Displaying items by tag: floods

Friday, 14 July 2023 00:04

India: Delhi hit by massive monsoon floods

In Delhi, floods from the Yamuna river caused roads to turn into rivers and water gushed into houses, medical facilities, crematoriums and shelter homes. It is impairing normal life and causing immense hardship for the people in the national capital as the river water level rose to a record high. Amid the flooding, the city is staring at a shortage of drinking water after the government decided to cut down supply by 25 percent following the closure of three water treatment plants due to the rising level of the Yamuna. It swelled to a staggering 208.62 metres at 1 pm on 13 July, smashing the previous all-time record of 207.49 metres set 45 years ago. Rescue teams have been deployed, and administration and agencies are also working together. At the time of writing they have evacuated around 2,500 people from different areas.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 09 June 2023 10:07

Ukraine: hydropower dam destroyed

Kakhovka hydropower dam in Russian-controlled Ukraine has been destroyed, unleashing floods of water on either side of the Dnipro river. So far, thousands have been evacuated from local communities; but as water continues to gush, it is a race against time. The UN humanitarian aid chief warns of grave, far-reaching consequences for thousands. Pray for the safety of families threatened by floating mines, disease, and hazardous chemicals in the floodwaters. Fears of vast swathes of grain-producing land flooding caused global grain prices to rise. NATO’s secretary general said the ‘outrageous’ destruction of the dam showed ‘the brutality of Russia's war in Ukraine’. EU’s council president said, ‘Russian destruction of civilian infrastructure is a war crime’. The Red Cross reported that huge numbers of landmines have washed down downstream, threatening rescue operations. Pray for rescuers to be cautious. Water is being transported by drones to the stranded. May boats reach them soon. 

Published in Europe

Tearfund is calling on the international community to act fast to save lives after flash floods killed over 400 and left thousands homeless in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Torrential rain triggered landslides and caused four rivers to flood, hindering access routes and making it harder for aid agencies to reach the region. The death toll will rise without urgent intervention. It took rescuers two days to find a way to reach a devastated area because landslides and collapsed bridges blocked the road they wanted to use. Finally, they had to use the lake and a boat. Churches, schools and over 2,000 homes are destroyed, and more than a thousand people are missing. The fear is that the number of missing people will turn into deaths. It is a time of mourning , and action is needed to bring clean water, toilets, sanitation facilities and food.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 13 April 2023 21:18

Australia: thousands ordered to take shelter

Severe tropical cyclone Ilsa has intensified to a category five system and will hit Port Hedland late at night on 13 April. A red alert has been issued across the region. Northern Australia is no stranger to cyclones, but this storm will be the strongest to hit the region in fourteen years. The very destructive core of the storm will bring extreme wind gusts of 195mph, 15.7 inches of rain and abnormally high tides, with the storm's impact felt across a 370-mile region. The Meteorology Bureau said, ‘There is a threat to lives and homes. You are in danger and must act immediately.’ Port Hedland’s 15,000 residents have been ordered to shelter inside, staying away from doors and windows. ‘It is too late to leave. Stay indoors until the authorities give the all clear’, the red alert warning states. Pray for those unable to get to evacuation centres, for those in remote communities, and for the frail and elderly.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 23 February 2023 21:33

Brazil: deadly storms

People having a pre-Lent holiday at San Sebastiao beach had two feet of torrential rain. Sao Paulo state’s floods also claimed lives on carnival weekend. TV and social media showed entire areas under water, hillside houses swept away by mud, flooded highways, cars destroyed by fallen trees and more. By 23 February dozens were missing, 48 had died and rescue crews were scrambling to provide necessities, but the logistics of reaching the isolated towns was creating difficulties. Not all aid has reached survivors. Criminals taking advantage of the chaos are looting trucks carrying donations. Pray for the 1,730 displaced people in churches, schools and kindergartens and the 1,810 left homeless, the injured, and those looking for the missing. Pray for those mourning the dead. Amid such devastation a two-year-old boy was rescued from a sea of mud, as was a woman giving birth. See

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 29 September 2022 20:45

Pakistan: malaria and other diseases spreading fast

Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the floods in Pakistan are living in the open, exposed to swarms of mosquitoes and other hazards. Despite the efforts of government and relief organisations, families need more food, shelter, medical assistance, medicines, and clean water. Stagnant floodwaters, covering hundreds of kilometres, may take up to six months to recede. There are widespread cases of skin and eye infections, diarrhoea, malaria, typhoid and dengue fever. On 24 September the Sindh provincial government said makeshift health facilities and mobile camps had treated over 78,000 patients in just 24 hours. Malaria spreads quickly around stagnant waters. The UN said malaria, typhoid and diarrhoea patients in large numbers were entering medical camps and hospitals; more medicine and test kits are needed. Families are forced to drink and cook with unsafe water. They need to drink to stay alive.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 01 September 2022 21:21

Pakistan: flood disaster

On 30 August Pakistan and the UN launched a joint appeal for $160 million to help Pakistan recover from monsoon floods that have put 1/3 of the country under water. On 1 September the UK announced a further £15 million for shelter and essential supplies to over 33 million people. Over 1,100 lives have been lost, whilst roads, crops, homes and bridges have been washed away. Pray for the bereaved to be comforted and the isolated to be rescued. Pray for the immediate needs of water, sanitation, shelter and protection to reach the needy quickly. Pray for help to reach families who must repair their homes and maintain their livelihoods. Pray for communities to be free of diseases carried by polluted water. Pray for the nation to find ways of importing vegetables as it faces serious food shortages in the coming months: it could even consider importing from arch-rival India.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 05 August 2022 09:50

Global: floods

Devastating flash floods have killed 37 people and hundreds are still missing in eastern Kentucky’s worst disaster for decades. The death toll will continue to rise. Hundreds of homes and businesses have been destroyed. People are sitting on their porches, hoping somebody is coming to save them. See  In July, Sydney in Australia was hit with a month’s worth of rain in five days; people are still cleaning up three feet of swirling mud. Pakistan has 7,000+ glaciers, but rising global temperatures are causing them to melt rapidly, creating thousands of glacial lakes that might burst and release millions of cubic metres of water and debris, flooding villages in just a few hours. Worsening Indian monsoons cause Mumbai residents to commute on Venetian gondolas and inflatable dinghies. This year residents are being asked to tweet details about floods in their neighbourhoods. The data is then used to issue immediate geographically-specific flood alerts.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 23 June 2022 22:26

India: discrimination, floods, heatwave

India is the most ethnically diverse nation on earth, with over 2,500 people groups, 22 official languages, and thousands of castes. It hosts most of the world’s Hindus and Muslims. The country traditionally maintains free speech and religious freedom, but these are being tested by Hindu nationalism; this mainly targets Muslims, but Christians also face discrimination, persecution and anti-conversion laws. Pray that India’s proud traditions of tolerance and freedom will continue and strengthen. Its churches have sent 100,000 people across India to communicate the gospel, start churches, and relieve suffering and injustice: resulting in tens of thousands of new congregations. Pray that this amazing missionary movement will transform India through Christ. However, this week the most urgent prayer need is for the millions displaced by floods in the north and 25 days of heatwave in densely-populated Delhi, where vast numbers are falling ill from heatstroke. Some have little access to clean water.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 03 March 2022 22:02

Australia: rain bomb

A storm battering Australia, described as a rain bomb, began flooding the Brisbane area on 27 February and damaged 15,000 properties before moving south. New South Wales river towns were under water the next day, with Wilsons River rising 14.46 metres. A flotilla of private boats rescued residents trapped in flooded homes. Authorities were overwhelmed by the scale of the rescue operation. On 1 March military helicopters airlifted stranded people from rooftops of flooded neighbourhoods in eastern Australia and then the wild weather slowly moved south. By 3 March half a million people across NSW were under evacuation orders. Warragamba Dam west of Sydney was spilling 225 gigalitres a day, which meant that thousands of households and businesses could avoid damaging flooding from the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers north-west of Sydney. Pray for threatened communities to be safe as river levels continue rising. Pray for the 11,747 families who have requested help from military and other rescue services since the crisis began.

Published in Worldwide
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