Displaying items by tag: deaths

This year’s rainy season in Chennai is as heavy as 2015, when 200 people died in floods. Fortunately, the death count is lower this time, but heavy rains are still pounding the area, so the danger continues. Uprooted trees block roads, cars are damaged, and people wade through knee-high water. The rains are taxing the infrastructure. To avoid the danger of electrocution, the government shut down the power grid in some areas. If the rains continue, other low-lying areas of Chennai will be in danger. Pray for God's mercy for those who are most vulnerable to flooding, cholera, and electrocution. Illegal building has left Chennai vulnerable to flood damage; pray for God to raise up righteous decision-makers. Pray for those suffering amid days of stagnant waterlogging and no power. ‘Drainage water is mixed with rainwater, causing odour, and a lot of insects and snakes are coming into the house,’ said a local.

Record-breaking rains and heavy flooding have killed over 150 people in India and Nepal in recent days. 77 have been killed, 22+ injured, and 26 are missing across Western Nepal; at least 46 have died in Uttarakhand, and 27 bodies have been recovered in Kerala. 11 teams from the National Disaster Response Force also evacuated 6,500 people to 184 relief camps. Crops have been destroyed, roads are waterlogged, bridges washed away, vehicles submerged, and houses reduced to rubble in Kerala, home to 33 million people. The flooding comes in the middle of a religious pilgrimage when Hindus journey to Uttarakhand. 3,000 pilgrims were evacuated from a barge on the Sarda River, which had overflowed. Meanwhile more than 200 families are currently in a further 26 evacuation camps across the state. Heavy rainfall is forecast to continue for the coming days, and residents are urged to stay indoors.

Two people are dead, five are missing, 31 injured and five in intensive care after an explosion at a German chemical site. The blast in Leverkusen had been declared an ‘extreme threat’ after sending a large black cloud rising into the air. Emergency services took three hours to extinguish the fire at the Chempark site. Police asked nearby residents to remain in their homes and keep windows and doors shut. Playgrounds in nearby neighbourhoods were closed and residents told to rinse fruit and vegetables from their gardens before eating them. Chempark ‘s chief said, ‘Hopes of finding the missing alive are fading. Solvents were burned during the incident, and we do not know precisely what substances were released. We are examining this with authorities, taking samples.’ The explosion was at a rubbish incineration plant of the chemical park. The smoke cloud is moving toward the towns of Burscheid and Leichlingen.

The UN reported the number of Afghan civilians killed or hurt has sharply increased since the Western coalition began pulling out of the country. A total of 1,659 civilians were killed and 3,254 injured in the first half of 2021, a 47% increase from the same period in 2020. The actual numbers may be even higher, considering that the UN only records casualties it is able to verify independently. Out of those killed or maimed, 46% were women and children. The Taliban and other militants were responsible for 64% of civilian casualties, while 25% were attributed to pro-government forces and 11% to ‘crossfire’ between warring parties. An alarming trend of growing death toll since May reveals the highest number since the UN began keeping records in 2009. If this violence is not stemmed, an unprecedented number of civilians will perish or be maimed this year.

The death toll from flooding in Western Europe keeps climbing as rescue workers dig deeper into debris left by receding waters. Germany’s finance minister has proposed a package of immediate aid, of more than 300 million euros. Pray for the government also to dig deeper into available funds so that suitable rebuilding programs can be set up speedily. From experience with previous flooding, costs will be in the billions of euros. Police fear the number of dead may still rise in many areas. Pope Francis offered a prayer for the flood victims and for the efforts of all to help those who suffered great damage: ‘I express my closeness to the populations of Germany, Belgium and Holland, hit by catastrophic flooding.’ German officials have asked people not to make any more donations, as their generosity has left storage facilities for clothes and food full.

At least 33 people have died in the ‘heaviest rainfall in a millennium’ in central China. The torrential floods paralysed several cities, causing millions of pounds in damage. Vast swathes of Zhengzhou city are under several feet of water. Cars float down streets and 200,000 people fled flooding in Henan province, home to China’s agricultural industry. The subway flooded, trapping passengers inside carriages as water levels rose. Platforms were submerged and commuters clung to railings to keep their heads above the fast-flowing deluge as air was running out. Train services across the province have been suspended, highways remain closed, and flights cancelled. At least two dams in Inner Mongolia have collapsed. Other dams that enclose China’s reservoirs are threatening to fail. Rescue workers are evacuating residents from Hefei, and a hospital with 7,000+ beds lost power, with staff racing to relocate hundreds of critically ill patients. More rain is expected in the coming days.

New York, which saw 51 shootings over the 4 July holiday weekend, has become the first US state to declare a disaster emergency order to address rising gun violence. It comes amid reports of a rise in gun deaths countrywide, including nearly 200 over the same weekend. State governor Andrew Cuomo signed the executive order that will funnel the equivalent of £100m towards gun violence intervention and prevention. In March, the FBI released preliminary 2020 statistics showing a significant jump of 25% in murders from the year before. The upward trend has continued into 2021. The majority of homicides are gun-related. In late June Joe Biden unveiled a strategy to combat rising homicides including curtailing rogue gun dealers and firearms trafficking and more funding for law enforcement. The state disaster declaration describes gun violence as a public health crisis, and more people are now dying from gun violence than from Covid.

As of 7^th July, the total number of confirmed deaths due to the collapse of the Florida apartment block stands at 36, while 109 residents are still missing.  Emergency teams are increasingly pessimistic of finding any more survivors among the rubble and say they have detected no signs of life since the immediate aftermath.

Nearly 2 weeks after the collapse, the search continues but with few positive signs.  The building’s collapse occurred at about 1:20 a.m. on June 24 while almost all of the residents were sleeping. The structural failure initially began in the pool deck and garage areas, which engineers believe triggered the collapse of the midsection of the tower and then the front part facing the ocean. Fifty-five of the 136 condo units were destroyed.

Particular help has come from local synagogues given the apartment block, Champlain Tower South Condo, was in the area of Surfside, which has a tight knit Jewish community.

Many members are affected by the disaster: at least 34 of the missing are Jewish, one local synagogue told journalists.  Synagogues in the neighbourhood have been collecting money and providing food for rescue workers and survivors. One synagogue raised more than $100,000 in just a few hours.

Pope Francis sent a message to the Archbishop of Miami, the Most Revd Thomas Wenski, on Saturday, and offered “heartfelt prayer that Almighty God will grant eternal peace to those who have died, comfort to those who mourn their loss, and strength to all those affected by this immense tragedy”.

The cause of the collapse is not clear, although an engineer’s report from 2018, revealed on Saturday, referred to “a major error” in the original design of the 12-storey sea-front Champlain Towers. It said that the fault prevented water from draining away from the base of the building.

The Bishop of Southeast Florida, the Rt Revd Peter Eaton, said that prayers were said in the diocese on Sunday. “We pray for the dead and the grieving, the injured, and those still unaccounted for, and their family and friends who are waiting anxiously for news of them. We also pray for those who are now homeless, and who have lost everything.”

He asked Episcopalians: “Please remember in your prayers, as well, those who are working around the clock to search for survivors, to recover the dead, and to account for the missing.”

Sources / More: The Church Times, MSN News

Pray:

Pray with us for grieving families and individuals, that they may be comforted by the overwhelming peace of God. (Psalm 34:18)
Pray for the search and rescue teams, that they may be sustained in hope and strength even as they grow wearier and more despondent.
Pray with us for the local Church, that they will know how best to reach out in love and support to those affected.

Brad Cohen and his brother-in-law died in the collapsed apartment building. Soraya Cohen said, ‘The hardest thing has been seeing my 12-year-old daughter’s devastation, she was very close to her father.’ Harry Rosenberg, 52, also missing, relocated to Miami following the loss of his wife, Anna, to cancer and both of his parents to Covid in the past year. He recently told a fellow congregant at the local synagogue he was entering the next chapter of his life. Harry had spent three years caring for his sick wife and had recently bought a unit big enough to welcome friends and family. Mr Rosenberg’s daughter, Malky Weiss, 27, and son-in-law, Benny Weiss, 32 are also missing. At 92, Hilda Noriega lived for her faith first, her family second, and her friends third. The Chabad community has businesses, schools and restaurants catering for the Jewish community growing around the apartments. See also

250 deaths have been reported across the Pacific northwest. Unprecedented numbers have died in Canada from unbearable heat that has smashed temperature records. Vancouver police responded to over 130 sudden deaths. Casualties were mostly elderly or those with health conditions a contributing factor. British Columbia broke temperature records 3 days in a row (49.6C or 121.3F). A spontaneous wildfire forced the village of Lytton to evacuate on 1 July, a day after it recorded the country's highest-ever temperature. The fire spread through the village of 250 people in just 15 minutes. The USA also has record highs; fatalities will rise as some areas have yet to collate the numbers. Pray for those without air conditioning and the families of heatstroke victims. Pray for fire brigades working to prevent wildfires and for communities to help each other to stay cool. May relatives and neighbours recognise danger signs and ensure the vulnerable stay in the shade, wear a hat, and other things they may need reminding of.