going to be all the worse.”
How to pray
Pray the people caught in this disaster would receive the resources they need. Michael says, “There are churches in most regions in Indonesia, whether they’re large, influential churches or small churches. Pray for the Christians in these regions, that they can reach out and use this as an opportunity to show the love of Christ to those who are suffering.”
Additionally, pray for the future of these kinds of disasters in Indonesia. Michael says, “Pray for the government of Indonesia as some of their metropolitan centers are really swelling. Pray that God would give them wisdom on how to plan for infrastructure in those instances. Because they do have a difficult job.”
The header photo shows a scene from the aftermath of the flooding. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
