“Catastrophic calamities are coming upon the earth, not one of these days in the distant future, but soon—now! Torrential rains, unsettling weather patterns, violent storms, floods, famines, droughts, earthquakes increasing in frequency and intensity, volcanic eruptions, and a host of other signs of the times Jesus told us to watch for are happening now.”

-Jim Bakker in “Prosperity and the Coming Apocalypse”

Over two million people are still without power and the death toll has risen to 18 in the aftermath of a weekend storm that roared across the eastern United States. Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio and the District of Columbia have declared states of emergency due to the disaster.

Power is reported out along the eastern seaboard from New Jersey to North Carolina and as far west as Illinois.

Compounding the problem is a record heat waves that is keeping daytime temperatures at and over 100 degrees. Many residents have no access to air conditioning or refrigerators.

Most of the deaths have been blamed on trees falling on homes or cars in the initial path of the derecho (straight line winds ahead of a thunderstorm). A 90-year-old woman in Virginia was killed when a tree fell on her house while she slept.

The death toll could climb higher due to the excessive heat and the lack of power providing ways for people to keep cool. Emergency officials in multiple states are encouraging people to check on elderly and homebound neighbors to see if they are in distress.

Utility workers from across the United States are rushing to the region to try and help restore power.