At least eight people have died and some 1,150 homes have been damaged in flooding triggered by torrential downpours in the Houston area this week as more rain fell in the region on Wednesday adding to vast pools of standing water.
New York City on Friday ordered the evacuation of more than 250,000 people and prepared to shut down its entire mass transit system, both unprecedented measures ahead of the expected battering from Hurricane Irene.
Mass flash flooding triggered by Cyclone Yasi caused severe damage to Jewish community buildings in Melbourne. Floods stormed through several suburbs heavily populated by Melbourne’s Jewish community of 50,000 on the evening of Feb. 4, prompting the closure of the Sephardi Synagogue on Shabbat.
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