Cyclone Amphan:
Pray as heavy rains hit India and Bangladesh
The biggest storm of a decade made landfall in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday 20 May, with winds equal in force to a category five hurricane. Please join us as we pray for India and Bangladesh, and for the protection of millions of people seeking refuge in cyclone shelters.
Millions of people across Bangladesh and India are seeking refuge in storm shelters and schools as Cyclone Amphan wreaks havoc on the Bay of Bengal. Fears surrounding the Covid-19 Coronavirus add complexity to evacuation plans in the two nations, as more cyclone shelters than usual are needed so that people can maintain social distancing measures. In Odisha (formerly Orissa) alone, hundreds of shelters are already being used as Covid-19 quarantine centres, and urgent prayer is needed that the virus would be contained even while people seek refuge from the storm.
Please pray for India and Bangladesh:
- Please pray that the millions of people being evacuated would be protected from the strong rains and winds as they travel.
- The severity of the storm in Bangladesh will depend on whether it strikes at high or low tide. Please pray that God would calm the winds as they approach and protect those sheltering along the coast.
- The arrival of Cyclone Amphan has been described as “a crisis on top of a crisis”. Please pray that social distancing measures can be maintained despite the extreme challenge the cyclone poses to both countries, and that India and Bangladesh would not see a rise in Coronavirus cases as a result of the storm.
- Please pray that more cyclone shelters would be found across India and Bangladesh, that road and rail infrastructure would not suffer, and that crops and livelihoods would be protected from the storm’s destructive path.
- Pray for those who have lost loved ones, whose homes have been destroyed, and whose lives have been made even more precarious because of Cyclone Amphan. Pray that they would know God’s comfort and find help.
BMS World Mission’s disaster recovery fund raises money before disasters happen, so that we can respond when they do. Find out more about how BMS responds effectively when a crisis hits, here.
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