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  2008 Prophesy Fulfillment Archive

I Chronicles 16:22 "do my Prophets no harm"............... Matthew 23:34 "I send unto you Prophets & wise men"

ACTS 2 "17. And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18. And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19. And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath;"

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LINK: CLICK HERE FOR OUR PROPHECY 2007 ARCHIVE PAGE

PORTUGAL - The National meteorological institute has revealed that this summer is expected to be ONE OF THE HOTTEST IN THE LAST 25 YEARS. Temperatures for June, July and August are expected to be 0.5 degrees above average, with the highest likely to be recorded in central and southern Portugal. “If the predictions are correct then we could have a very serious situation, similar to that of 2003 when 1,953 people died because of the heat.” As well as high temperatures, the meteorological institute also alerts to high levels of ultra violet (UV) radiation, which is measured on a scale from the lowest level of one to the highest level of 11. The UV levels for the Algarve are expected to remain at a minimum of Very High (between eight and 10) this summer.

USA - CALIFORNIA - Expert says drought to continue 9 more years - From measurements of the height of the Pacific from space, it tells him the climate here is in trouble. The scientist has gone beyond the annual fluctuations of El Nino and La Nina. He measures the changing height of the ocean over a five- to 20-year range and sees what he calls a Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Over about a 10-year period, the elevation of vast tracts of the ocean will change and where it was higher and warmer becomes lower and cooler and vice versa. This oscillation has a powerful bearing on global warming and can dramatically reinforce the behavior of El Nino and La Nina, dampening or reinforcing their behavior. The last nine years are consecutively THE NINE DRIEST IN A CENTURY, and that can be traced to the oscillation. "We haven't had a big El Nino in a decade." He predicted temperatures will continue to rise in the region. Even in cooler years such as the one they are in now, temperatures will spike for a few days, resulting in dangerous triple-digit temperatures and heavy water use. He says a crisis is looming, and the only solution is for all of us to reduce water consumption by 50%. Golf courses are a major culprit. They absorb heat rather than reflect it back into space. Global warming has pushed the jet stream farther north, and there is less snow pack. He hopes we can control our thirst, but he has reservations. "The world is getting dumber."

Fierce weather hits Mid-West areas

Severe storms with strong winds swept through the Plains, forcing swimmers practicing for U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha to flee pools and run for cover, killing 2 people in Iowa, and knocking out power to thousands.

The storm's winds may have reached 100 mph in some areas and damage reports in Iowa included hail the size of baseballs.

Posted JUNE 27, 2008 -----------------------------

Microburst hits Central Florida

Residents in Lake County are cleaning up damage from a strong storm system that moved across Central Florida. A microburst moved through Groveland, causing reports of downed trees and power lines.

"The winds just came so fast, and the trees just laid right over, bent to the ground, and I thought at first it was a tornado because it was just tearing things up," one witness said.

"It was one of the most severe storms we've had in about four years here," said the Deputy Fire Chief.

Drinking water contaminated from Midwest flood

Nancy Hall, who is in charge of testing water for bacterial contamination and has worked at the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory in Iowa City for 30 years, believes 2008 is the worst flood she's ever dealt with. The bacterial contamination found so far is basically E. coli and fecal material.

In the Quad-City area alone, about 500 private wells in Scott County may have been contaminated by floodwaters, officials estimate. The wells can serve just 1 home or an entire neighborhood.

North UK areas to boil water

Britons living in the north of England have been warned that they must boil tap water before using it because the water is contaminated with a potentially serious stomach bug.

As many as 108,000 homes in Northampton, Daventry and nearby villages are affected and 250,000 people face weeks of boiling tap water after the stomach bug Cryptosporidium was found following tests.

Supermarkets have had to ration sales of bottled water as customers began panic buying and cleared the shelves of stocks.

California water shortage…crop losses

Workers prematurely killed 1 almond grove and are frantically digging new wells to save the remaining almond crop. Their neighbors are walking away from 1,600 acres of cotton to salvage tomatoes.

Water shortages in California, coupled with high fuel costs, mean customers can expect rising prices for some fruits and vegetables, particularly melons, canned tomatoes, and perhaps lettuce.

The state is estimating crop losses of $167 million for 2008, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

USA - A new round of storms dumped a half foot (15 cm) or more of rain across parts of the U.S. Midwest on Wednesday, dealing fresh trouble to a region already struggling with billions of dollars in flood damage. 

The bad news came as a key farm group estimated U.S. crop damage this year had hit $8 billion nationwide, most of it in the key Midwest growing areas of the world's biggest grain and food exporter amid the worst flooding in 15 years. 

The new storms that soaked Missouri on Wednesday closed roads and sent smaller streams out of their banks, pushing more water into the basin that feeds both the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, just as the Mississippi was cresting, or about to, in areas upstream from St. Louis. 

A new flood warning was issued for parts of the Missouri River in parts of Missouri from Jefferson City east to St. Louis. Lack of flood waters on the Missouri has been one of the key reasons this month's flooding was rated not as bad yet as the record flooding levels seen in 1993. 

A railroad bridge near Columbus Junction, Iowa, collapsed late on Tuesday, injuring one rail worker. A locomotive and two rail cars fell into the still-flooded Iowa River. The cars had been placed on the bridge to stabilize it during flooding. 

Fears about the short supplies of basic food and feedstuffs have ignited more alarms about rising world food inflation even as oil and energy prices also set records. Since late May when heavy rains hit Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin, about three dozen levees have failed along the Mississippi River, covering rich and valuable bottom land and emerging crops with muddy water. 

More than 13 million sandbags have been handed out in the region, a quantity that if placed end-to-end would stretch from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.

CALIFORNIA - In less than a day, an electrical storm unleashed nearly 8,000 lightning strikes that set more than 800 wildfires across Northern California — a RARE example of "dry lightning" that brought little or no rain but plenty of sparks to the state's parched forests and grasslands. 

The weekend storm was UNUSUAL not only because it generated so many lightning strikes over a large geographical area, but also because it struck so early in the season and moved in from the Pacific Ocean. Such storms usually don't arrive until late July or August and typically from southeast of California. 

"You're looking at a pattern that's CLIMATOLOGICALLY RARE. We typically don't see this happen at this time of summer. To see 8,000, that's way up there on the scale." Despite the many lightning strikes that hit the ground on Saturday alone, the weekend thunderstorm brought little precipitation because the rain evaporated in hot, dry layers of the atmosphere before it hit the ground. 

The lightning storm struck California when the state was experiencing one of its driest years on record. From San Francisco to Los Angeles, cities have only seen a tiny fraction of the rainfall they normally receive in a typical year. 

In the Central Valley, the cities of Sacramento, Modesto, Stockton and Red Bluff have recorded their driest March-to-May periods since at least the 19th century. Even before the lightning struck, California had already seen an UNUSUALLY large number of wildfires, although the fire season typically does not start until July and does not peak until late summer or early fall. 

"This doesn't bode well for the fire season. We're not even into the meat of the fire season at this point, and the brush is extremely dry. It's not going to get any better, it's going to get worse." 

The weekend's lighting storm combined with extremely dry conditions to spark about 840 separate blazes. By contrast, 574 lightning-sparked fires blackened about 55,000 acres in Northern California in all of 2007. 

The weather service has said more dry thunderstorms could strike Northern California later this week. The weather pattern "could happen again across Central and Northern California."

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Aids epidemic a 'global disaster' - The Aids epidemic is so severe that it should be classified as a disaster, the Red Cross and Red Crescent warns. The crisis fits the UN definition of a disaster as an event beyond the scope of any single society to cope with. The IFRC's annual report on world disasters usually focuses on specific natural disasters such as earthquakes. This year, it is departing from tradition with its world disasters report, to focus on what it says is one of the most long term and complex problems facing the world: the HIV/Aids epidemic. By any standard, the epidemic is a global disaster: 25 million deaths, 33 million people living with HIV/Aids, 7,000 new infections every day.

Posted JUNE 26, 2008 -----------------------------

Sunday JUNE 15, 2008 Yea saith the Lord, Oh America how you have struggled saith God, how you have tried and strived to maintain your relationship with me, but your leaders America have not maintained their relationship with me saith the Lord, they have gone as far from me as one can get saith God, they have embraced the evil one, my enemy, they worship the things of darkness, they meet in secret places, and they praise the Gods of darkness saith God, and because of this America my wrath shall come upon thee saith the Lord, I shall pour out my wrath upon thee America and you will feel the result of the sin of your leaders, even those that are mine shall be touched by what is poured out, though they shall not be destroyed by it saith God, for I have you in my hand and in my hands you are safe saith the Lord.

USA - NEVADA - Health officials declared the air quality “unhealthful” for the Reno-Sparks area on Tuesday due to thick smoke in the region from hundreds of wildfires.

USA - NEVADA - CALIFORNIA - Wildfires raging across California are being blamed for unhealthy air quality throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Saturday, an UNUSUAL weather pattern sent dry lightning flashing to the ground - at least 8000 strikes hit the ground.

USA - NEVADA - WISCONSIN - TART CHERRIES - Extreme weather has virtually wiped out Door County’s cherry crop for this year. This will reduce the total U.S. crop output by about 30%.

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Poor people in the United States are increasingly at risk from tropical diseases such as dengue fever and Chagas disease, says a new report. Researchers blame climate change and increasing poverty for the increased spread of these infectious illnesses. The study warns that while these diseases are not always fatal, they are severely debilitating. Consequently, they perpetuate poverty, affecting child development and worker productivity. 36 million people in the US who live below the poverty line are most at risk from these parasitic and bacterial diseases. Most vulnerable are minority groups such as the African American community living along the delta of the Mississippi River, but also disadvantaged white people who live in the Appalachian mountains and immigrants who live along the US-Mexico border. While the US spends more than a billion dollars a year preparing for outbreaks of diseases that have yet to occur such as small pox, avian influenza and anthrax, these other diseases continue to affect millions with little or no attention paid to them.

Lifesaving equipment in hospitals may be switched off by radio-frequency devices used to track people and machines, Dutch scientists claim. Radio frequency identification devices are on the rise in healthcare, helping identify patients, and reveal the location of equipment. But they could interfere with machines. In some tests, RFIDs either switched off or changed the settings on mechanical ventilators, completely stopped the working of syringe pumps, caused external pacemakers to malfunction, and halted dialysis machines. The device did not have to be held right up to the machine to make this happen - some "hazardous" incidents happened when the RFID was more than 10 inches away.

Posted JUNE 25, 2008 -----------------------------

Water may be suspect in salmonella tainted tomatoes. 

Pick a tomato in the blazing sun and plunge it straight into cold water. If that happened on the way to market, it might be contaminated. 

USA - Floodwaters breed hidden health dangers - West Nile, E. coli among deadly concerns in swamped Midwest. Now that the waters are beginning to recede after this month’s devastating floods in the Midwest, state and federal officials are warning of a widespread secondary risk from dangerous bacteria and disease-bearing mosquitoes. 

They expect this season’s mosquito population to be especially big, nurtured by hot summer temperatures and large pools of standing water that make an ideal breeding ground. “We know we have mosquitoes right now in the state that are testing positive for the West Nile virus.” 

Stagnant water carries numerous other risks, health officials said. For any number of dangerous bacteria and parasites, hot, fetid pools left over by swamped septic systems are the perfect home. The raging waters also seeped into countless wells, affecting drinking water for thousands of homes and businesses across the region.

The worst of the flooding that has ravaged the midwestern United States is nearly over, but it will be weeks before the murky water recedes in many areas. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri and Indiana due to the heavy rains and deadly storms which swept through the region in recent weeks. 

Early estimates place the damage in the billions as roads were washed out, rail and barge traffic shut down and millions of acres of crops were swamped. Scores of levees collapsed or were overtopped by the rushing waters which swallowed entire towns. The extreme weather which began May 25 and included a series of deadly tornadoes claimed the lives of 22 people, 17 of whom were in Iowa. 

More than 11 million people in nine midwestern states were affected by the flooding and extreme weather. All the tributary rivers of the Mississippi above St. Louis, Missouri have now crested, but it will take three more days before the towns down river know whether their levies will hold. 

The river is expected to rise by about another six inches (15 centimeters) in areas up to 150 miles (240 kilometers) downstream. "A lot of these rivers won't go back below flood stage until mid-July."

USA - CALIFORNIA - Hundreds of wildfires have blazed across northern California, threatening thousands of homes as the region bakes under a ferocious heatwave.

Posted JUNE 24, 2008 -----------------------------

Sunday JUNE 15, 2008  Yea saith the Lord, Oh America how you have struggled saith God, how you have tried and strived to maintain your relationship with me, but your leaders America have not maintained their relationship with me saith the Lord, they have gone as far from me as one can get saith God, they have embraced the evil one, my enemy, they worship the things of darkness, they meet in secret places, and they praise the Gods of darkness saith God, and because of this America my wrath shall come upon thee saith the Lord, I shall pour out my wrath upon thee America and you will feel the result of the sin of your leaders, even those that are mine shall be touched by what is poured out, though they shall not be destroyed by it saith God, for I have you in my hand and in my hands you are safe saith the Lord.

Midwest flooding causing food inflation

Midwest floodwaters are about to give consumers more grief at the grocery store. In the latest bout of food inflation, beef, pork, poultry and even eggs, cheese and milk are expected to get more expensive as livestock owners go out of business, or are forced to slaughter more cattle, hogs, turkeys and chickens to cope with rocketing costs for corn-based animal feed.

The floods effected about 2 million or more acres of corn in the key growing states, sending world grain prices skyward on fears of a substantially smaller corn crop. The flood damage to Iowa crops alone could reach $3 billion in crop losses.

Experts: Bird flu may worsen global food crisis

The worst of the bird flu threat is over but the fight to eliminate the disease from poultry is weak -- a situation that could worsen the global food crisis, health experts warned

Posted JUNE 23, 2008 -----------------------------

Sunday MAY 25, 2008 Yea saith God, for as I have told you the winds would strengthen and the fierceness of the storms would increase... for my wrath has come upon the earth saith the Lord, and I am disturbed, yea I am dismayed at my people who have gone away from my teachings and gone away from my authority, and made their own way, and made their own church, and made their own commandments saith God, but I the Lord have given you the comments that you need, stay with them, do not make your own, saith the Lord.

Climate researchers predict grim future

The U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research has released a scientific assessment that provides the first comprehensive analysis of observed and projected changes in weather and climate extremes in North America and U.S. territories.

They predict:

Abnormally hot days and nights, along with heat waves will be more common.

Cold nights are very likely to become less common.

Sea ice extent is expected to continue to decrease and may even disappear in the Arctic Ocean in summer in coming decades.

Rainfall on average, is likely to be less frequent but more intense.

Droughts are likely to become more frequent and severe in some regions.

Hurricanes will likely have increased precipitation and wind.

The strongest cold-season storms in the Atlantic and Pacific are likely to produce stronger winds and higher extreme wave heights.

**Watchman helper comment** This is already happening now.

Security fears over food and fuel crisis

Western countries have upgraded the food and fuel crisis into a national security concern as they fear record high energy and agriculture commodity costs are destabilizing key developing regions of the world.

The concerns come as the world suffers for the first time since 1973 from the confluence of record oil and food prices.

Corn, soybean and meat prices jumped this week to all-time highs, while oil prices hit a record of almost $140 a barrel

USA - KANSAS - The National Weather Service recorded 18.04 inches of rain for the three-month spring period that ended May 31, a total topped only by 1904's 19.01 inches.

USA - IOWA - A Record Winter Becomes a Record Spring... What's Next? Snowfall and ice storms have turned into rainfall, tornados and flooding, leading many in East Iowa to wonder what is next? Could the weather get worse? Extreme weather has become so common that if people haven’t been affected themselves, almost everyone knows someone who has. There have been 16 storm-related deaths in the state since the tornado on May 25. It seems the 100-year floods are coming about every 10 years or so.

USA - The Farmers’ Almanac is predicting a warmer-than-normal summer across much of the nation, and an extremely active hurricane season. In addition to the blistering heat, the Farmers’ Almanac warns that sections of the Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic could continue to see occasional bouts of very heavy rain, with heavier than normal precipitation also affecting portions of the Plains and Rockies. In contrast, the Pacific Coast is expected to be much drier than normal during the coming summer. The Farmers’ Almanac has predicted an active tropical storm season, with the Gulf Coast directly in the crosshairs for hurricanes in mid-July, mid-August, and mid-September. The associated tropical moisture from such systems is likely to flow northward, creating threat of excessive rainfall over many eastern locations. After accurately predicting a “two-faced winter,” consisting of colder-than-normal temperatures to the east of the Mississippi and warmer weather to the west, the Farmers’ Almanac advised loyal readers that spring would have only one face: a cold, rainy one. The Farmers’ Almanac also warned of an exceptionally active tornado season in the Midwest. Those predictions were borne out as a record-breaking number of deadly twisters – more than 700 in all – descended on the region between February and early May. Readers of the Farmers’ Almanac estimate that its annual weather forecast is accurate between 80 and 85 percent of the time.

USA - it appears as if there might be yet another chilly, late-season storm system in the Pacific Northwest in about 5 days. Temperatures have been much cooler than normal so far in June, and there will be significant warming for a time before the storm in about 5 days. By then, though, temperatures will again be cooler than normal with showers - if the current long-range model is correct. By the way, this might not be the last storm - another storm might approach the coast around July 1; however, this storm might remain far enough to the west to not have much of an effect, allowing interior areas, at least, to turn warm.

USA - CALIFORNIA - Lightning sparked as many as 400 fires around Northern California, as officials farther south were close to containing a blaze that had destroyed more than a dozen homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

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U.S. Marshals seized various animal food products stored under unsanitary conditions at the PETCO Animal Supplies Distribution Center after finding widespread and active rodent and bird infestations.

They supply to 16 retail stores in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.

If a pet has become ill after eating these food products, FDA officials said pet owners should contact their veterinarian and report illnesses to FDA state consumer complaint coordinators.

Posted for WEEKEND JUNE 20-22, 2008 -----------------------------

Submerged active volcanoes found near Fiji

Several huge active submarine volcanoes, spreading ridges and rift zones have been discovered northeast of Fiji by a team of Australian and American scientists aboard a Marine National Facility Research Vessel.

FIJI - scientists have discovered two mineral-rich, active volcanoes more than a kilometer under the sea near Fiji, with mining companies already lining up to try to exploit the sites. Measuring 50 kilometers wide by almost 4,000 meters tall, the volcanoes are bubbling away at 1,100 meters and 1,500 meters below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, in an area known as the North Lau Basin, between Tonga, Fiji and Samoa. They are within the Pacific rim of fire, an area of high earthquake activity, and are spewing into the sea black smoke containing precious minerals. The volcanoes are quite remarkable - "Some of the features look like the volcanic blisters seen on the surface of Venus."

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Sunday JUNE 15, 2008 Yea saith the Lord, Oh America how you have struggled saith God, how you have tried and strived to maintain your relationship with me, but your leaders America have not maintained their relationship with me saith the Lord, they have gone as far from me as one can get saith God, they have embraced the evil one, my enemy, they worship the things of darkness, they meet in secret places, and they praise the Gods of darkness saith God, and because of this America my wrath shall come upon thee saith the Lord, I shall pour out my wrath upon thee America and you will feel the result of the sin of your leaders, even those that are mine shall be touched by what is poured out, though they shall not be destroyed by it saith God, for I have you in my hand and in my hands you are safe saith the Lord.

USA - More levees face flood peril - this time in northern Missouri, western Illinois. As floodwaters slowly receded from much of Iowa on Wednesday, authorities focused their attention on a swollen Mississippi River that punched through at least two levees in western Illinois and increasingly threatened hamlets in Missouri. Federal officials said as many as 30 levees are in peril, mostly in rural stretches of northern Missouri and western Illinois. No large population centers are threatened. The concern now is the Mississippi River between the Quad Cities and St. Louis. The river is expected to crest Saturday in St. Louis, where flood risk is lessened because the Mississippi widens and meets several tributaries with lower-than-normal water levels. Up to two inches of rain is forecast for parts of Missouri today, and workers along the river were piling up sandbags. "We're anticipating the worst and preparing for the worst." On Wednesday, residents were still barred from Cedar Rapids and were only slowly being allowed to return to neighboring towns

USA - The floodwater has gone down in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and people are beginning to get a look at just how bad things are. Now Missouri is ground zero as flood waters move south along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and tributaries. Three Mississippi River levees broke north of St. Louis in Missouri's Lincoln County, sending a wave of water toward the town of Foley and raising concern in nearby Winfield. The river was overflowing 90 percent of the levees in eastern Lincoln County, and at least four more breaks were expected early today. The breaks mean the Mississippi won't reach record crest levels downstream. Authorities predict the river will crest at 37.3 feet (11.4 meters) today in St. Louis, short of the 49.6 feet reached during flooding in 1993. American meteorologists are citing an UNUSUAL late spring weather pattern for the spike in extreme weather. The jet stream, a narrow column of fast-moving winds in the mid-levels of the atmosphere which heavily influences temperature and precipitation, has been blamed for much of the widespread extreme weather across the United States. The jet stream has been stationary in an ABNORMAL position, dipping in the mountain west and rising in the east, with the heart of the stream flowing through the center of the country. The dip in the west has allowed cold weather to filter through and bring extreme cold and even snow to parts of Montana and Idaho, while the rise in the east has brought extreme heat from the Gulf of Mexico, and minimal precipitation has fallen over the southeastern US. From Miami to Seattle to Boston to Las Vegas, serious drought, historic flooding, sweltering heat and bitter cold have hit the country - and almost all of it during the months of May and June. But it's been the jet stream's flow through the center of the country that has produced the most damage.

USA - CALIFORNIA - A spring heat wave sent Southern California TEMPERATURES TO RECORD LEVELS Wednesday with 100 degrees plus readings in the worst areas. The mercury reached a record 107 degrees in Woodland Hills, beating a previous record of 106 degrees set in 1989. The Long Beach airport set a record with a 93 degree peak reading. Temperatures were expected to climb today as a strong high pressure system hovers over the region. Southern California roasted again on Thursday in a RECORD-BREAKING, end-of-spring heat wave that sent temperatures soaring past 100 degrees in many areas. Near-record heat scorched San Diego County on Wednesday, and it's about to get worse before it gets better.

USA - ARIZONA - Yuma County will continue to bake as there appears to be no end to the current heat wave.

USA - TEXAS - the high temperature climbed to 101 degrees Fahrenheit in Austin Thursday afternoon. It was the 15th day where temperatures have reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, in a 33-day heat wave. The average number of 100-degree days in Austin is 11, for an ENTIRE summer. RECORD-HIGH TEMPERATURES HAVE BEEN REACHED ON 16 OF THE PAST 33 DAYS.

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RECALLS & ALERTS:

U.S. Marshals seized various animal food products stored under unsanitary conditions at the PETCO Animal Supplies Distribution Center located in Joliet, Illinois, pursuant to a warrant issued by the United States District Court in Chicago.

Posted for JUNE 18, 2008 -----------------------------

JAPAN - Hot gas plumes detected at Mt. Kurikoma - The plumes were found near Hanayama in Kurihara, close to the border between Akita and Miyagi prefectures, and near Yu no Hama hot-spring spa.

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NEW ZEALAND - White Island still rattled after quake - Vulcanologists are continuing to keep a close eye on White Island. Two or three hundred aftershocks continue to rattle it after a 5.4 magnitude earthquake centred just 10 kilometres south-west of the volcano

USA - Flood fears for Mississippi river - The massive river, which passes through 10 states in its 3734-kilometre journey from its source in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico, defines the border between Iowa and Illinois. Parts of Illinois are already under water, and officials there are bracing for the same kind of misery heaped on homes and businesses in Iowa. Experts believe the Mississippi, the country's second longest river, could crest during the next two days. Floodwaters from the Iowa's Cedar, Iowa and Des Moines rivers are pouring into it. "It's likely we'll see major flooding in every city on the border, from New Boston on down. We're very concerned about that." More than 11 million people in nine Midwestern states have been affected by the flooding and extreme weather of recent weeks. Iowa was by the far the hardest hit: 83 of its 99 counties have been declared disaster areas and more than 4.8 million sandbags were laid down to try to stem the tide. More than 38,000 residents in 26 communities throughout the state had been evacuated by Monday morning. Seventeen people have died as a result of the floods in Iowa since the start of the extreme weather on May 25, adding to another five deaths in neighboring states. "It's some of the worst flooding I've seen since (Hurricane) Katrina." The losses will be staggering. "It's public infrastructure, it's personal homes, it's land, it's fields, it's livestock, it's public buildings." The agriculture sector is said to be particularly badly hit with initial estimates to crop damage of $US1 billion. 20% of Iowa's crops have been lost, and the damage could put further pressure on high global food prices. In addition to Iowa, the heavy-farming states of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota have suffered an UNUSUAL level of flooding this year. Barge traffic ground to a halt on the swollen Mississippi and rail shipments were also hit as floodwaters washed out track and key bridges. Television crews allowed into the downtown area of Cedar Rapids showed images of massive debris littering the streets, smashed store windows, warped furniture and footpaths streaked with mud and sand. Cars and houseboats had floated downriver where they were trapped by a rail bridge, trees were torn from their roots, roads were washed out and bridges collapsed.

The federal government predicts that 27 levees could potentially overflow along the Mississippi River if the weather forecast is on the mark and a massive sandbagging effort fails to raise the level of the levees. Officials are placing millions of sandbags on top of the levees along the river in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri to prevent overflowing. There is no way to predict whether these levees will break. RECORD-BREAKING STORMS AND FLOODING ACROSS SIX STATES this month continue to force thousands of people to evacuate and seek shelter. Since June 6, there have been 22 deaths, 85 injuries and more than 26,000 power outages because of the storms and flooding, Six levees have already overflowed in the past three days: two in Iowa and four in Missouri. Because the current flooding is so RARE — many are calling it a ONE-IN-500-YEARS FLOOD — the entire levee system will be stressed. Some 251 miles of the Mississippi River have been closed. That doesn't officially shut down the river, but it effectively shuts down barge traffic.

Posted for JUNE 17, 2008 -----------------------------

CHILE - The Chaiten volcano in southern Chile has erupted with renewed strength, belching thick clouds of ash and hurling molten rocks into the air. The volcano first began to erupt in May after lying dormant for centuries.

Sunday JUNE 15, 2008 Yea saith the Lord, Oh America how you have struggled saith God, how you have tried and strived to maintain your relationship with me, but your leaders America have not maintained their relationship with me saith the Lord, they have gone as far from me as one can get saith God, they have embraced the evil one, my enemy, they worship the things of darkness, they meet in secret places, and they praise the Gods of darkness saith God, and because of this America my wrath shall come upon thee saith the Lord, I shall pour out my wrath upon thee America and you will feel the result of the sin of your leaders, even those that are mine shall be touched by what is poured out, though they shall not be destroyed by it saith God, for I have you in my hand and in my hands you are safe saith the Lord.

U.S.A. - At least 24,000 people have been forced from their homes in Iowa by flooding, which has also severely damaged crops in America's main corn state. Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders as Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and other Iowa cities were partly deluged. One of the worst affected areas is Cedar Rapids city, where 438 streets have been submerged and nearly 4,000 homes evacuated. Officials in the city - which is the state's second largest with a population of about 120,000 - warn its drinking water supply is under threat. The cost of flood damage in the state could be in the billions. The cost of the damage in Cedar Rapids alone has been estimated at $737 million. The Cedar river crested on Friday night at nearly 32ft (9.75m), 12 FEET (3.66m) HIGHER THAN THE PREVIOUS RECORD, set in 1929. "We've had heavy rain here now for three weeks. We haven't had more than two or three dry days before we get another downpour. We were warned that there was going to be heavy storms but no one imagined it would be as bad as this...Most of the country's food comes from here in the Midwest and this flood has destroyed most of the crops. As well as affecting us living in Iowa, this flood is going to affect a lot of people in the States." The disaster was triggered by storms blamed for at least nine deaths in the US Midwest this week. South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois and Indiana have also been affected. The Illinois authorities are predicting record water levels there in the coming days. The floods have wrecked the Midwest's corn and soybean crops, helping push already high food prices to record levels this week.

USA - KANSAS - A series of three storms swept through Salina late Wednesday. One UNUSUAL feature of the series of storms was that the second storm to hit Salina was more powerful than the first - it was the second storm that spawned tornadoes - and the third was nearly as strong as the first. Typically, once a storm passes through an area, it removes much of the energy from the atmosphere, making any later storms much less severe. But this wasn't typical. "This was unusual - even the third one still had some punch." Strong winds from the south, aided by the spacing between the storms, continued to feed the storms. "The space between gave them time to draw in more warm, moist air", essentially resetting the conditions under which severe storms form. "It is UNUSUAL." The tornado that ripped through southern Salina and parts east appears to have been on the ground for 14 miles. The tornado was notable for its time on the ground. In all, the storms damaged or destroyed nine homes and numerous outbuildings and businesses in the county.

Posted for JUNE 16, 2008 -----------------------------

NEW ZEALAND - scientists warned people to stay away from the country's most active volcano after an earthquake rocked the region.

CAMEROON - Uncertainty surrounds Mt. Cameroon's possible eruption - Against a backdrop of speculations, wild rumors and some panic that Mt. Cameroon is threatening to erupt

COSTA RICA - Arenal Volcano let molten boulders fly twice this week. The volcano puts on an incredible, natural light show almost every night. It’s a spectacular sight to see molten lava pour out and it is monitored carefully.

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USA - IOWA - Nearly 4000 homes were evacuated in Cedar Rapids Thursday and parts of the city's downtown were under 5 to 6 feet of water as flooding continued to ravage the state. The National Weather Service called flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a "HISTORIC HYDROLOGIC EVENT" Thursday as the swollen river poured over its banks at 500-YEAR FLOOD LEVELS. Residents should expect "UNPRECEDENTED river crests". One of the Cedar Rapids levees already has broken. "The rest of the levees in the city have not broken down but what the problem is is the water went way up over the top — well over a foot over the top of the levees." Officials estimated that 100 blocks in Cedar Rapids were under water. "People that never prayed before this, it might be a good time to start." In downtown, flood waters neared the top of stop signs and cars were nearly covered in water. It wasn't clear just how high the river had risen because a flood gage was swept away by the swirling water. The surging river caused part of a railroad bridge and about 20 hopper cars loaded with rocks to collapse into the river. The cars had been positioned on the bridge in hopes of weighing it down against the rising water. "We're in uncharted territory — THIS IS AN EVENT BEYOND WHAT ANYBODY COULD EVEN IMAGINE." Frantic sandbagging enabled the upstream cities of Cedar Falls and Waterloo to narrowly avoid widespread flooding. Storms overnight into Thursday brought up to 5 inches of rain across west central Iowa. 55 of the state's 99 counties have been declared state disaster areas. Nine rivers are at or above historic flood levels. The City Council on Wednesday was told to prepare for a long flood — not just a record-setting one. (photos)

Four teenagers were killed and 48 people were injured when a tornado tore through a Boy Scout camp in western Iowa on Wednesday night. At least 42 of those injured were still hospitalized on Thursday morning, suffering from everything from cuts and bruises to major head trauma. The tornado was one of 28 reported late Wednesday moving across eastern Kansas and into Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota. Those tornadoes killed at least two people in northern Kansas, destroyed much of the small town of Chapman and caused extensive damage on the Kansas State University campus. In Cedar Rapids the level of flooding is expected to break records by a wide margin. “You hardly ever break a record, and if you do, you only break it by a little bit. In this case we are going to break it by four or five feet, and that is a lot of water.”

USA - MINNESOTA - A man was killed after his car plunged from a washed-out road into floodwaters in southern Minnesota on Thursday in Freeborn County

Flooding along the mid-Mississippi River will worsen in the next week as the flood waters from other rivers flow downstream. The Mississippi River at Clarksville, Missouri, had risen to 29.57 feet at 2 a.m. CDT. The river a week from today is expected to exceed 36 feet, A LEVEL THAT IS MET ON AVERAGE EVERY 200 YEARS. Record flooding is currently taking place across the mid-Mississippi Valley. The level of the Cedar River at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was 30.85 feet at 3 a.m. CDT. The river has GREATLY SURPASSED THE PREVIOUS CREST RECORD of 20.0 feet from March 18, 1929. The swollen river has led to the closure of Interstate 80 in both directions at milepost 266. The road is not expected to re-open for the next two to three days. Flooding forced officials to close a 14-mile stretch of Interstate 90/94 in south-central Wisconsin Thursday. Drier weather will dominate the entire mid-Mississippi Valley on Saturday. The dry spell for the mid-Mississippi Valley will be very brief. A new storm will return the threat of severe weather and flooding on Sunday.

USA - MONTANA - RECORD STORM battered Great Falls area - Snow in June isn't all that unusual in Montana, but rarely does it come in the quantity that fell early Wednesday morning. A cold, wet system centered on Great Falls, shattering tree limbs with heavy snow and knocking out power across the city. By the time most people got to work, the National Weather Service had recorded 6.8 inches of snow at the airport on Gore Hill. That was 35 TIMES THE PREVIOUS SNOWFALL RECORD FOR JUNE 11 of .2 inches, recorded in 1969. The low temperature of 32 on Tuesday also BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD for the date of 34 degrees, also from 1969. The blast of snow wasn't quite enough to set Great Falls' all-time record for June snowfall — 8 inches fell on June 7, 1950 — but it was enough to immobilize a snowplow that was clearing roads for morning traffic. "That's PRETTY UNUSUAL this time of year — to get a snowplow stuck." With the exception of Great Falls, the storm dropped most of its snow in the mountains.

USA - IDAHO - Tuesday's snow in Boise is the LATEST EVER RECORDED - on Wednesday morning officials with the National Weather Service recorded a rain/snow mix at the Boise Airport, which makes for a new record. The latest recorded snowfall in Boise was June 7 in 1914, making Tuesday's trace of snow a new record. It's the latest June snow ever recorded, since weather statistics began being collected in 1872. “This is a VERY UNUSUAL WEATHER PATTERN we have been in."

USA - WASHINGTON - Freak snowstorm creates perilous alpine conditions - Trails that usually are clear by Memorial Day are buried under feet of snow, making them unsafe and delaying the high-country hiking season by weeks. The past few days felt more like March than June in South Sound, and it is still raging winter in the high country of the Cascades and Olympics. One hiker died and two others suffered frostbite when they were caught in a harsh snowstorm Monday near Camp Muir in Mount Rainier National Park. Experts at Western Washington national parks and national forests say that trails that usually are clear in mid-June still are buried under several feet of snow above 3,000 feet in elevation. "A lot of old-timers are saying it's been years and years since they've seen weather like this in June." The new snow falling on the high country is just adding to the deep snowdrifts left over from the record snowfalls of last winter. The calendar says summer begins June 20, but the weather says it's still winter above 3,000 feet. One site sampled in late May had 12 feet of snow, which is 165% of normal.

Farmers Almanac says weather in years ending in 8 can be UNUSUAL - the Farmer's Almanac devoted some space to the subject in this year's edition, including the hurricane of '38, the blizzard of 1888, and the ice storms of 1998 that left people in the northeast and Canada without power for days. It's not so unscientific because weather moves in cycles, so it's plausible that severe weather in North America coincides with 8's.

USA - CALIFORNIA - a state of emergency was declared in the coastal county of Santa Cruz south of San Francisco as wildfires threatened thousands of homes in the state's rain-starved north. The Santa Cruz fire has already ravaged 280 hectares and an unspecified number of buildings. In Butte County, two brush and forest fires have scorched some 10,000 hectares and destroyed 21 homes and 26 other buildings. Another fire was burning in Monterey county just south of Santa Cruz. "For the areas in Northern California that supply most of our water, this March, April and May have been THE DRIEST EVER IN OUR RECORDED HISTORY." Over January 1 to June 30, 2007 Los Angeles, in the southern part of the state, experienced its DRIEST RAINY SEASON IN 130 YEARS, with one-fifth of normal rainfall. One consequence was a rise in devastating fires in the second half of the year.

USA - EAST COAST - Deaths blamed on the East Coast's recent heat wave climbed past 30 Thursday. The UNUSUAL spring heat wave was blamed on “the Bermuda high” a semi-permanent air mass which shifts to the east or west over the mid-Atlantic. The heat and humidity have split, but not before toppling trees - big ones - all across Maryland and Virginia. The list of incidents of downed trees, with associated structural damage and power outages, is impressive.

***WATCHMAN... TALK ABOUT PROPHECY FULFILLMENT! MY OH MY!...

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Posted for JUNE 13-15, 2008 -----------------------------

U.S. emergency food reserves almost empty

U.S. grain reserves are running dry and is causing concern after it was announced the sale of 18.37 million bushels of wheat from USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust.

After this sale there will be only 2.7 million bushels of wheat left the entire CCC inventory.

There is no cheese, no butter, no dry milk powder, no grains or anything else left in reserve.

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Tasmanians face soaring food costs

Tasmanians are paying 30 % more for bread and butter than they were 6 months ago. Rice will be the next staple food item to skyrocket in price.

Australia has just recorded its worst rice harvest in 80 years.

Lemon shortage hits Britain

The price of a lemon has risen by 52 % at some supermarkets in Britain, after citrus fruit harvests failed around the world.

The problems are so severe that some fruit importers are warnings of a lemon drought.

Posted for JUNE 12, 2008 -----------------------------

Saturday March 15, 2008 Yea saith God did I not tell you last summer that the winds would strengthen and that disaster would come from them, you did not pay attention as the hurricanes came in upon the land, but will you pay attention now as the summer begins and has not even started yet and you are already seeing the winds strengthening, to a strength never seen before, you are seeing tornadoes move out of their normal places, I come as a warning to you saith God, for the time is short and the end is near, look not to man to help you with these things, look not to man to stop the things that are happening upon the earth, he cannot do it, but look to me saith the Lord.

Sunday MAY 4, 2008 Yea saith the Lord, for as I have told you that the tornadoes would move out of their normal places, I now tell you that not only will they do that but they will increase, they will in crease in intensity and in numbers and they will increase in veracity, for this is a warning upon the land saith God, heed my warning before it is too late saith the Lord.

USA NEBRASKA UNUSUAL TORNADO

A meteorologist says several aspects of the fierce thunderstorm that struck Omaha on the 8th made it difficult to predict. 

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning two minutes after the tornado had left the ground early Sunday morning. 

Officials estimate the tornado was on the ground from 2:17 a.m. to 2:24 a.m. 

The warning was issued at 2:26 a.m. 

It's EXTREMELY UNUSUAL for tornadoes to form in the early morning. 

The tornado also started rotating at ground level. Most tornadoes start rotating in the clouds and descend, giving weather radar a good chance to detect them early.

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Sunday March 30, 2008  Yea saith the Lord, for in the days that you live in, the place of the earth is changing to another place, for the time of the end is near and the day of the Lord is at hand, you are seeing the things that I have told you bout come to pass...though flooding will happen in many areas dryness will come upon others, so dry in fact water will be scarce, and I say to you that these days are days of trial and temptation, will you past these days into eternal life saith the Lord.

Sunday MAY 25, 2008 Yea saith God, for as I have told you the winds would strengthen and the fierceness of the storms would increase... for my wrath has come upon the earth saith the Lord, and I am disturbed, yea I am dismayed at my people who have gone away from my teachings and gone away from my authority, and made their own way, and made their own church, and made their own commandments saith God, but I the Lord have given you the comments that you need, stay with them, do not make your own, saith the Lord.

Raging Mississippi River floods could be worst in 15 years

Rising rivers wiped out an Iowa railroad bridge Tuesday, flooded Illinois farmland and forced residents along the Mississippi River to prepare for what could be the worst flooding in 15 years.

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US Towns submerged; crops drowned; rivers still rising; dams threatened

LAKE DELTON, Wis. - With rivers still rising, towns submerged and crops ruined after days of rain, the Midwest was told Wednesday to expect up to 4 more inches through Thursday.

"A cold front approaching from the Plains later on Wednesday through Thursday will bring the greater threat for not only heavy rain, but severe weather," the National Weather Service stated. "Rainfall amounts from 1 to 4 inches look likely for the Wednesday through Thursday time frame.

"With the grounds well saturated, much of this would runoff into rivers and streams already high with recent rainfall, leading to more river flooding," the agency warned, citing Iowa, southeast Minnesota and Wisconsin as flood watch areas.

Tuesday saw new levee breaks that swamped Illinois farms and homes — part of a week of severe weather in the nation's heartland that's claimed 15 lives and put new pressure on crop prices.

Three levee breaks along the Embarras and Wabash rivers in Illinois were causing widespread flash flooding of nearby areas — including Lawrenceville, a town of 5,000, and several smaller communities.

About 200 homes are in the immediately affected area, with water up to the roofs of some of them.

Between 50 to 75 square miles of farmland was flooded along the Embarras River, said Lawrence County Sheriff Russell Adams.

Watching dams in Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, engineers kept watch over rain-deluged dams Tuesday after a major collapse nearly emptied Lake Delton in a torrent that washed away houses and a highway.

In Cedar Falls, Iowa, officials were readying residents and downtown business owners to evacuate as the Cedar River threatened to spill over a levee. The river was expected to top the levee early Wednesday, prompting a mandatory evacuation of downtown, Mayor Jon Crews said.

In nearby Waterloo, fast-moving water swept away a railroad bridge used to transport tractors from a John Deere factory to Cedar Rapids. It also prompted the city to shut its downtown and close five bridges.

The widespread flooding was caused by violent, drenching weekend thunderstorms that displaced thousands of residents in several states.

The downpours flooded corn fields and made it difficult for farmers to plant, pushing corn prices to record highs on commodities exchanges this week.

New storms during the night knocked out power to more than 50,000 customers in Ohio, utilities reported Tuesday. Michigan utilities said about 247,000 customers were still blacked out because of the weekend storms.

The rainfall also has created flooding concerns along the Mississippi River. The National WeatherService predicted crests of 10 feet above flood stage and higher over the next two weeks at places including Hannibal, Mo., and Quincy and Grafton, Ill. Most of the towns are protected by levees, but outlying areas could be flooded.

"This is major flooding," weather service hydrologist Karl Sieczynski said of the Mississippi. He urged people in unprotected flood plain areas to seek higher ground.

Can lake be rebuilt?

In Wisconsin, an engineer assessment team from the National Guard was headed to Lake Delton on Tuesday to determine what would be needed to begin repairs on an embankment along the man-made lake that gave way, releasing a powerful current.

The 267-acre lake emptied into the nearby Wisconsin River on Monday, washing out part of a highway, sweeping away three homes and tearing apart two others.

Don Kubenik, 68, burst into tears after seeing the 2,800-square-foot home he built in 2003 snapped into pieces when the lake's embankment burst. The businessman from the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis said he spent every weekend there.

"That house had everything you can imagine and now it's all gone," said Kubenik, who was in West Allis when the lake overflowed. "My boat's gone. The pier's gone. Everything is gone."

The water pouring out of the reservoir also ripped away buried sewer lines, and a contractor started work Tuesday to stretch a temporary sewer line across the 200-yard breach. Raw sewage was still pouring out of the pipes and downstream to the Wisconsin River.

Lake Delton, a key part of the Wisconsin Dells tourism area, was nearly dry by Monday afternoon. The 20 resorts that line the lake already are reporting cancellations by people who had planned summer vacations in the area.

Second time around for town Residents of Gays Mills, about 70 miles southwest of Lake Delton, stood on the edge of their ruined town, so close to finally turning the corner before this latest flood.

For nearly a year, the tiny southwestern Wisconsin village along the lake has struggled to survive after a devastating flood. The new deluge may have sealed its fate.

Flash floods inundated the town of 625 over the weekend, just 10 months after residents worked to rebuild their homes and businesses.

The swollen Kickapoo River engulfed nearly the entire town Monday morning, forcing about 150 people to evacuate. By evening, the village was a grid of canals with cars submerged up to thei windows and parking lots looking like lakes, just as it was in August.

"I can't believe this is happening again," said Liz Klekamp, 23, who said she grabbed her cat and fled Monday morning when water poured into her house. "It's really, truly sad."

Asked if this was the end of the town, Village President Larry McCarn just stared and said: "It could be."

In waterlogged Indiana, military crews joined desperate sandbagging operations Monday to hold back streams surging toward record levels, and rushing water breached dams and washed out portions of highways.

Indiana officials said they could not give a dollar estimate on the damage or the number of homes and businesses destroyed by flooding caused by up to 11 inches of rain on Saturday. Two more inches fell Monday.

Some 200 Indiana National Guard members and 140 Marines from North Carolina helped local emergency agencies sandbag a levee of the White River at Elnora, about 100 miles southwest of Indianapolis. The White River was forecast to crest Tuesday at nearby Newberry at 16 feet above flood stage.

By Monday morning, flooding at eight sites in central and southern Indiana had eclipsed levels set in the deluge of March 1913, which had been considered Indiana's greatest flood in modern times, said Scott Morlock, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Indiana.

The weekend's heavy rain and the threat of more heavy rain later this week could push corn prices even higher, analysts say, likely adding to Americans' growing grocery bills. The price of corn for July delivery jumped to a record of nearly $7 a bushel Monday on the Chicago Board of Trade, up from around $4 a year ago.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels asked U.S. Agriculture Secretary Edward Shafer to declare farm disasters in 44 Indiana counties because of crop and livestock losses blamed on the flooding and other storms this month.

The weekend death toll included eight in Michigan, three in Indiana and one each in Iowa and Connecticut. Authorities said wet roads contributed to the deaths of two motorists in separate accidents Monday in Oklahoma, where more than 4 inches of rain fell.

Meantime, the East Coast is being baked by a heat wave. Heat watches and advisories were in effect Tuesday from North Carolina to New Hampshire. New York City recorded a high of 99 on Monday.

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FOOD SHORTAGES

Hot weather extending from Quebec to Florida has caused a number of fruits and vegetables to ripen quickly and come to market at low prices.

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FOOD SHORTAGES

The tomato industry in Florida has collapsed and $US40 million worth of tomatoes will rot unless the source of a salmonella outbreak can be quickly traced.

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USA rains take heavy toll on crops 

Putnam County, Indiana has been deluged with nearly 13 inches of rain — about one-third of the state’s YEARLY average.

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Posted for JUNE 11, 2008 -----------------------------

Rising sea water in India

Kandla had sea water entering low-lying hutments for the 4th consecutive day during high tide. Residents said although it was common for water to enter hutments during high tides, the phenomenon never occurred 4 days in a row.

The tides are higher than normal this year.

Residents of the 7,000-odd hutments said the water entered their homes at 3.30 pm when high tide starts and remained for about 4 hours.

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Unusually high tide in Pakistan

Unusually high tides have affected many coastal areas around Karachi. A large number of houses situated near the seashore have become inundated, and residents have been forced to abandon their homes.

According to the local villagers in one area, high tide hits the locality twice a month, because the village is below sea level. The current waves are much higher than usual.

People living in areas situated below sea-level face difficulties in the monsoon season and high tides, but they have never had to relocate.

This time around, however, these "strange waves" forced them to leave their houses.

Corn Jumps to Record on U.S. Midwest Rain, Crude Oil, Dollar

Corn jumped to a record on speculation rain in the U.S. Midwest will cut supply and as rising oil costs and the dollar's decline boosted demand for a hedge against inflation. Soybeans, wheat and rice also gained.

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Drought closes world's biggest cattle ranch in Australia

The world's largest cattle ranch has been forced to sell off its livestock and mothball operations because of the severe drought gripping much of Australia.

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U.S.A.

The US Midwest is braced for more bad weather after a weekend of storms that left eight people dead and forced hundreds from their homes. Meanwhile, the US east coast is suffering a heat wave, with temperatures forecast to hit 100F (38C).

Flood warnings remain in place for parts of Indiana, where rescuers have been using boats and helicopters to reach those stranded by rising waters. "This thing came on fast with such a radical deluge of water that people were describing going from a feeling of security to waist-deep water in a matter of 15 or 20 minutes."

Meanwhile, Wisconsin sought emergency aid for 29 counties, and a state of emergency has been declared in nearly a third of Iowa's 99 counties.

In Michigan, two delivery workers drowned when their vehicle became submerged in a creek swollen by heavy rains.

A tornado touched down in Omaha, Nebraska, causing damage to dozens of homes but no major injuries. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the region were left without electricity after storms took down power lines.

In Chicago, Illinois, residents are continuing to clear up after damage caused by high winds over the weekend.

The National Weather Service has issued heat warnings for eastern states including Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Virginia and North Carolina, as well as the nation's capital, Washington DC.

A stalled storm system poured heavy rain on parts of the Midwest on Monday, setting off severe flooding in Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin, where already swollen rivers and lakes overflowed their banks, broke through dams and created havoc for thousands of residents. The stationary storm aggravated a dangerously soggy situation. Thunderstorms that began late last week had brought 6 to 10 inches of rain to parts of the region, leaving the ground saturated. There were no new fatalities reported as of late Monday.

In Wisconsin, at least 90 roads and highways were closed because of flooding, which also caused three dams to fail and four to have water spill over. At least three houses were swept away as gushing lake water cut a new path through Lake Delton, a small town north of Madison. Now there is hardly any water in the lake. The lake broke its boundaries and essentially flowed away. “Water’s coming in, but as fast as it flows in it goes out.” Thousands of residents evacuated flood-ravaged communities in 30 counties across the state.

In Iowa, some river levels were EXCEEDING RECORDS, and a concentration of heavy flooding hampered the northeastern and central part of the state.

In Indiana, residents tried to raise a mile of levee by three feet along the White River at Elnora, southwest of Indianapolis, where the river was expected to crest and flood.

NORTH CAROLINA's heat wave has been knocking down records across the state, including SIX STRAIGHT DAYS OF RECORD TEMPERATURES.

PENNSYLVANIA had 3 heat waves in 2007. The current heat wave of 2008 has come in about a month earlier than last year's first heat wave.

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Posted for JUNE 10, 2008 -----------------------------

Rising Seas produce The world's first climate change "refugees"

The 1,500 residents of Carteret Island, an atoll of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, are fast becoming the world's first climate change refugees.

Sea levels around the atoll have risen 10cm in the past 20 years, inundating plantations, and the situation is deteriorating, islanders are saying they urgently need assistance to be relocated to higher ground.

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USA - NORTH CAROLINA - An early season heat wave has BROKEN HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORDS across much of North Carolina. At least four places set record highs Saturday. The heat wave that has baked North Carolina since late last week is caused by an UNUSUALLY high altitude ridge of air that has stalled over the state. Not only is it extra hot, causing water on the ground to evaporate, but the weather system is dry, preventing rainfall. The heat is also expected to foster poor air quality in much of North Carolina. The temperature reached 101 degrees at the airport in Fayetteville on Sunday afternoon, a new record for June 8, and the oppressive heat is expected to continue at least two more days. The previous record high for June 8 in Fayetteville was 98, set in 1933. Raleigh-Durham International Airport reached 100 degrees on Saturday to set a record for the date. Normal temperatures for this time of the year fall in the mid-80s.

Saturday May17, 2008   plotting behind the back of people, the cost of food rising higher and higher and higher...

Thousands clash with police in Egyptian bread riot

Thousands of demonstrators fought with police after a protest over flour rations in a town on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, a security official and state media said Sunday.

The state-owned daily Al-Ahram said some 8,000 protesters sealed off the main Cairo-Mediterranean highway for seven hours Saturday and burnt tires to stop traffic. Police fired tear gas and arrested dozens to disperse the crowd,

Widening Salmonella Outbreak Prompts Another FDA Tomato Warning

U.S. restaurants, retailers and food service operators were warned not to use some raw tomatoes in a widening outbreak of salmonella that increased the number of people who had to be hospitalized, according to the government.

Consumers and retailers across the country should avoid raw red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes, which have been tied to the 145 infections reported since mid-April, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement on its Web site

Posted for JUNE 9, 2008 -----------------------------

Saturday May17, 2008   plotting behind the back of people, the cost of food rising higher and higher and higher...

From Spam sales to rice riots – the food crisis bites

Spam flies off the shelves of American supermarkets; looted shops burn in Port-au-Prince, Haiti;

and the food crisis elbows climate change off the UN's agenda at a summit that draws more heads of state and media than any in recent memory – yet reaches no useful conclusions.

The food crisis has gripped the whole world in the past year, from the wealthiest countries to the poorest

More Food Summits, But Less to Eat

After two major U.N. food summits, one in 1996 and the other in 2002, the international community pledged to alleviate hunger and reduce malnutrition.

And a world conference on food back in 1974 went one better: it even promised to eradicate hunger "within a decade".

But most of the promises at the three U.N. talk-fests never came to pass -- despite the fact that the two summit commitments were made by world leaders

Food Scarcity 'Creating New World Order'

Unprecedented food scarcity is beginning to dictate the rules of a new political order where individual countries are scrambling to secure their own food supplies with little concern for the rest of the world, says the founder of the Earth Policy Institute.