Five churches and a large number of Christian families in southern China were badly affected by torrential rain in the last two months.
The downpour resulted in one dead, one missing, and 18 injured in Yiyang, a prefecture-level city in Hunan province, leaving 659 houses toppled and about 71,900 displaced as of 4 p.m. on July 4, 2017, according to People.cn.
Preacher Liang Zhihui from the Anhua CCC&TSPM of Yiyang states that Xiaoyan Church was founded in the 1980s. Its two two-story buildings were dilapidated due to being soaked in the floodwaters for over 30 days. The local government ordered the church to suspend services repeatedly, so the church planned to construct a new building, expected to cost around 300,000 yuan in another site. There are some sixty members in the church.
Founded in 1993, Lilin Church has been battered by rainstorms three times in recent years. A large area of the church has been buried by mud after a massive mudslide triggered by this year's heavy rains. consequently, the items inside the church couldn't be taken out. Currently, the congregation of more than 50 people is gathering in the homes of the believers in turns. A new church building will be built somewhere else.
The construction of Kuixi Church kicked off in May 2016 with an area of 320 square meters (0.079 acres). Unfortunately, a mudslide from the mountain behind the church washed mud into it shortly before it was supposed to receive a hydroelectric generator and be put to use. The cleaning work will be completed within five or six days, adding an expense of 10,000 or 20,000 yuan to the church debt that totals 90,000 yuan for the construction.
Rev. Yi Jianhui, chairman of Yiyang CCC&TSPM, told CCD that two churches in Taojiang County have also become dangerous after being soaked in the flood. One of the two churches was hit by three floods in the last four years. This year the disaster gave rise to ground precipitation with several cracks appearing and the risk of a collapse in the bathroom.
Many believers in the two counties have suffered great loss. as well. The Yiyang CCC&TSPM shared that 105 believers' families have been affected, including a sister whose house has been inundated and all of whose belongings have been washed away.
-Translated by Karen Luo
