Wild and weird weathers have become the new normal for countries across the globe. These are just a few of the headlines around the globe.ONE News, 13 October, 2012
Wild weather lashes New Zealand
Wild weather lashing the country has closed a major tourist route and knocked out power to parts of Auckland.
DAILY MAIL REPORTER, 18 August 2012
Weather gone wild!
Incredible National Geographic pictures show the awesome power of mother nature across America.
Kirkville Daily Express, 29 December 2012
Wild weather year with drought, wind storm
The year's wild weather (in the UK) from little precipitation during the spring and summer to damaging wind storms makes the No. 2 top local story of 2012.
NBC News, 30 December 2012
Nature’s fury: The weather of 2012
It seems that from coast to coast, no one was spared extreme weather in 2012. In a look back at some of the severe weather across the country, communities endured tornadoes, wildfires and hurricanes.
Detroit Free Press, 30 December, 2012
Wild weather slams U.S., world.
From heat to floods, it's another year for records.
WASHINGTON -- As 2012 began, winter in the U.S. went AWOL. Spring and summer arrived early with wildfires, blistering heat and drought. And fall hit the eastern third of the country with the ferocity of superstorm Sandy. This past year's weather was deadly, costly and record-breaking everywhere -- but especially in the U.S.
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There is no denying the fact that natural disasters have been on the upswing in the United States (and worldwide). In the past two years, floods, drought, tornadoes, and hurricanes have occurred with record frequency. In the past week, the year 2012 added to its list of destructive weather a powerful winter storm that hit the southern states hard.
The big news from this weather event was the number of tornadoes it generated: there were 40 tornado reports. The National Weather Service has determined whether some of these reports were just straight-line winds. Since the old record is only 12, it is almost a certainty that we will pass the record for the most number of tornadoes occurring on Christmas Day.
While the Gulf states were getting hit by tornadoes, an ice storm was generating wide-scale damage here in central Arkansas. Terry and I live in the city of Benton, AR, and our city had its worst weather of this type since 2000. There are trees down all over town, and a third of the city is without power.
I'm currently sitting at a desk in the Arkadelphia, AR, Days Inn, so it goes without saying that the power is out in our neighborhood. Since Terry lives right across the street from me, retreating to his house was not an option. Terry's son, Terry Jr., has set up a heater to keep their house warm, and they have a generator. My house is about 55 degrees.
I did have two battery power units that helped me through the first day of the outage. I have a mobile internet card to act as a backup when my cable modem fails. Once the battery units ran out of juice, I headed south on the interstate.
The key functions of the site continued despite my absence. Since the folks who labor to maintain RR (Rapture Ready) are spread out across five states, the daily news, message board, and RR radio carried on as normal. The only real snag was the addition of new articles, which is a task that I solely manage.
Terry and I had talked about how we would operate if there were a major weather event in our area. The plan was for me to hit the road before a big storm. Unfortunately, in this case, the weather service provided no warning about how bad the ice was going to be. Since there are all these tall trees on the side of the road, I learned that it's best to wait out the storm before making your retreat.
I think it’s important for every student of prophecy to plan around the increase of last-days birth pangs. For example, Memphis, Tennessee, is a nice city, but I would never live there because of its proximity to the New Madrid fault. I would have the same caution about living in any of the other earthquake risk zones. If you live in an area prone to earthquakes and you don't have the option of moving, there are things you can do to lower your risk of calamity.
There is no way I could give my blessing to someone who had a home destroyed and wants to rebuild in the same location. I'm sure most of victims of Hurricane Sandy will rebuild their homes in the same spot. Since it is already a given fact that another hurricane will come within 100 years and damage their new homes, the possibility of a shorter time scale would give me pause. The people who rebuilt after the great flood of 1993 on the Mississippi River found themselves repeating the disaster in the great flood of 2011. The way things are going, the next great flood might only be a few years away.
Bible prophecy warns that calamities will only increase as we get closer to the Tribulation hour. In the near future, there may be other disasters that we find ourselves being forced to cope with, but we do have hope for relief. Jesus told us that all these warning signs would be the calling of our final redemption.
"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21: 8-11, 25-28).