ASSAM, INDIA (ANS) -- Officials estimate about half a million people have been displaced so far by flooding in Assam, India—and they predict the situation will get even worse.

With no home, no resources and no means of transportation, flood victims are left stranded and despairing while they wait for some form of relief.

Flooding in this area is common between June and August, India’s monsoon season. But this year, unusually heavy rains in the Himalaya Mountains have added to the flow and caused rivers to swell above danger levels.

The damage is especially severe in areas where poorly maintained dikes have burst. Thousands of families have watched as their homes, crops and livestock were washed away, and many are still stranded on river islands.

One tribal villager drowned while searching for supplies for his family. The government is trying to provide relief, but many roads in the area are flooded. Local boats are presently the best available transportation.

The government is not alone in its efforts to aid the suffering. Disaster relief teams from Gospel for Asia’s Compassion Services are doing all they can to meet people’s immediate physical needs. And along with food, clean water, blankets and medicine, these teams carry a hopeful message of God’s unshakeable peace into areas of grief and despair.

This is not the first time that Compassion Services teams have jumped at the first opportunity to help flood victims. In 2004, 200 people were killed and thousands were left homeless during one of the worst monsoon seasons in recent memory. GFA teams moved quickly to set up relief camps, giving aid to over 4,000 families.

Before passing out supplies, team leaders would explain that everything they did was in the name of Jesus Christ. Many people—even some reporters and government officials—were greatly touched and eager to learn more about Jesus.

Please pray for the salvation and safety of the recently displaced people of Assam and for the GFA teams that are working among them.

·                             Click here to read about how GFA's Compassion Services teams responded to one of the worst floods in recent history.

·                             How exactly do GFA's disaster relief teams help displaced people? Click here to view a PhotoShow about cyclone relief in Myanmar.