Super Cyclone Slams South Asia, Gospel for Asia Rushes to Help

One of America’s biggest mission agencies was gearing up today to respond to a “super cyclone” in South Asia—a region also battling a coronavirus surge that’s created a health and hunger crisis.

Cyclone Amphan—a Category 2 hurricane-strength storm with winds over 100 miles per hour—slammed into the densely populated Bay of Bengal delta region with devastating force on Wednesday, causing widespread fear and storm surges up to 17 feet.

“The severity of the cyclone and rains is unimaginable,” said a church leader working alongside Texas-based mission agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World). “All our networks seem to have stopped.”

Another church leader in hard-hit West Bengal, India, said a river embankment had collapsed and the locals—mostly fishermen and their families—were fleeing for their lives and taking refuge in schools.

“Coronavirus has already paralyzed the region, and this disaster just makes the whole situation worse,” said Gospel for Asia (GFA) founder Dr. K.P. Yohannan. “These are mega disasters rolling into one—and the result could be catastrophic.”

Gospel for Asia (GFA) is preparing to deploy its ‘Servant Boat’ team to the Sundarbans—a cluster of dozens of islands in the cyclone’s direct path, where 4.5 million villagers live in mud houses amid extreme poverty. The islands straddle the border of India and Bangladesh.

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Learn more about the need for Disaster Relief Work and how you can help GFA-supported Compassion Services teams provide things like food, blankets, medicine and other emergency supplies to disaster-affected people and villages across Asia.