Tag Archives: floods

South China floods kill 22, with more rain forecast

China floods 2016

BEIJING (Reuters) – Severe floods in southern China have killed at least 22 people and left 20 missing since Saturday, the government said, with the rains expected to continue for the next three days.

About 200,000 people from eight southern provinces and regions, including Hubei, Sichuan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Zhejiang and Anhui, had been forced to evacuate, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on its website.

Storms had pushed water levels in rivers to dangerous levels, leading to crop damage and the collapse of 10,500 houses, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Estimated economic losses were 7.34 billion yuan ($1.1 billion), it said.

Three days of heavy rain last week had already killed 14 people, Xinhua said on Friday.

China has frequently been devastated by natural disasters, particularly by floods and earthquakes. Flooding, an annual problem, has been exacerbated by urban sprawl and poor drainage infrastructure in many cities.

Chinese officials had warned of the potential for record floods this year due to a strong El Nino weather pattern, which warms sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific and has been linked to serious crop damage, forest fires and flash flood and drought around the world.

(Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Thousands evacuated as France declares emergency over flooding

Road signs appear isolated in the rising waters from the Seine River as high waters causes flooding along the Seine River in Paris

By Michel Rose and Morade Azzouz

PARIS/LONGJUMEAU (Reuters) – Torrential rains across France forced thousands of people from their homes and saw stranded motorists rescued by soldiers as flood waters rose, while in Paris a metro line was shut and staff at the Louvre museum were told the venue was likely to close.

An 86-year old woman was found dead in her flooded house in a small town southwest of Paris late on Wednesday, apparently the first casualty from the heavy rains that caused the Loire and Seine rivers to burst their banks.

President Francois Hollande declared a state of emergency in the worst affected areas and promised money to help local authorities deal with the flood damage.

“Since yesterday it’s just been a deluge,” said Jerome Coiffier, an inhabitant of Longjumeau, less than 20 km (13 miles) south of Paris, where firemen wading thigh-deep in water rescued inhabitants using inflatable boats.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls visited Nemours, 75 km south of Paris, where at least 3,000 out of 13,000 inhabitants were evacuated, as flood water crept toward the second story of buildings in the town center. He called the situation “tense”.

In the French capital, the Seine rose above 5 meters (16 feet), forcing the SNCF rail operator to close an underground commuter line that runs along the river and is used by tourists to reach the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Meanwhile, Louvre museum chief Jean-Luc Martinez told employees in an internal email seen by Reuters that it was highly likely that the museum would have to shut and would then seek help from volunteers. The Musee d’Orsay said it would close earlier than planned.

In the Loire valley, the Chambord castle, a Unesco heritage site, found itself surrounded by water.

The national weather service said the greater Paris region had in May endured its wettest month since 1960.

In the Loiret region, where local officials called on the army to help evacuate motorists trapped on the A10 motorway, the floods are the most severe in 100 years.

In Paris, the Seine could peak at 5.5 meter overnight or on Friday night, the environment ministry said in a statement. The river reached a record high of 8.60 meters in 1910.

(Additional reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide and Emmanuel Jarry in Paris; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Richard Lough/Jeremy Gaunt)

Floods left thousands with nothing, Red Cross emergency appeal

A man throws a briefcase that was caught in the floods in Wellampitiya

By Magdalena Mis

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Floods in Sri Lanka which have forced more than 350,000 people from their homes have left some families with nothing, the Red Cross said on Wednesday as it launched an emergency appeal to deliver relief to tens of thousands of people in the country.

Last week’s floods, considered the worst natural disaster in the Indian Ocean region since a 2004 tsunami, destroyed more than 125,000 houses and killed at least 92 people, with a further 109 feared trapped beneath landslides.

“This disaster hit families living in both rural and urban areas,” Igor Dmitryuk, head of office at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Sri Lanka, said in a statement.

“Some lost everything and the priority is to meet their immediate needs with food, clean water, clothing and household items,” he said.

The appeal for 3.6 million Swiss francs ($3.6 million) will help 40,000 people over the next 18 months with relief items, cash transfers and guidance on safer shelter construction as they rebuild their homes, he said.

It will also provide grants for community projects to boost resilience in rural areas, and go towards repairing damaged irrigation canals and other infrastructure.

Days of torrential rain triggered floods and two landslides in the Kegalle district, about 75 miles (120 kms) east of the capital, Colombo.

Red Cross workers will ensure that people at temporary shelters have access to safe water and sanitation as part of a health and awareness campaign to prevent the spread of disease.

“There will be a lot of standing water as the floods recede which heightens the risk of disease, particularly in urban areas,” Dmitryuk said.

“We need to be vigilant to avert any public health crisis, particularly as further rains are forecast with the start of the monsoon.”

The IFRC said its teams have been helping in search and rescue efforts in the five worst affected districts of the country, as well as providing psychological support and first aid, reaching 140,000 people.

On Monday, the Sri Lankan government estimated the cost of floods and landslides at between at least $1.5 billion and $2 billion.

($1 = 0.9911 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Magdalena Mis; Editing by Jo Griffin.; Please credit Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women’s rights, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org)

Strong El Nino’s Impacts Expected to Stretch into 2016

This year’s El Niño remains on track to be one of the three strongest in the past 65 years, according to an update from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

El Niño is a weather phenomenon that occurs when part of the Pacific Ocean is warmer than usual. It sets off a far-reaching ripple effect that brings atypical weather throughout the world.

El Niño is already being blamed for Ethiopia’s worst drought in 50 years, for amplifying seasonal rains that brought devastating floods to India and for multiple other cases of extreme weather.

The latest update, published Thursday, indicates that El Niño “has matured,” though its effects are expected to last throughout the winter before ultimately weakening in the summer of 2016.

That backs earlier findings from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, which reported Tuesday that although water temperatures were still near record values, the weather pattern had shown some signs of easing. But the bureau also forecast El Niño’s impacts would be felt well into 2016.

Generally, NOAA meteorologists expect the South should receive more precipitation than usual, while the North should receive a less-than-normal amount of precipitation. It’s also generally expected to be hotter in the West and North while colder in the Southern Plains and Gulf Coast.

That’s not all-inclusive, though.

A barrage of rainstorms killed two people in Oregon and led the governor of Washington to declare a state of emergency this week. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, a climate scientist at Stanford University, Daniel Swain, said that the rainfall in that region was off to a record start.

“Of all the years in which there was a strong El Niño present in the tropical Pacific Ocean, this is the wettest start to any of those years that we’ve observed in the Pacific Northwest,” Swain told the newspaper.

The most potent El Niño on record occurred in 1997-98, and CNBC reported the weather pattern had a global economic impact of up to $45 billion that year. Beyond bringing unusual weather, strong El Niños have been known to impact agriculture, fish catches and public health.

The next three-month seasonal outlook for this year’s El Niño is due to be published on Dec. 17.

Cyclone Chapala Dumps One Year of Rain Plus on War Torn Yemen

Yemen, a country that gets an average of 4 inches of rain per year has received that and more in just this one day as Cyclone Chapala crashed it’s way onto its coast. Some news reports in Yemen are reporting up to 48 inches of flooding rains. Thousands are fleeing something that they have never seen before!  This tropical storm is the first on record to make landfall in the impoverished Arab country.

The country has been plunged into chaos this year by a conflict between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to deposed President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi. A Saudi-led coalition in March began bombing the Houthis, who are aligned with Iran.

Yemen is already dealing with one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, according to the United Nations. The widespread fighting has killed thousands of people, many of them civilians, and left millions more desperately short of food, water and medical supplies.

Now the Yemeni people are faced with 85 mph winds, incredible flash flooding, rock and mud slides and very little help.  According to news reports at least 6000 have fled to upper ground to escape the escalating flooding.  

According to news reports, Abdul-Jamil Mohammed, deputy director of the Environmental Protection Authority on the island of Socotra, a Yemeni island where Chapala has already passed reported strong winds, heavy rain and big waves overnight into Monday.

At least three people were killed and over 200 injured.  

Mohammed said the storm damaged some homes and uprooted trees in Hadibo, the capital of Socotra. Contact has been lost with the northeastern part of the island since Sunday night, and floods have covered the roads leading there, he said.

“Our problem is we have no one to help us here,” he said, explaining the island has one hospital and four ambulances. A shortage of fuel has already caused great trouble for the island.

While numerous tropical systems have formed in the Arabian Sea, it is uncommon for a storm the strength of Chapala to occur so far south and west. Chapala was the equivalent of a low-end Category 4 hurricane as it passed by Socotra.

Three Deaths in Japan Flooding

Japanese officials reported that three people have been confirmed dead in massive flooding that drove over 170,000 people from their homes.

Officials say that one woman was found dead in her floating car in Miyagi Prefecture.  Two deaths took place in Tochigi Prefecture, one from a landslide and the other from drowning.

The flooding caused by remnants of Tropical Storm Etau has caused nearly 30 injuries and 22 people are still listed as missing.  At least 180 people were still waiting for rescue from the stricken city of Joso, inundated with flood waters after the Kinugawa River jumped its banks.

The storm dumped more than 2 feet of rain in some areas.  Residents have reported over 6,500 homes have been flooded.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has raised the flood warning level for both the Yoshida river in Miyagi Prefecture and the Mogamiogumi River in Yamagata Prefecture to “level 5”, the highest possible.  Residents have been told to flee the area.

The city of Sendai, with more than 400,000 residents, has been told to prepare for evacuation.

The areas hit by the flood waters are in the path of another storm that could bring another four inches of rain over the next 36 hours.

Monster May

During a show taping not too long ago, the Lord suddenly downloaded the words “Monster May” into my spirit.  It was very much like the countless earlier times I had been given some prophetic insight rather unexpectedly but very certain, nonetheless.  When the Lord spoke the words “Major March” to me on New Year’s Eve 2010, I had no idea the extent of what was coming in March, but the somber events which were to unfold proved that those words were particularly accurate and precise.  Then, nine days before the Japan earthquake and again while on the air, the download from the Lord came again; “There’s going to be a 9-point earthquake somewhere in the world very soon.”   On March 11, 2011 we saw Japan literally moved 8 feet and the earth’s axis shifted 4 inches in a historic earthquake of epic proportion.

The Red Lights of Prophecy are Flashing!

“Hearing from the Lord” is somewhat of a mystery to most people.  But for those who read and believe what the Bible says, hearing from the Lord is not only talked about in the ancient texts, it is essential for the last days.  We are told in Acts 2:17-18 that “in the last days” the Lord will pour out His Spirit, and the result of this will be prophetic revelation in the form of visions, dreams, and prophecy. This is necessary “in the last days” because as we draw closer to the end of this age, we will need prophetic guidance more than ever.  In 1 Corinthians 14:39, Paul instructs the Church:  “So my brothers and sisters, you should truly want to prophesy…”  Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 13:9 that we know in part, and we prophesy in part.  I like the way the New Living Translation explains this:  “Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!”

Weather Even More Out of Control:  Death By Water

In 1999, the Lord woke me up in the middle of the night and instructed me to get a pen and begin to write.  One of the things He said to me was there would be “weather even more out of control:  death by water”.  It seems as though this particular prophetic word from the Lord is especially pertinent in 2011 as we see the weather causing record numbers of tornados and rain, and then the Mississippi River floods.  This entire month of May has truly been a ‘monster’, and it’s not over yet.  The effects of this ‘monster’ will be with us forever in loss of life and property, and in the ripple effect it will cause on our crops, our economy, and ultimately, our world.

Memphis Under Water

In January, 2011, Lori and I were in Memphis.  As I looked out my hotel room window, I heard the Lord say “everything you see here will be under water soon”.  The thought sent chills through me – but I know the voice of the Lord and it was an ominous warning.  I later mentioned it on the air in a broadcast in February.

New Orleans Under Water Again

It gives me no pleasure to tell you that another prophetic message given to me in April this year is that New Orleans would again be under water, and this time, they won’t recover.  As the Mississippi River swells and rushes further and further south, New Orleans is doing their best to prepare for the coming waters – but will their best be good enough?

As a “watchman” for the Lord, I see and hear these things to warn people of the coming dangers.  My whole ministry is geared toward preparation for catastrophic events that are surely coming and that’s because we are in the Last Days.  Jesus tells us all about it in Matthew 24 and in the Book of Revelation.  But the most amazing thing about Jesus is that He loves us so much that He is again echoing His prophetic warnings throughout the world to give people plenty of time to see, hear and understand what is coming and to prepare.  I can only believe He does this because He wants us to know that He has us in His heart and hand, and He doesn’t want people to suffer unnecessarily!  He wants us to know that He is coming very, very soon!

Love,

Jim

Monster May – Recap