Salvation Army responds quickly to flooding in Southern India

Salvation Army emergency workers are providing urgent relief to well over 13,000 families affected by severe flooding in southern India. At least 23 people were killed and 100,000 evacuated from their homes as heavy rains and strong winds lashed the state of Andhra Pradesh for three days. Most of those killed were workers in paddy and shrimp farms in the south-eastern districts of Prakasam and Guntur, where some 400 villages and 15 towns were submerged.

Cyclonic storm Ogni had hovered over the Bay of Bengal for two days before hitting the coast of Andhra Pradesh. More than 60 centimetres of rain fell in one day, flooding towns and villages, cutting power supplies and leaving thousands of households in darkness.

Captain John Kumar, The Salvation Army’s Emergency Relief Coordinator in Chennai, was at the scene with assessment teams within hours. He writes: ‘The extent of the damage is very great. Crops are submerged under flood water and roads have been cut off. In some places the water level is as high as nine feet.

'Our assessment teams have travelled by boat to reach as many villages as they can. People are in need of urgent help and most of their thatched houses have collapsed. Our officers are providing what help they can but they only have limited local resources. Around 450 people from affected villages were taken to the Salvation Army high school in Bapatla where, with support from the local government, our relief teams provided food.'

This part of South Asia suffers regular cyclones and The Salvation Army has a large team of trained personnel. Lieut-Colonel Prema Rajan (Chief Secretary, India Central Territory) reports: ‘Trained volunteers were quickly serving at the scene. We have already surveyed the damage in 11 districts ... and are focusing our efforts on supporting 13,700 families. Teams have set out with five kilos of rice for each family.’

To support this emergency operation, US$10,000 already has been released by International Headquarters. However, this will cover less than half the funds needed for the emergency rice distribution and even more money will be needed to provide longer-term assistance to these communities. Donations to the South Asia Disaster Fund will help Salvationists in India to continue their vital work.