Photo Credit: Beawiharta / Reuters
The General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia has expressed his “profound grief” and condolences following the deaths of more than 100 people following a series of earthquakes in Indonesia. A 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit the island of Lombok, a popular international tourist destination, around 7.00 am WITA (Midnight, GMT) last Sunday (29 July). It resulted in the deaths of 16 people. Yesterday (Sunday) at 7.46 pm (11:46 pm GMT) a magnitude 6.9 earthquake 19 miles below the island damaged thousands of houses and buildings, and caused the deaths of at least 98 people. There have been at least 130 aftershocks.
Since yesterday’s earthquake, some 20,000 people have been evacuated to unaffected areas of the island; while a fleet of boats have been sent to rescue tourists from Lombok and other islands in the area.
Today (Monday), Dr Mathews George Chunakara, the General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia, an ecumenical body which includes all Anglican provinces in region as well as churches of many other denominations, offered his prayers for the victims and their families.
In a statement issued by the CCA, Dr Chunakara expressed his profound grief and conveyed condolences to the bereaved families. He also spoke of his appreciation for the efforts made by Indonesian authorities to bring help to the affected people and communities in Lombok and the surrounding areas.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all the people affected by the earthquake”, he said.
The Anglican Church in Indonesia is a missionary deanery of the Diocese of Singapore in the Province of South East Asia.