Super Cyclone

    SUPER CYCLONE HITS BHUBANESWAR ORISSA

   I also want to give you a brief update of my brief trip to India. If you have watched the news at all you would have learned that the area where I was going in Orissa was hit by a super cyclone the same day we were scheduled to arrive. The cyclone, packing winds of up to 160 mph and triggering towering tidal waves, hit the poverty-stricken state of Orissa. About 10,000 bodies had been recovered so far from vast lakes of flood waters and piles of debris. About 300,00 cows have been buried or burned. State officials said that 1,500 villages had been swept into oblivion, and of the 15 million people affected by the cyclone, two million had lost their homes. Four districts remained cut off by flash flooding, the army have to launched boats to take food, drinking water and medical supplies to the marooned communities. “It was sheer horror. The water just rushed in from the sea and thousands were running in every direction,” said an engineer who fled from a small village. Parents clutched babies above their heads as they ran from the waves, only to feel the fierce winds snatch the children away. “I saw an old man who was clutching his child desperately for several minutes as the waves came in. Then he let go, the child was sucked under the waters and he was thrown in a different direction,” the engineer reported.

    Dan Oles and I were to fly into Bhubaneswar and from there we would begin the 12 hour-long jeep ride into the area where we were going to be based for the next two weeks. As it turned out, we were delayed getting into India in the first place because of a heavy fog, which closed the airport in Germany. Dan eventually got into Delhi and spent about 14 hours waiting in the airport because the flight to Orissa was delayed. I was trying to leave Spain in order to connect with Dan in Delhi but was unable to because the airport had been closed in Frankfurt. The airlines were finally successful in getting me a flight through Holland the next day. They put me up in a hotel for the night where I grew anxious thinking of what Dan may be experiencing on his first night alone in India. Even under the best conditions it can be a difficult place to get around. During our planning we had talked about the possibility of one of us missing a connection and agreed that if this happened we both should try to continue on unto we got to Orissa where our native brethren would be waiting for us. I thought that this is what Dan would be doing alone. As I prayed about all this, two things occurred. One was I felt a complete peace when I thought of Dan being looked as well as I was, and that he would be experiencing the same peace I was being given. Secondly the delay, though frustrating, would somehow prove to be for my benefit. Because of this fact, I was able to rest in an unusual degree of peace and ease.

     A couple days later I caught up to Dan in the airport in Delhi. Then I learned that the airlines had moved him from sleeping in the airport into a large luxury hotel. They paid for everything. Shortly after we met the flight was cancelled for the final time that day, and they bussed everyone to another five-star hotel for the night. From there we watched the news and saw that a severe cyclone had hit the city we were going to be flying intl. It had shut down all communications and had somehow damaged the runway. Everyone remained optimistic that we would fly in the morning. Dan and I were still planning to go in, but wished we could see what the conditions were really like between Bhubaneswar and the jungle area we were going to. Again our flight was cancelled and we stayed another night at airline expense. Finally, news stories started coming in. The morning newspapers showed roads covered with water. This was bad news for us because we had to travel many hours through low lying rice fields before going up into the mountains to the jungle. Then we learned that there was no electricity in Bhubaneswar, and that heavy rain was continuing. We were unable to contact our brethren to see if they had made it in the airport at
all but continued to rest in the Lord as we waited to see what we should do.

   Finally, after it was apparent that was only a slim chance of a flight leaving in the morning, and that once we got in, there may be stranded in the flooded city of Bhubaneswar, with no assurance we could get back out, we talked about the wisdom of going in at all. We both felt a deep sense a peace about going back to the States, though we were frustrated to be within three hours of Orissa and not be able to connect with the men who may be waiting for us. If there were seats on a plane leaving that night or the next day, and if they would change our tickets then we would know that we were to leave. The hotel supervisor personally took us to the airport and escorted us into the back offices of our airline and helped us get our tickets changed in a matter of minutes. We were going home, but I still wondered if we were just too eager. We left in the middle of the night

     As we pulled into my driveway after a couple of days travel, Heather came out saying that my Indian partner, Gabriel was on the phone. He had just gotten to the airport, several days late, and was worried about us. He decided to call here to see where we were. We learned that they were safe and that the area where our churches are was not affected that much by the cyclone. I began to doubt again that we made the right decision about leaving. But as Dan and I talked with our wives, that peace came back.

    Since then I have been following the news on the Internet, and have read about the conditions there and am satisfied God was leading us out. We learned that our flight did make it the next morning, but there would be no guarantee that we would be able to travel beyond the airport. Six days after the storm ravaged Orissa, rescue efforts are just starting to get a “war footing,” with more than 5,000 army personnel clearing roads and distributing emergency supplies. The beginnings of starvation, civil disorder and epidemics have set in. Domestic news agencies report that desperate people have looted supply trucks stranded on the main highway, and police as well as paramilitaries had moved in to quell the unrest. It may be that there will be further deaths through water-borne diseases and upper respiratory tract infections. The big concern is typhoid breaking out. Bulldozers dumped bloated corpses onto the beaches to be burned in mass cremation. Troops work to protect relief convoys from angry, starving mobs. Hundreds of people who stop every car, bus or jeep that passed, seizing not only food but also whatever else is available. One Army Colonel said there were widespread complaints of looting, robbery and women being raped. Army and police are still unable to reach the worst hit areas. There is a fear that epidemics and violence will cause more deaths than the cyclone.

     We would like to get in as soon as possible, but realize it will take time for things to "get back to normal". At this time, we are thinking of going back in February. A team, lead by Ron Mandile is also scheduled to go over for the first part of February, but we will both have to wait and see. Part of the pressure to get in is that we have financial support needed by the pastors we oversee and for the children who live in the orphanage in our village. They need this help and we also want to stand with them in their difficulty.

2003 Copyright. This material is the creative property of Penn Clark