Comfort and Strength to the People of Indonesia in the Wake of Natural Disasters

That more than 380 people have fallen victim to an earthquake and its aftermath tsunami in Palu, on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, last Friday, clearly underscores humanity's vulnerability to the wrath and power of natural disasters. We send our condolences to the people of Indonesia and our prayers of comfort, and strength toward a resolve to rebuild.

Last Friday a 7.5 earthquake struck the seismic-prone area sending a tsunami of some 10-feet-tall onto the vacation land. Hospitals, streets, buildings and neighborhoods were decimated with flooding sea water resulting in the hundreds of casualties. Indonesia, like a number of other nations in Asia, sits on the Ring of Fire - an active volcanic plate stretching to Hawaii, Alaska and northern Europe.

In the meantime, in the Caribbean, flooding from Hurricane Kirk inundated parts of Barbados, especially the vulnerable northern parish of St. Andrew with a deluge of water. We also extend our comfort to the people of my birth land.   

Yet, we remain conscious that no one on Planet Earth is immune from natural disasters, thus we stand at the ready to aid each other as Mother Nature completes her natural cycle. Comfort and strength to all.