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Floods hit Catholic institutions

Despite closures and evacuations due to runoff after rains, Church is still helping the needy
Floods hit Catholic institutions
Nuns waiting for the water to subside
Published: November 09, 2011 05:41 AM GMT
Updated: November 09, 2011 05:43 AM GMT

Many Catholic institutions in areas hit by the flood crisis have ceased activities and evacuated their residents, but some are also doing what they can to help badly affected people. Floods in central Thailand have caused weeks of chaotic uncertainty about inundation of the capital Bangkok and left surrounding provinces covered in stagnant and dirty water Nakhon Pathom province’s Samphran district, 30 kilometers west of Bangkok, has a large Catholic community with many Religious congregations running seminaries, schools and welfare homes. As of yesterday nearly half the district was under water and the authorities have warned the entire area will be flooded in the next few days. The Camillian Social Center, which cares for 135 elderly residents, has evacuated everyone. “The water level was increasing very fast, so last Sunday we moved the residents to San Camilo Hospital in Ratchaburi, 40 kilometers away,’’ the center’s director Father Sante Togetto said. The Marie Umpatham school run by the Salesian Sisters has been inundated by water around 60 centimeters deep, forcing it to delay opening for the new semester, according to Sister Lab Somchan. A government decree has anyway ordered schools to close until November 22. The Salesian retreat and training center Ban Thanpraporn is closed and “we also transferred elderly nuns to Ratchaburi,” Sister Lab added. The Oblates’ seminary in the district has sent its 18 seminarians to their home provinces after the water level rose to 80 centimeters. “Only three staff members remain and we’ve stopped all activities. We don’t know when we can begin operating again,” said Father Preecha Niyomtham, the institution’s deputy director. Other Catholic institutions that are still dry have opened their doors to local flood victims. The Louis Chauvet daycare center took in elderly people after their homes became flooded, its director Sister Laurence Pothinet said. Elsewhere, Samphran’s Ascension Church is currently serving as a relief center and is providing meals for people affected by the flooding. The nearby St. Joseph Umpatham school, meanwhile, is providing shelter for 60 people, according to Father Chatchawan Supaluck, parish priest of Ascension Church. “If the floodwaters reach the school, we plan to move the people to the upper floors. If the situation worsens, we’ll move them to Ratchaburi,” he added.

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