OMF Blog
Typhoon Morakot
OMF Taiwan - Friday 14 August 2009Major rescue and clean up operations continue in southern Taiwan in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot. Very good summaries of the current situation can be found on the BBC website here and here .
The areas worst hit are mountain communities in the south and east and it appears the final death toll will be in the 100s. Others will suffer great financial loss due to flooding and destruction of houses and crops. Those suffering most are already some of the poorest and most disadvantaged communities in Taiwan.
No OMFers are based in the areas worst hit. Some OMFers, including our Oasis Retreat Center, suffered minor flooding, water and electricity cuts. But no-one was injured or experienced significant damage.
Typhoons are a regular summer occurence and in most cases are not much more than an inconvenience, so the scale of the damage and loss of life due to Morakot is a shock to us all. Although not rated as a particularly large typhoon, it brought massive rainfall and most of the damage has been caused by the subsequent flooding and landslides.
Please pray with us as rescue efforts continue and in the coming weeks as people begin rebuilding shattered infrustructure, communities and lives. May the local church be at the forefront of efforts to bring relief and care to these people.