Help the people of Sri Lanka Donate to Flood Relief

100% goes to food, blankets, medicine and other emergency supplies for our Compassion Services teams to take to flooded villages.

Photo Updates

A convoy of Gospel for Asia Compassion Services trucks navigates a flooded waterway to deliver emergency supplies.


A truckload of emergency food supplies is ready to be distributed to flood victims.


A Gospel for Asia-supported missionary provides emergency food supplies to a flood victim in Sri Lanka.


These Sri Lankans now have something to eat.


The Compassion Services teams worked long into the night getting supplies to affected villages.

Sri Lanka Flood Facts

-513,000+ people affected
-17,039 people forced out of their homes
-1,354 houses destroyed
-14 of the 25 Sri Lankan districts (states) affected
-13 inches of unexpected rainfall over a five-day period

Contents of an Emergency Food Packet for Flood Victims

Rice, Dahl (lentil beans), Potatoes, Sugar, Tea, Onion, Salt, Dried fish, Milk, Water

Photos of damage

A home affected by the flooding in Sri Lanka. This home is still standing, but many homes were toppled by the rushing water.


Many people cannot buy food because roads and businesses are flooded.


This home sustained severe damage in the flooding.


Streets are flooded, making transportation difficult.


A Gospel for Asia-supported missionary is forced to walk his motorbike through a flooded street.

"Today I visited 20 places in the western province where there are more than 3,000 people affected," said Lal Vanderwall, Gospel for Asia's Sri Lanka country leader. "Children lost their school uniforms and books. When people return to their houses after the water subsides, they will have to begin their lives from scratch."

Right now, teams are helping people with food, water and medical supplies. Many victims are staying in refugee centers set up in Buddhist temples, which are always built on the highest spot in town and are therefore rarely flooded. Schools and churches that escaped the worst of the flooding are also being transformed into makeshift shelters.

The schools have cancelled classes indefinitely.

The government has also sent in military helicopters to rescue those trapped in low-lying areas. No one is sure when the people will be able to return to their homes. Sri Lanka was inundated with more than 13 inches of rain in five days. The rain, which was not predicted by forecasters, was caused when Cyclone Laila stirred up the waters in the Bay of Bengal. While the cyclone never actually struck Sri Lanka, its side effects created the storms that swamped the island nation.

To make matters worse, Sri Lanka is expected to begin receiving its annual monsoon rains this week. The annual weather pattern brings anywhere from 100 to 200 inches of rain on the country in an approximate three-month time span. The annual rain is very important to the country as it fills up reservoirs and provides the water needed to grow crops. This year however, it is likely to cause more misery to the millions of impoverished Sri Lankans who live in flood-prone areas. When Sri Lankans return home, the Compassion Services teams will shift gears and begin helping them rebuild lives, starting with their most basic need—clean water.

"We are ready to clean the wells and purify water for them," Vanderwall said. "We're thankful for the Texas Baptist Men, who generously gave our brothers their water pumps, generators and shared their expertise."

In the aftermath of the 2004 Asian Tsunami, the Texas Baptist Men trained GFA-supported missionaries on how to clean and restore wells. They also donated well-cleaning equipment, which will be useful again this year.

Once the people return home, Compassion Services teams will provide new cooking utensils, bed linens and other household items. Additionally, they will work alongside their fellow countrymen to rebuild and restore what was damaged by the storm, be it a fishing boat, a small store or a family farm.

While the main focus is to care for the people's physical needs, they will not neglect their spiritual needs either. "This is the time for us to be salt and light," Vanderwall said. "It is a great time to share the love of our Lord." Vanderwall asks for prayer that the rain will slow down and the water will quickly subside. He also asks for prayer that the coming monsoon rains will not make the flooding situation any worse.

"This is the worst flooding to hit the country since the Asian tsunami devastated Sri Lanka in 2004," said Gospel for Asia President Dr. K.P. Yohannan. "They had absolutely no warning that this huge storm was on the way. It took them totally by surprise."

Yohannan had just spoken with Lal Vanderwal, GFA's country leader in Sri Lanka, who reports that entire villages are underwater.

"Their homes are flooded and they've lost everything," Dr. Yohannan said. "The children don't have any clean clothes to wear and their schoolbooks have been destroyed."

The flooding was caused by torrential rains that inundated the teardrop-shaped island for more than a week. Sri Lanka, a country of 18.6 million people, is located off the southeast coast of India. Its location in the Bay of Bengal makes it subject to the seasonal monsoon weather pattern. The monsoon rains, which last for months, usually arrive in the last few days of May. Meteorologists say these disastrous pre-monsoon rainstorms were intensified by Cyclone Laila, which recently blasted the Bay of Bengal and is devastating some of India's coastal areas. While Cyclone Laila spared Sri Lanka, it is blamed for 16 deaths in India.

Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Center reports that more than 600,000 people were displaced by the flooding. Many of those affected are the poorest of the poor who live in low-lying areas and shanty-type structures, which have no chance against the brutal force of the driving rain or the fast-moving floodwater. One major city is facing a grim situation with more than 40,000 homes damaged by the floods, and subsequent landslides.

Gospel for Asia Compassion Services teams are already providing emergency medical care, food rations, clean water, and other immediate household needs.

"As soon as the extent of the devastation became clear, a high-ranking elected official in the Sri Lankan government contacted our leaders and asked us to help," Dr. Yohannan said. "This government official said the need is so great, and they know that we are always ready to bring aid."

The Compassion Services teams, mobilized out of the more than 100 Sri Lankan churches led by Gospel for Asia-supported missionaries, will spend the first few days taking care of immediate food, shelter and clothing needs. They are already distributing food packets containing rice, lentil beans, sugar, milk, potatoes, dried fish, crackers, salt and soap.

Once the floodwaters subside they will shift gears and begin the task of helping flood victims rebuild their lives.

One of the first tasks will be to clean out thousands of water wells that have been contaminated by the floods. Later, they will rebuild homes, and restore items needed for the people to maintain their livelihood.

In addition to helping the people, GFA-supported missionaries will have to assess the damages to their own churches and to the dozens of Bridge of Hope Centers on the island.

"We have months and months of work ahead of us," Dr. Yohannan said