Displaying items by tag: tornadoes

Residents across a wide swath of the USA experienced destruction from fierce storms which spawned 52 tornadoes in 11 states, killing at least 32 people, between 2 and 3 April. Storms tore a path through the Arkansas capital, and the roof of a packed Illinois concert venue collapsed. People throughout the region were stunned by the extent of the damage. Pray for families mourning the loss of loved ones, desperately waiting for news of others fighting for their lives, and sorting through the rubble of their homes and businesses. President Biden declared broad areas as major disaster areas. Arkansas declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard for destroyed neighbourhoods. Then on 5 April, a tornado with 130 mph winds tore through Bollinger County, Missouri. It will take days to confirm the number of all the recent tornadoes and deaths.

Entire towns in the USA were destroyed by about 30 tornadoes causing widespread devastation on 10 December. Kentucky is a disaster area; Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois are in a state of emergency. One tornado flattened a candle factory with 100+ inside. An Amazon warehouse collapsed causing a ‘mass casualty incident’. Churches and mission groups, including Billy Graham Rapid Response Teams https://lp.billygraham.org/rrt/ chaplains, and mobile ministry centres are there to pray with people. Please pray for God to bind up broken hearts and for many to come to know Jesus - ‘a stronghold to the poor, help to the needy in distress, a shelter from the storm’. Pray for the emergency teams offering resources and temporary housing for the homeless. Pray for the tens of thousands of people without power and water. Pray for 300+ National Guards going door to door, though many don’t have doors any more. Pray for those salvaging homes reduced to rubble

On 25 June five people were killed and hundreds injured as a tornado wreaked havoc in the Czech Republic, with tennis-ball-sized hailstones hitting several villages in South Moravia. In the village of Luzice 120 houses were destroyed or damaged, roofs ripped off, windows blown out, cars overturned and debris scattered through the streets. Eight people were hospitalised after a tornado hit Chicago suburbs and damaged over 130 homes. In England a tornado that hit Barking left the area looking as if a bomb had gone off. Houses were seriously damaged, walls knocked down, and cars destroyed. Flash flooding caused trees and debris to be blown around the streets. There were also flash floods in Somerset.

Two 175 mph tornado storms touched down in Tennessee killing 24 people, sending 150+ to hospital, leaving tens of thousands of families and businesses without power, and collapsing hundreds of structures. Let us pray for the hundreds of families assessing the damage and tragedy, dealing with heartache, and facing a future of hardship. Pray for adequate aid and provisions to be made available for the many displaced people in shelters. The state’s governor has asked the White House for federal assistance. Donald Trump tweeted that the government is standing with Tennessee and monitoring the situation. Ask God to continue to strengthen the scores of people helping families who lost their homes in the storms. Complete strangers have been picking up debris and helping families go through the rubble. See

Tornado activity is not rare in the United States at this time of year, but the impacts and width of recent storms are notable, creating more fatalities in one day than from tornadoes in the past three Decembers combined. Pray for those who have lost homes, possessions and loved ones in parts of Louisiana ransacked with 160 mph winds. Please continue to pray for Australians living in areas under a total fire ban amid dangerous record-breaking heat and wild winds. 100 wildfires are still scorching 5.3 million acres and covering Sydney in toxic smog. In Malaysia, by 18 December over 10,000 flood victims had been evacuated and taken to 100 relief centres. Pray for the people with disabilities, the elderly and children affected by an extreme unabated monsoon season with flood waters reaching 2.5m deep. See