Revelation 11:17 "We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was; because you have taken your great power, and reigned.

Revelation 11:18 The nations were angry, and your wrath came, as did the time for the dead to be judged, and to give your bondservants the prophets, their reward, as well as to the saints, and those who fear your name, to the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth."


Damaged homes in the Lake Sumter Landing subdivision of The Villages, Florida

Storms, tornado kill 19 in central Florida

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Severe thunderstorms and at least one tornado killed 19 people on Friday when they ripped through Florida in the dead of night, tearing homes to shreds, toppling heavy trucks and leaving a trail of rubble.

More than 500 homes, buildings and churches were damaged or destroyed across a wide area of central Florida north of the key tourism region around Orlando. But two of the area's biggest attractions, Walt Disney Co.'s Disney World and Universal Studios Florida, were not affected.

Rescue teams fanned out in the morning to search for survivors and victims who might still be trapped under flattened homes.

Crunched cars were flung onto porches, and battered sofas and fridges stood in piles of debris scattered over the exposed concrete foundations of houses.

The storm hit at 3:15 a.m. (0815 GMT) and a spokesman for the Lake County sheriff's office said at least one and perhaps two tornadoes touched down in a state that ranks only behind the infamous "Tornado Alley" in the U.S. Midwest for the number of tornado strikes. Most, such as a twister on Christmas Day last year, cause no fatalities.

"The death toll is up to 19 now," said Kevin Lenhart, spokesman for the Lake County emergency operations center.

Christopher Patton, another official at the emergency center, said three were killed in Lady Lake, about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Orlando, and 11 in nearby Paisley, on the edge of the Ocala National Forest. It was not immediately clear where the other five people died.

Pastor Howard Roszak of the First Baptist Church in Paisley said two teenage boys who belonged to his church were killed. One of the boys died along with his father, while both parents of the other teen were killed.

'NOTHING LEFT'

"I know all these kids real good. I love these kids. I hear there is nothing left ... just absolutely nothing," Roszak said, referring to the home of one of the boys.

About 1,000 tornadoes hit the United States annually, killing on average 80 people a year, and winter tornadoes appear to be more prevalent during El Nino years, when the waters of the eastern Pacific become unusually warm.

"This is something that we've seen here in the past in our state when we've had El Nino conditions in place," said state meteorologist Ben Nelson.

In February 1998, a swarm of tornadoes killed more than 40 people in central Florida and injured scores more. One narrowly missed the crowded tourist area that includes Disney World, Universal Studios Florida and Sea World.

The National Weather Service said it believed more than one tornado touched down on Friday but had yet to ascertain that.

Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Miller said the tornado blew over five tractor-trailer rigs on the interstate highway in Volusia County at about 3:45 a.m.

"We saw tractor-trailers littered all over the interstate," she told CNN. "We had a few cars mixed into that."

The storm knocked out power to more than 42,000 utility customers but only 7,800 were still without electricity by mid-afternoon, an official with the local utility, Progress Energy, said.

Florida's $9 billion citrus industry "truly dodged a bullet" since the storms hit on the northern edge of the orange-growing region, said Mike Sparks, chief executive officer of Florida Citrus Mutual. He said the impact to citrus was insignificant.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency in four affected counties, allowing emergency funds to be distributed as needed, and went on a tour of the damage.

The Red Cross opened shelters for people left homeless.

Worst floods in five years swamp Indonesian capital

JAKARTA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Torrential rain triggered the worst floods in five years in the Indonesian capital on Friday, as torrents of muddy water up to 2 metres (6.7 ft) deep swamped roads and stranded residents, police and witnesses said.

A police official at the Duren Sawit area of East Jakarta said officers were checking on a report two people had died from electrocution related to the floods.

Floods during the rainy season in Indonesia are common, but the heavy rains this week have caused chaos on roads and shut some train lines around Jakarta, police said.

"There is waist-deep water outside my building," said Rhea Chand, who works in development and lives in South Jakarta.

Mutiara Padmosantjojo, a 31-year-old child counsellor also living in South Jakarta, said the floods knocked out power.

"We've had a black out since last night. My house is not flooded, thank God, but I cannot go anywhere. I feel as if I live on an island surrounded by water."

Pratiwi, an official at the country's electricity company, said 293 electrical relay stations had been shut in Jakarta due to flooding.

A major toll road leading to the airport was closed briefly and telephone lines were also down in some parts of the city of 9 million as flooding affected underground cables, officials said.

Soldiers evacuated some residents in rubber boats in flooded slum areas, while outside the capital, train and road lines were cut in the Tangerang district west of Jakarta, Antara said.

The rain affected a large swath of West Java including the capital, Tangerang and the city of Bogor, home to famed botanical gardens, said Kukuh Ribudianto of the Meteorology agency.

In the capital, the rain had stopped by Friday afternoon, but another official at the agency said more downpours were likely until Saturday.

1,000 turkeys killed by bird flu

About 1,000 turkeys at a farm in Suffolk have died from bird flu, government vets have confirmed.
Vets from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the birds had tested positive for H5 avian flu.

It is not yet known if it is the H5N1 strain, which can be passed to humans.

Further tests are being carried out on the birds which died at a farm believed to be owned by Bernard Matthews, in Holton near Halesworth.

'Significant mortality'

Defra said reports from the farm were received late on Thursday night and the premises were immediately placed under restrictions.

"A full investigation began at 0900 GMT this (Friday) morning, with samples being sent to Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Weybridge, for testing," she said.

Sources at Defra have told the BBC that the alarm was raised by the farmer after he noticed "significant mortality" among his flock.

About 80% to 90% of the turkeys in the shed were showing signs of illness - going off their food and general malaise, which are among the symptoms of avian flu.

Chickens culled

There are 15 types of bird, or avian, flu. The most contagious strains, which are usually fatal in birds, are H5 and H7.

There are nine different types of H5. The nine all take different forms - some are highly pathogenic, while some are pretty harmless.

The type currently causing concern is the deadly strain H5N1, which can prove fatal to humans.

In May last year, more than 50,000 chickens were culled after an outbreak of the H7 bird flu in farms in the neighbouring county of Norfolk.