The National Council of Churches expresses its grave concern for the lives and well being of the people of the state of Kerala in India after the recent flooding there. According to reports, it is the worst flooding in nearly a century.
One of the NCC member churches, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, is rooted in the region. In an appeal from the American Diocese of the church, it was reported that more than 400 people have been killed; 220,000 people have been made homeless; 20,000 houses have been destroyed; and nearly 1,000,000 people have sought refuge in relief camps. As the Diocesan Metropolitan, Zachariah Mar Nicholovos, lamented after returning from the region, “It grieves us deeply to see our homeland in such devastation.”
Two other NCC member churches with integral ties to Kerala are the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and the Mar Thoma Church.
The NCC and all of our member communions mourn the loss of life, and we pray for the recovery of Kerala as the survivors begin the work of restoring their homeland.