VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 10/14/09)—Torrential rains triggered massive flooding in the Indian states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh this past week leaving hundreds dead and more than a million and a half people displaced.  In Andhra Pradesh, where a sizable Baptist population lives, the death toll is at least 63 with over 550,000 displaced persons. 

To support the relief work of our Baptist partners in the area, the American Baptist World Relief Office has released $5000 in One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) emergency relief funds through International Ministries partners.

Three dams along the Krishna River were in danger of washing out in Andhra Pradesh and some towns and villages were entirely submerged. 

A preaching tour, led by Rev. A. John Prabhakar, Dean of External Studies at the Andhra Christian Theological College, was canceled due to the flooding and, instead, Prabhakar is attempting to coordinate relief efforts among other Christian groups in the area.  IM supports 25 Telugu Baptists at the college.

The destruction has not only claimed lives and property but also livelihood as hundreds of miles of crops in the fields, which were near harvest, were completely wiped out. 

Prior to the floods, many states in India had suffered severe droughts, leading to already increased food prices.  The loss of this year’s crops will drive those food prices even higher making recovery in the region that much more difficult.

The flooding in southern India is the latest in a string of natural disasters that has rocked this region of the world.  The Samoan earthquake and tsunami, Typhoon Ketsana and resultant flooding in the Philippines and the Indonesian earthquake have created a series of urgent needs in the western Pacific and Southern Asia.

This release of funds through the American Baptist World Relief Office joins the $25,000 already on its way to the Philippines, Indonesia, and Samoa to support ongoing relief efforts in those places. 

American Baptists wishing to support ongoing flood relief efforts can do so through their church's monthly report of mission support, designating contributions "OGHS-India Relief.”

American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with 5,500 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.