Letter Describes Earthquake's Devastation in India
Episcopal News Service. October 22, 1993 [93183D]
In an October 8 letter to members of the Anglican Communion, Dr. V.S. Lall, general secretary of the synod of the Church of Northern India (CNI), described the "devastating earthquake that struck a large area of the Maharashtra state." In the letter, Lall gives a vivid description of the quake's aftermath: "No words can ever explain the agony of those who have become the direct victims of this calamity. Death came suddenly with thundering sound when the entire population of the affected area was fast asleep. According to the news for almost 35,000 persons the death seems to have been instant, whereas a much larger number became seriously injured. The dwellings crumbled with the impact of the quake. Where there were happy farming communities, suddenly the heaps of debris were all that was left and the bumper crops of millet and sunflowers stood ready to be harvested but alas, those who had labored hard to raise these crops were all dead and gone and no one was left... Such is the extent of damage and devastation." Lall called for prayers and special efforts to assist the victims of the earthquake and gave thanks for the response that has already been received. "Some of you have expressed your concern and solidarity with the affected people. We thank God for this great feeling of being one in the larger family of the Church Universal." The CNI, a member of the Anglican Communion, was inaugurated in 1970 as the union of six churches: the Anglican Church, the United Church of Northern India (Congregationalist and Presbyterian), the Council of Baptist Churches in Northern India, the Church of the Brethren in India and the Disciples of Christ.