As of Thursday, at least 114 people have lost their lives and more than 120 are missing, many from the central province of Cebu. Most deaths were due to flooding.

Herman Moldez with A3 says those numbers will change. “There are still many areas where we don’t have power, and communication is poor because [the] internet is down.”

The storm is just one more layer of disaster for the people of Cebu. A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the tourist hotspot September 30, killing dozens and displacing tens of thousands. Typhoon Kalmaegi is the 20th named storm to impact the archipelago nation this year. What’s more, another storm system is on the way, called Fung-Wong.

But even as people suffer disaster upon disaster in a broken world, God is at work for good.

“Normally, in our country, this proves to be awakening,” says Moldez. “In the midst of disaster, people cry to God. They realize that there’s no one who could help but God.” 

(Image courtesy of A3)

People in the Philippines have learned that help doesn’t always come when it should. A corruption scandal broke earlier this year involving perhaps billions of dollars stolen from national projects meant to control floods. Moldez says the presence of corruption can make international aid groups hesitate to send help. But aid is exactly what is needed right now.

A3 is connected with a network of local pastors and churches. Pray that churches will be able to respond to Kalmaegi’s devastation with gospel hope and practical help. Ask God to give endurance to local believers facing so much loss and need. 

“Prayers are very important, because they strengthen the inner resource of people to become resilient, and not to give up — just to persevere in this situation,” says Moldez.

Header photo: Women and children in the Philippines. (Photo courtesy of Zeyn Afuang via Unsplash.)

Officials say the worst of the flooding struck Haiti’s southern region. Houses collapsed or were swept away, and people were still trapped under rubble as of Wednesday.

Laurent Saint-Cyr, president of Haiti’s transitional presidential council, says the government is mobilizing resources for search and rescue operations and emergency relief.

(Image courtesy of Friends of Radio-TV 4VEH, The Evangelistic Voice of Haiti via Facebook)

Haitians in the capital, Port-au-Prince — already displaced by gang violence — were hit as torrential rain flooded makeshift shelters and tent homes.

Kate Michel with Radio-TV 4VEH, a partner ministry of Trans World Radio in Haiti, says the loss is compounded by Haitians’ living situations.

“A lot of Haiti’s people are living in very vulnerable areas,” Michel explains. “They may be living in vulnerable housing that doesn’t really withstand strong winds. They may be living on the side of a hill or mountain that, when there’s a lot of heavy rainfall, the streams just come flooding down the hillside.

“My expectation is that we will see and hear more news of perhaps lives lost or people injured, people missing, homes affected, roads cut off, [and] communities stranded.”

While the storm battered Haiti’s south, 4VEH’s broadcast center on the northern coast continues to operate. In times of crisis, 4VEH becomes a practical and spiritual lifeline.

“A lot of the areas where we broadcast have no other radio stations or connections with the outside world,” Michel says. “So, particularly when there’s a very serious storm coming, we may change our programming hours, we may do more live broadcasts… and then we always have a very strong focus on prayer during our daily broadcasts.”

Now, as Haiti reels from the floods, Michel urges believers to pray. “People will have lost friends, neighbors, and family members. Maybe they’ve lost their homes and their crops and their livelihoods…. Let’s pray that the Lord will raise up the help that they need.”

Header photo: Hurricane Melissa (Photo by ABI imagery from NOAA’S GOES-19 Satellite – EOSDIS Worldview, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=177446071)

Then, a hurricane comes out of nowhere and devastates your home, city and region.

That’s what happened in Cuba last weekend. On Friday, a failure in Cuba’s largest power plant caused a nationwide outage. Then on Sunday afternoon, Hurricane Oscar struck the east coast.

Millions of Cubans were without power before Hurricane Oscar struck. (Stock photo obtained via Pexels)

“From Friday to Monday morning, the entire country was in blackout. It’s[the] first time [in] my memory that Cuba has [gone] through this kind of crisis,” says Moises* with RTM, Trans World Radio’s ministry to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Moises explains that some of the people in eastern Cuba were unaware that Hurricane Oscar was even coming. At least six people in San Antonio lost their lives. The storm destroyed more than a thousand homes in Guantánamo, among other damages.

“Many churches are concerned about the situation, the needs. So now, mainly the western side of Cuba is [working] to send help to the eastern side,” Moises says. “They are trying to send food, clothes, [as] many things [as] they can do right now.”

RTM is based on Bonaire Island, which lies off the coast of Venezuela. Its gospel-centered broadcasts to Cuba have been uninterrupted. People who still have battery-powered radios can listen in. Moises says the station is working to connect churches with each other’s prayer requests and needs. 

Would you join in prayer for the relief and rebuilding work ahead? Pray for those still without electricity to receive power quickly. Ask for God’s mercy on hurricane survivors and the families of those who were killed. 

“[Ask] the Lord [to] provide both material and spiritual resources to the churches in Cuba, so that besides continuing to preach the gospel, we can help those in need right now,” Moises says. 

“May the Lord allow us to see how through these misfortunes, the Church in Cuba can continue to glorify His name.”

Click to learn more about RTM, a ministry of Trans World Radio.

*Full name withheld for security reasons.

Header photo by MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC — This image or video was catalogued by Goddard Space Flight Center of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: 2024-10-22., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=154163831.

Eric Brew is the director of Warriors Set Free Georgia, a ministry of Set Free, based on the western edge of the state. He says the storm swung east of them and hit hard as it went north. 

“I think we’d be remiss if we didn’t say we need to be praying, right? Some folks have lost everything, so asking God for His peace and His provision to cover them is first and foremost,” Brew says. 

“Secondly, I think that we need to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to step out in faith and offer help, comfort and some practical assistance to those in need.” 

More than 160 people have lost their lives from Helene, at least 25 from Georgia. That count is feared to go up as rescue efforts continue. In the meantime, consider how you can help. It’s going to be a long rebuilding process. 

“We’re going to continue [the] mission that the Lord’s given us and then figure out ways that we can get involved to help those who have struggled [after Helene],” Brew says. 

“If there [are] any veterans, active duty, or first responders out there that want to sit down and have a conversation about some of the things that they’ve seen during this devastation, we’d love to stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters, love on them and assist them in finding ways to lay things at the foot of the Cross.” 

Connect with Warriors Set Free Georgia on Facebook, or get in touch with Eric Brew directly at eric@warriorssetfree.org. Learn more about this ministry based in Michigan and Georgia at warriorssetfree.org. 

Header photo: Georgia National Guard 1st Sgt. Michelle Abbot, senior enlisted leader with the Columbus-based Alpha Company, 876th Engineer Support Company, 878th Engineer Battalion, 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade gives route clearance guidance to her Soldiers at the Augusta Readiness Center in Augusta, Georgia, Sept. 28, 2024. (Photo and caption courtesy of Georgia National Guard via Wikimedia Commons)

“We don’t have rice on on the shelf of any supermarket or stores. Everybody’s doing stockpiling, and we cannot buy rice,” says Takeshi Takazawa with A3.

(Photo of Typhoon Shanshan’s path August-September 2024 courtesy of Supportstorm via Wikimedia Commons.)

The panic buying isn’t simply a response to one storm. In August alone, Japan endured effects of typhoons Maria, Ampil and Shanshan, as well as a 7.1-magnitude earthquake followed by warnings of a possible megaquake. Although the warning has since been lifted, authorities say the risk of a massive earthquake still exists. 

In the face of these dangers, Takazawa says people in Japan are asking, “Who takes care of me?” He says they have been noticing a decrease of help coming from the government after disasters — most recently the January 2024 quakes in Noto. 

“They (the people of Noto) continue to struggle because [the] government didn’t do [aid] the same way we had in [the disasters that happened in the] northeast and Kumamoto and other places,” says Takazawa.

“People are getting little bit more nervous about, ‘How can we take care of ourselves?’ Sixty-five percent of our food [comes] from outside [the country], and if delivery and import stops, we can be starved to death.”

Local churches have stepped into part of this gap. Takazawa says churches have been able to build networks to respond to crises such as the 2004 Niigata quake, the “triple disaster” in Fukushima in 2011, and the 2016 Kumamoto quake.

“[In] each [of these] cases, local communities saw Christian churches actually [stay] and continue to support and pray, both physically and emotionally and ultimately spiritually. That testimony has been going forth, and that’s great,” Takazawa says.

(Photo courtesy of A3)

You can be part of this story through your prayers.

“Pray for our people so that we don’t have to go through major suffering through these disasters,” says Takazawa. “But at the same time, pray for our souls so that we don’t rely on the stockpile [of resources], but ultimately God who takes care of us and loves us.”

A3 serves in Japan and other nations to encourage and equip leaders to serve their people even better in the name of Christ. Learn more about their ministry here. 

Header photo of Typhoon Shanshan August 31, 2024 courtesy of MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC via Wikimedia Commons. This image was catalogued by Goddard Space Flight Center of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: 2024-08-31., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=152018243.

At least 11,300 people are confirmed dead, but that number could be as high as 20,000 with many still missing. Now there is also a fear of disease with contaminated water in the streets.

There is still no electricity in Derna and communication is severely hampered. Local media calls it catastrophic. The situation is making it difficult for family and friends to contact missing loved ones if they are still alive.

Libyan flag (Photo courtesy of Prayercast)

Riadh Jaballah, Vice President of International Ministry and Operations with The Voice of the Martyrs Canada, says they are working to connect with their Libyan Christian contacts in the area through social media channels.

“Most of our friends live far from the affected area in Derna. One of our sisters who lives abroad, all her family lives in Derna. She lost one of her relatives families and the rest of the family members lost their homes.”

Even under normal circumstances, communication between Christians in Libya is difficult. Jaballah says, “It’s not easy at all to connect between each other for the security reasons. Christians in Libya, they are an underground church.”

As VOM Canada makes contact with more Libyan believers affected by the flooding, Jaballah asks for your prayers.

(Photo courtesy of Prayercast)

“Pray for our brothers and sisters in Libya who are suffering from fear and trauma due to these devastating disasters…but also wisdom and strength to the believers to be light and salt during these very difficult times.”

Also, please pray for improved communications and for Libyan flood survivors to soon get in touch with family and friends searching for them.

Header photo courtesy of Prayercast.

Christian World Outreach saw one of their buildings damaged in the flood, says Greg Yoder. “In the ministry Single Moms Raising Sons, part of that ministry is doing Bible studies with single moms. And one specific home where some of our Bible studies were being held I know was severely damaged in the flooding.”

“We actually are trying to figure out ways to help some of these single moms, who were already struggling, to get through another disaster.”

The South African Army has deployed thousands of soldiers to find missing people and also rebuild damaged infrastructure. Yoder says, “We just started up a program using old tires to start some gardens in these limited spaces these ladies have. It’s sad to see those are washed away already. Ladies were working with their sons on a project together that would help feed them, and that’s even gone.”

The floods started after what survivors described as “Sheet upon sheet” of rainfall. The storm delivered almost one year’s worth of rainfall in 48 hours to the region. It’s the latest in a trend of increasingly severe weather events across Africa.

How to help

Christian World Outreach typically holds camps for boys in this region, but those have been canceled to concentrate on aid for the families. You can get involved by donating here.

Pray these families would get enough food and adequate shelter in the days ahead. And ask God to comfort the survivors of this disaster.

The header photo shows a map of the heaviest rainfall. (Photo courtesy of NASA – NASA Earth Observatory, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Cyclone Tauktae’s winds got up to 130 miles per hour, making it the Arabian Sea’s fifth-strongest cyclone since 1998.

That same 48 hours, India also saw a two-day streak of the nation’s highest COVID-19 death numbers.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Mission India runs Children’s Bible Clubs and Adult Literacy Classes in Gujarat state and some of their ministry partners were impacted by the storm. Bartholomew* with Mission India says, “Many of their houses are just completely wrecked. One of the Adult Literacy Class teachers’ homes is made of tarps and just couldn’t stand up to the heavy winds. Another was made of wood and, as you can imagine, a bunch of sustained water [was] negatively impacting the wood.

“We’ve just seen so much damage to homes. Not just obviously our program and our partners, but many, many people in that area.”

Authorities tried to evacuate 200,000 people in Gujarat along the coast. But the pandemic and social distancing complicated the evacuation process.

Bartholomew says, “You just heap this on top of a massive outbreak of COVID, you’re trying to evacuate and take care of people. But how do you do that really well and quickly when, as we all know, COVID spreads very quickly en mass? So there’s a large struggle going on right now.”

“Typically, the western side of the country doesn’t see these strong cyclones. Wind gusts got up to about 130 miles per hour so this was pretty substantial. I don’t know how long we’ll be paused. But it’s certainly impacting our ability to facilitate these different programs that we have going on in that region.”

For now, the ministry has paused its programs in India’s west coast area. But Mission India hasn’t paused its purpose to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

“Our biggest thing right now is our Relief Kits,” Bartholomew says. “For $40, you can give a family of four enough food for four weeks and provide hygiene items to help them…get through COVID and hopefully prevent them from contracting the disease. But also now, as you can imagine, this totally disrupts a lot of people’s lives in India and the west coast there. So being able to provide a Relief Kit to those areas is crucial.”

To support a Relief Kit for $40, donate to Mission India here!

And Mission India wholeheartedly believes prayer is the first work of missions. So as they continue distributing Relief Kits, Bartholomew asks for prayer over India.

“They’re still seeing over 260,000 new cases of COVID each day. And we believe that is still severely undercounted. And unfortunately, now it’s going into the rural villages who have even less access to healthcare. So you can imagine trying to figure out how to get oxygen to a rural village that has no hospital; in some cases, no doctor. How do you do that? How do you take care of people?

“So pray for the nation of India at large, but also specifically for this west coast of the country as they walk through this difficult time of COVID [and] now a cyclone that’s torn apart many areas.”

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

*Name changed for security purposes.

Vincent Michael of FMI says, “Indonesia is made up of a group of islands called the Greater Sunda Islands and the Lesser Sunda Islands. And the Lesser Sunda Islands is where this latest flood happened: in the southeast part of Indonesia.”

Tropical Cyclone Seroja drenched several islands with rain, triggering landslides of hardened volcanic lava. The storm displaced over 8,000 people.

It’s rare for a cyclone to hit Indonesia so directly. But Michael says these types of flooding events have grown more common in recent years. “Infrastructure and flood prevention has always been a nightmare in Indonesia, and probably always will be. But in a relatively poor country where they don’t have a lot of money for infrastructure projects, it is going to be all the worse.”

How to pray

Pray the people caught in this disaster would receive the resources they need. Michael says, “There are churches in most regions in Indonesia, whether they’re large, influential churches or small churches. Pray for the Christians in these regions, that they can reach out and use this as an opportunity to show the love of Christ to those who are suffering.”

Additionally, pray for the future of these kinds of disasters in Indonesia. Michael says, “Pray for the government of Indonesia as some of their metropolitan centers are really swelling. Pray that God would give them wisdom on how to plan for infrastructure in those instances. Because they do have a difficult job.”

The header photo shows a scene from the aftermath of the flooding. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

Last week, Cyclone Amphan ripped through India and Bangladesh, destroying millions of homes and crops. The two countries evacuated over 3 million people before the storm hit. Officials have confirmed 84 deaths.

Amphan making landfall overt the Sundarbans. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Vincent Michael of FMI says the death toll from this storm has been lower than expected, but he wonders if it will continue to rise in the coming days. “The last cyclone that had really catastrophic effects on Bangladesh, in terms of the loss of human life, would have been in 2007. Cyclone Sidr made landfall in Bangladesh . . . the death toll for that one was about 3,500 lives lost.”

Amphan was a stronger storm than Sidr but lost a lot of its strength before making landfall. It also landed at the Sundarbans, a lightly populated area. Nevertheless, Michael says, “It had a pretty devastating impact on the infrastructure of Indian Odisha, which is where Calcutta is located. Then (it moved) into Bangladesh, in the province that we would call Khulna, which is the westernmost province of Bangladesh.”

How to pray for Bangladesh

Michael says COVID-19 had already disrupted supply lines for food and medicine in Bangladesh. “You pile on a national disaster of this magnitude, and the supply chain for life-sustaining services, particularly food and medicine, is on everyone’s mind.” FMI contacts say people need these resources the most right now.

The path of Amphan. The storm moved north toward land as its intensity diminished. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

The mass evacuations made social distancing very difficult, Michael says, “COVID-19 has actually been eclipsed in this region right now. They’re dealing with the most urgent needs: getting that food and medicine to those who need it the most.”

Michael says when a natural disaster strikes, Christians have a chance to show their hope in Jesus and the resurrection. “It’s a time for their hope in Jesus Christ to shine and stand in stark contrast to those who don’t have that hope. Our prayer at FMI would be for our partners to show their neighbors who don’t yet know the Lord Jesus a stark contrast between the way they handle the calamities of this nature and the way that those around them have. [Pray] that would be an attractive force.”

Damage done by Cyclone Amphan. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)