OCA Faithful Asked to Contribute to Victims of Asian Earthquake, Tsunamis
— In the wake of what has been called the worst natural disaster in recorded history, the faithful of the Orthodox Church in America are being called upon to offer assistance to victims of the Asian earthquake and the tsunamis that rocked southeast Asia during the last week of December 2004.
Faithful and parishes are encouraged to send contributions to International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), with which the OCA is working in cooperation. Donations may be sent to the “IOCC Asia Disaster Response,” P.O. Box 630225, Baltimore, MD 21263-0225 or made online at http://www.iocc.org or by calling toll-free 1-877-803-IOCC (4622).
According to a December 29 press release issued by the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia, which is preparing to work with the Orthodox Churches in Indonesia and India to offer assistance to some of the millions affected by the tragedy, the death toll has already approached 60,000.
“There is a significant Orthodox presence on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, including numerous churches, schools, and other philanthropic sites,” the press release stated. “His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas has been in contact with Indonesian Orthodox clergy and Orthodox brethren in southern India since the time of the disaster and is able to report that none of the faithful have been seriously injured, and very little damage has been done to churches and related buildings.”
The earthquake, which was centered off the western coast of North Sumatra, was the most powerful earthquake in the world in the last 40 years, registering 8.9 on the Richter scale. Orthodox faithful in Bangkok and in southern India, both thousands of kilometers from the epicenter, reported feeling the shaking early on Sunday morning. While the earthquake caused significant damage to the infrastructure in nearby Aceh, North Sumatra, those results were dwarfed by the damage to occur merely hours later. Massive tsunamis, or tidal waves, ravaged across the Andaman Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and greater Indian Ocean, causing death and destruction in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and as far west as Somalia. Anyone working, living, or vacationing by the coast in the affected areas was washed out to sea or sent running for his or her life. Over a third of the victims found so far have been children, as they stood the least chance of surviving in rushing water.