Story number 1 for 28 Jun 2002

(China)–We begin today in China where heavy flooding has killed at least 543 people this month. Officials fear the toll is likely to jump when the summer flood season peaks in July and August. World Vision’s Victor Kan says they immediately sent an assessment team to the region. “The rice crops, they’re supposed to harvest in the middle of July so, we’re talking within three weeks’ time, all those crops in the field are gone. We discovered that food is the new urgency now-that’s why we concentrated a lot of our efforts on foodstuffs, mostly rice.” Kan says their workers are often asked why they’re helping. For many of their workers, it’s a matter of sharing the hope of Christ; however, they need the support of the church body. “We need prayers and also, of course, physical help, that we can touch on more needs and more people, as we go along. The flooding this year was a little early; we still have July and August to go.”