Manila is at a standstill, with 60% underwater. The city is low-lying, and people have been forced to stumble through waist or neck-deep waters, holding on to ropes strung from flooded houses. Flights have been cancelled, and offices, banks and schools shut down. Many of the city's most vulnerable people live in affected areas. Many villages are flooded, thousands of hectares of riceland and vegetable farms are flooded. Tens of thousands of Filipinos have been forced from their homes.
This 1 minute video is worth a look http://news.yahoo.com/video/floods-inundate-manila-095056051.html
And this article provides general news http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/470323/floods-recede-in-manila-as-thousands-evacuated
Please uphold in your prayers Deac Emma Cantor (President, Diakonia Asia Pacific) who lives in Manila, and the Deaconess associations in the Philippines as they respond to this emergency in their communities.
God of all goodness and love, in whom we can trust in every time of need:
be close to all who live in fear and distress at this time of flooding.
We pray for wisdom and strength for all who seek to help,
and that through this time of emergency, people and communities
may be drawn more closely together in service to one another;
We pray for all who are suffering the effects of the floods:
for those whose have been injured, and those who have died,
and those who have been separated from loved ones.
We pray for those whose homes have been lost or damaged,
and for those who have lost even the little they have called home.
We pray for those living with fear and uncertainty.
We pray for our diaconal sisters in the Philippines
as they take their part in responding to this crisis,
and for those who themselves are caught up in this emergency.
Be with all those affected, we pray, that they would know the calm of your presence,
through the One who stilled the raging of the storm, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
[Adapted from a Prayer by Christian Aid]
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