Bombay Floods Kill Nearly 1,000; Christians Escape After Lengthy Delay

Record rainfall from eight days ago in Bombay, India and the ensuing floods have killed nearly 1,000 people. As the waters begin to recede, Christian Aid has donated funds to a local partner organization to help the affected, especially in rural area

Record rainfall from eight days ago in Bombay, India and the ensuing floods have killed nearly 1,000 people. As the waters begin to recede, Christian Aid has donated funds to a local partner organization to help the affected, especially in rural areas.

On Tuesday, July 26, about 37 inches of rain fell on the city, according to Reuters. Many low-lying parts of the city of more than 15 million people are still flooded as fears of illness from spilled sewage increase, according to Reuters.

Local government officials are looking to clear garbage, improve public sanitation and provide clean water supplies.

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The monsoon rains come every year, killing hundreds of people, but this season has been particularly stressing as it is one of the worst rainfall disasters on record, stated Reuters.

Providing immediate response, Christian Aid donated almost $90,000 to one its local partners, humanitarian aid organization Church's Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA).

Staff of CASA were initially caught in the disorder brought about by the floods. Sam Selwine of CASA, whose office was in Central Bombay on Tuesday described how surprisingly quick the water levels grew.

"At first the rain was not heavy, but then we started to see the trees surrounded by water and rain lash against the windows," he said in a release from Goo. "So I said, let’s go home, it is not good to stay here."

However, upon making their way back home, Selwine and seven other staff members who were making their way across the city were stuck in their car for 14 hours without food and just two bottles of water.

As they traveled home they had to put their training as aid workers to use in their own homes, an unexpected turn of events for Selwine.

"We have done lots of disaster training at CASA, but it is very different when it hits your own family," Selwine said. "You feel the pain."

However Selwine is also concerned about many of the "poorest of the poor" who have been affected in rural areas.