Displaying items by tag: floods

Increased temperatures in the Indian Ocean have caused heavy rainfall and widespread flooding and destruction in different countries. In Kenya 29 people were killed in flash floods, nearly 12,000 have been displaced, and agriculture is hard hit, with 10,000+ livestock animals drowning. Caritas has appealed for food, first aid, and funds to distribute to the needy. In South Sudan, Bishop Majwok has requested the government to declare a state of national disaster as 283,000 square kilometres of his diocese are under water. Rains have devastated the country since July. Wet weather has worsened the humanitarian situation in 32 counties, where over three million people already needed assistance. In Somalia over 182,000 people are homeless due to flooding; most are from the central town of Beledweyne, where the UN reports people drowning. East Africa's rainy season, which runs from October to December, is likely to be unusually wet this year due to a process known as Indian Ocean Dipole (similar to the Pacific El Nino) by which atmospheric humidity is dumped inland as rainfall.

It smells of mud and damp. Mattresses, household appliances, chairs and broken tables are tossed outside on almost every street hit by last week’s worst storm in 140 years. Residents in Orihuela, one of many towns isolated by floods, couldn’t leave their homes for four days, fearing currents would drag them away. ‘We lost the car from the garage. We had food in the freezer, but people needed it and the emergency military unit took it.’ Pray for the areas still completely flooded and without electricity or water. Pray for the 3,500 who were evacuated, now returning to overwhelming destruction. €75 million was released to repair roads, bridges, homes, farms, schools, hospitals, health centres and businesses. ‘We cannot remove their suffering, but we can help them recover’, said regional president Juanma Moreno.

On 19 September 30+ civilians were killed and 40+ injured in an air attack that accidentally targeted farmers, and 20+ people were killed in a suicide car bomb that hit a hospital. 74 Afghans were killed every day during August. Unrelenting violence affects almost the entire country. The US/Taliban peace talks have failed, attacks are killing dozens in Kabul, militant sieges trap residents in Kunduz and Pul-e-Khumri, airstrikes by security forces kill innocent civilians, and the Taliban have executed a rights commission’s provincial director. Conflict has displaced 237,000+ people this year, and recent floods following extreme drought have uprooted comparable numbers. Hundreds of thousands of refugees are being forced home, increasing the burden on a fragile state with lowering income, high unemployment, and rising debt. Three million people are experiencing food insecurity; one in six need humanitarian assistance. But in the midst of crises, many displaced Afghans are becoming Christians. See the following article, on suffering but growing church.

Heavy rain in northern England has left people stranded and blocked roads and railway lines. Firefighters rescued 22 people from flooded properties in Cheshire and Greater Manchester after days of heavy rain - 19mm of rain fell in eight hours. Rivers have burst their banks and ambulances have been taking injured to hospital. One firefighter, rescuing a child, had to be rescued himself from fast-flowing water. That rescue was described as ‘difficult, involving acts of bravery’. Pray for residents and shop-owners when flood waters subside, leaving buildings full of mud and silt, with possessions ruined. Pray for those who have been evacuated twice in three years, having newly replaced items ruined for a second time. Pray for those who were homeless for almost a year last time, now facing the same trauma.

Nearly 600 homes around Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, were evacuated after the River Steeping burst its banks. Residents still in their homes were told to avoid using toilets, showers and washing machines due to a strain on the sewerage system. Pumps began to reduce the water level by 19 June, and they missed the storms in the south-east the following day, but there is still much to do. Pray for families living in alternative accommodation while their homes are being repaired. The impact of flooding will be felt for many months to come. Cleaning, drying out and repairing flood-damaged properties is a major undertaking.

Since March, Iran has been ravaged by record rainfall and unprecedented flash flooding. At least 26 of 31 provinces have been impacted by deadly floods. One city received 70% of its annual rainfall in one day. 76 have died, with hundreds missing. It is the largest disaster to hit Iran this century. Entire villages were washed away in minutes, and countless homes and buildings were damaged or completely destroyed. The story has not reached international news headlines, but hundreds of thousands remain displaced and grieving. Christians in different places have been helping to provide food, clothing and basic necessities for those affected. The Iranian government has been accused of mismanaging disaster response, with residents of afflicted areas complaining that action has been slow and insufficient. Iran complains that US banking sanctions make it impossible to receive donations from outside the country. The US puts the blame on Iran's leaders. See

On 24 April, prime minister Justin Trudeau visited a flood evacuation centre in Quebec where 300+ people were sheltering from floodwaters caused by spring rains and a thaw which affected thousands of homes in the province. Authorities are monitoring water levels as rain continues, and water levels across the region are not expected to peak until 26-27 April. Soldiers stacked sandbags and built dykes as floodwaters kept rising from 22 April onwards. Roads were closed as rivers expanded. Premier François Legault indicated that Quebec may offer incentives for people to move out of areas that flood every year permanently. ‘If we have to force people to move, we will have to do it.’ The Canadian Red Cross has a disaster relief fund to help residents rebuild their homes. The provinces of New Brunswick and Ontario are also waterlogged. Soldiers have been deployed to help with sandbagging in communities affected along the St John River. 55 roads and bridges are affected, with 36 of them either closed or partially closed. See

Over sixty people have died following floods across Iran. 78 intercity roads are blocked, 2,199 rural roads and 84 bridges have been washed away. 141 rivers burst their banks, and 400 landslides were reported. Floods have damaged nearly 7,500 miles of roads (36% of the country’s network). Government and aid agencies came under severe criticism for their efforts being too small in scale and unable to cope with the acute needs of tens of thousands of flood victims. Emergency services sent four helicopters to Pol-e Dokhtar because land routes to the city are cut off. Many people are in tents. A parliament member warned President Rouhani, ‘People facing a tragedy urgently need food, drinking water, medicine and warm clothes’.The lack of order and planning is widespread. Pray for the thousands sheltering in the open with little food, clean water or warm clothes in often rainy weather.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo extended condolences to the victims of the floods in Iran, and said his country was prepared to help. But in a sign that the offer may have been less than serious, he did so in a statement blaming Iranian mismanagement for the flooding, and without explaining how assistance could be directed to Iran without violating US sanctions. Pompeo rejected a claim by Iran that the sanctions were preventing donations to its Red Crescent. He said the USA was ready to contribute to international charities which could then forward the money to the Red Crescent for relief.

Townsville, with 180,000 people, has been facing tropical cyclones, king tides and drenching summer rain. Over a metre of rain fell in seven days, leaving many residents without power; others were cut off by flooded roads. The Ross River dam flooded beyond capacity, necessitating the opening of gates and the release of 1,900 cubic metres of water a second. 20,000 homes were flooded. A flotilla of boats rescued hundreds, with police, emergency services and soldiers stretched to the limit. Authorities have now warned residents not to swim in flooded suburbs, where crocodiles and snakes have been spotted. More monsoon rain is forecast for next week. Meanwhile, parts of southern Australia are in the grip of a severe drought, and record temperatures of 49.5C have caused bushfires and hospital admissions. See