July 23, 2009
At least 24 people died and hundreds were left homeless after the worst floods to hit Mongolia in 43 years devastated the landlocked nation. The floods struck last week as a result of severe rain storms in Ulaanbaatar, the capital.
Although the government issued televised warnings prior to the rainstorms, many children and elderly people could not be evacuated in time, CNN reports.
“There were three districts of the city that were primarily affected,” says Alliance worker Bernie Anderson. “Most of these were low-lying ‘ger communities’ with poor drainage and unsanitary living conditions. One family was particularly devastated in that they lost not only their home but three of their children in the floodwaters.”
Concerns voiced by the local media include the potential spread of disease, compounded by the possibility of snow in a mere eight weeks or less. “The onslaught of a notorious Mongolian winter could be a very bad situation for the families without adequate housing,” Anderson says.
“We are inquiring from all three districts to see if there is anything that we can do to help with relief efforts. The local government is working to provide gers for the families [that have been displaced]. We’ve had continued rain this week, and some of the same areas were hit with repeat flash flooding,” Anderson adds. As a result, several families lost their new homes to the flood waters again this week. “The Mongolian government is working now to move these families to another location.”
Compassion and Mercy Associates (CAMA), the Alliance relief arm, is ready to come alongside government efforts as needed to address the flooding.
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in Mongolia.
Learn more about CAMA.
What You Can Do
Pray for all those who have been impacted by this disaster: that God will meet their needs and that He will use this tragedy to draw many people to Himself. Also, pray for Alliance workers and national believers as they minister to those in need.
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