Since the severe earthquake that occurred at the end of October in Northern Afghanistan hillside, relief efforts continue. This earthquake had caused landslide, and over 13,000 houses were damaged. Over a thousand had been injured and 200 had perished, most of them were children and women.
CEDAR partner in Pakistan, Pak Mission Society (PMS) expresses concern over the coming winter. As the damaged area had been poor, and far from urban area, meteorologists say that the cold weather will only worsen the situation.
On 3 August, 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit Ludian County in Zhaotong, resulting in over 380 death and 1,800 injured. It is the highest scale of earthquake hitting Yunnan in the past 18 years. Tens of hundreds of houses collapsed, included several schools.
CEDAR’s Yunnan office contacted Yunnan Christian Council (YNCC) and Zhaotong City Christian Council (ZTCCC) immediately after the quake to find out the updated situation. Staff from Zhaotong Church told us that the quake affected areas are still restricted from access. A heavy rain in the first night after the quake caused serious landslide. Relief materials such as shelters, quilts, dried food, drinking water and medicines are the most needed. In the coming week, CEDAR’s staff will head to the quake affected region to assess the situation and map out a concrete relief and rehabilitation response plan.
There are many ethnic minority groups, such as Huis (the Muslim) and Miao, living in Zhaotong, Yunnan. Most of them live by farming under desperate condition. In 2012, CEDAR worked with Yunnan Christian Council to deliver one-month food supply to 6,000 families in Yiliang County, Zhaotong, (a 5.7-magnitude quake hit this area on 7 September 2012).
Please earnestly pray for the situation in Zhaotong, Yunnan:
Pray that the trapped victims will be rescued very soon;
Pray that God will heal the injured and comfort those who lost their beloved one;
Pray for the safety of relief workers and for smooth operation of the first stage of rescue and relief work;
Pray for God’s guidance on the communication and cooperation between CEDAR, YNCC and ZTCCC. Also pray that those churches located near the affected areas will take part in the coming relief response.
Emergency and Relief Donation
Please make cheque payable to ‘CEDAR FUND’
Cheque payable to ‘CEDAR FUND’
Deposit to HSBC A/C No. 600-385678-001, enclosing with the Pay-in slip
[1] CEDAR is an approved charitable institutions and trusts of a public character under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Please click Inland Revenue Department website to check for details. [2] Donations over $100 are tax deductible in Hong Kong with our receipts. [3] Please DO NOT fax any donation information.
Contact Method
Tel>23819627
Fax>23922777
Email>sharing@cedarfund.org
Add>G.P.O. Box 3212 Hong Kong
[ePrayer – Pray for the quake victims in Pakistan]
On 24 September, a 7.7 scale quake hit the mountainous south-western province of Baluchistan, Pakistan, causing more than 500 dead. A local partner of Tearfund UK, one of our long-term working partners is assessing aid needs. The quake flattened houses ‘as far as the eye can see’, according to one witness. Hundreds of people have been injured amid the collapse of buildings made from mud and bricks. Rescue efforts are underway but are being hampered by the remoteness of the affected region and disruption to transport links. A powerful 7.2-magnitude after-shock hit southwest Pakistan again on 28 Sep. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue teams are still searching for people trapped under their homes. Thousands of people have been made homeless as mud houses have collapsed and are sitting in the open waiting for help. Many villages in remote areas have still not been reached by the Pakistan’s army. [Tearfund UK]
Pray for the quake victims in Pakistan:
Please pray for those affected and that help gets to them as soon as possible;
Integral Alliance* has been watching the situation closely. Pray that God will make a way to provide the relief assistance.
* Integral is a global alliance of 18 Christian relief and development agencies, working together to present a more effective response to poverty worldwide. CEDAR is one of the member agencies.
A 6.6 earthquake hit the boarder areas of Minxian and Zhangxian counties, Dingxi city in Gansu on 22 July, followed by over 500 aftershocks. Up to 23 July, the disaster has caused 100 death and over 1,200 injured. Rain and low temperature at nights are expected in the affected areas in coming few days. Victims are in dire needs of relief items including blankets and tents. The affected areas are restricted only to official teams for rescue and emergency relief works. CEDAR is keeping a close watch on any needs there.
Pray for Gansu Quake victims:
May His comfort and protection go to the victims and families suffering in loss of lives;
Pray for the on-going emergency relief work and appropriate response to dire needs of victims.
[ePrayer – Remember the incident of factory collapse in Bangladesh]
Bangladesh must strengthen its urban search and rescue capacity, said experts, following the collapse of an eight-story factory building outside Dhaka which has caused over 400 dead. There is a criticism of the authorities’ overall handling of the operation, and the Bangladeshi government’s rejection of international search and rescue offers. More than 2,000 volunteers and local rescue teams rushed to the scene to assist. However, they soon found themselves overwhelmed and ill-equipped. There were no scanners, sniffer dog or even no protective gear (gloves and helmets) for volunteers. Besides, the overall coordination of the operation was criticised. Densely populated Dhaka is indeed at high risk of an earthquake. The incident has revealed the fact that the country is not prepared for a major earthquake. [IRIN]
Remember the incident of factory collapse in Bangladesh:
Pray for the victims and their families. May God’s comfort and healing be with them;
Pray that the government officials can learn from the lessons and make effective measures to prevent the similar tragedies and respond to the possible disasters in the future.
Lushan County, Yaan City of Sichuan, China was hit by a powerful earthquake in the early morning of 20th April causing over ten-thousand injured and over 100,000 homeless. After the quake, Sichuan Province Christian Council immediate sent workers to the quake zone to survey the damage. Since then CEDAR Fund is in close contact with local pastors in Sichuan to learn to latest situation and needs.
One of our local church contacts is the Sichuan Guanghan Church who had previously work in close partnership with CEDAR to respond to the Sichuan Quake in 2008. Together with several church members, the church pastor immediately purchased bottled water to deliver to earthquake affected area. However due to collapsed roads and traffic control, their vehicle could not proceed further. At this emergency rescue stage, only trucks with official permit can enter the seriously affected regions in Lushan County. All relief materials are gathered at an official distribution centre waiting to transport to Lushan. Yaan is a mountainous region with frequent low temperature in the night therefore warm blankets and tents are urgently needed. Other emergency items identified are clean drinking water, food items, baby food and sanitary materials for women.
In partnership with local churches and Christian partners, CEDAR will deploy staff to Yaan after the rescue stage to carry out assessment and to develop recovery plan to implement post-disaster rehabilitation activities.
The latest relief update will be released through:
Relief Donation HSBC 600-385678-001 (Please mark “Sichuan Yaan Earthquake Relief”)
About CEDAR CEDAR Fund is an independent Christian relief and development organisation found in Hong Kong in 1991. We work ‘From Church, Through Church’ and serve the impoverished communities in Asia and Africa in partnership with churches and Christian organisations worldwide, together to build a just and compassionate world in Christ.
Contact Method Tel>23819627 Fax>23922777 Email>sharing@cedarfund.org Add>G.P.O. Box 3212Hong Kong
