Famines and Plagues
Key Scriptures
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Current Events and Links
Check the World Population Clock for an estimate of current population. It passed the 6 billion mark in July, 1999!
30,000 feared dead in floods
- Dec. 21,1999 - The actual number of dead in Venezuela's weather catastrophe will never be known since thousands are buried deep in the mud. The nation has sent out an urgent call for help.
- Source:BBC
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
- Dec. 17, 1999 - An interesting and informative series from BBC's award winning world affairs editor, John Simpson, on threats to the Earth's well-being. NOTE: The author's description of some of these "horsemen" is different from our interpretation of the first four seals of Revelation 6.
- First Horseman - Environmental Disaster
- Second Horseman - War
- Third Horseman - Organized Crime
- Forth Horesman - Disease
33 million carry AIDS virus
- Nov. 23, 1999 - The AIDS virus is still spreading even though there are powerful new drugs available. There are now 33.6 million HIV positive people including 1.2 children. In 1999 alone, 5.6 million will become infected with HIV.
- Source: news.com.au
India's Malnutrition Crisis
- Nov. 19, 1999 - According to a World Bank report about India, " half of all children under four are malnourished, it says, and 60% of women are anaemic."
Source: BBC
Aids: The Agony of Africa
- Nov. ,1999 - Part One: The Virus Creates a Generation of Orphans - by Mark Schoofs
- Two-thirds of the HIV-positive people of the world live south of the Sahara in Africa.
- Last year, the combined wars in Africa killed 200,000 people. AIDS killed 10
times that number. Indeed, more people succumbed to HIV last year than to
any other cause of death on this continent, including malaria. And the carnage
has only begun.
Source:The Village Voice
Superbug kills three more
- Nov. 4,1999 - Four deaths in Hong Kong have been attributed to a bacteria which has developed a resistance to the most powerful drugs, and is therefore unstoppable. The strain of bacteria is called vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA).
- Source:South China Morning Post
New Flu Strain Could Kill Millions
- Oct. 27, 1999 - A new and potentially deadly strain of flu, contracted from pigs in Hong Kong, is under scrutiny with the hopes that it will not spread rapidly.
- Pigs were thought to have started the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak, which lead to the deaths of an
estimated 20 million people around the world.
- Source:Yahoo
Nuclear reaction brought under control at Japanese uranium plant
- Oct. 1, 1999 - Japan's worst nuclear accident, an uncontrolled chain reaction at a uranium plant, has left two people critically injured, and 39 others exposed to high doses of radiation. The situation is now under control, and 300,000 people who had been ordered to stay indoors for two days are now free to go about their business. The plant is located in in Tokaimura, about 120 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Tokyo.
Source: CNN
'Very, very dangerous' Floyd heads toward Florida
- Sept. 14, 1999 - Hurricane Floyd brings potentially "catastrophic" winds to Florida and its neighbors today. Sustained winds of 155 mph are just below the 156 mph threshold of a Category 5 (the highest) hurricane.
- When Hurricane Andrew struck southern Miami-Dade County in 1992, the
Category 4 storm brought 150-mph (240-km/h) winds and 200-mph
(320-km/h) gusts. Dozens of deaths were blamed on Andrew, which made
160,000 people homeless and caused estimated local damage of $25 billion.
- "Andrew was almost the same intensity as this storm, but Andrew was
small," said Jarrell of the National Hurricane Center. "This is a huge storm so
... (Floyd) is much more dangerous than Andrew."
Source: CNN
U.N. official says world too slow on AIDS
- Sept. 13, 1999 - Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of the U.N. AIDS agency (UNAIDS), is calling for a world alliance to combat AIDS. He noted that half of all newborn babies in Africa carry the HIV virus that leads to AIDS, but not enough is being done to stop the epidemic.
Source: CBN News
Ebola-like virus kills 73 in Congo gold mine
- Sept. 10, 1999 - A gold mine in the Congo is the center of attention in the outbreak of a disease which is very much like ebola, and has caused 73 deaths so far.
Source: Excite News
Marine diseases set to increase
- Sept. 2, 1999 - According to an article in Science magazine, pollution and other human activities, as well as long-term warming of ocean waters, is causing diseases to be carried to remote species, resulting in mass mortalities. Source: BBC News
Decline In Deaths From AIDS Has Stalled
- Aug. 31, 1999 - AIDS deaths in the United States is still down, a trend that began three years ago with medical advances, but the rate of decline is dropping, and there are "disturbing signs that new HIV infections may be rising" among young homosexuals.
Source: Washington Post
The threat of bio-terror in the U.S.
- Aug. 30, 1999 - According to the August 1999 issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine,"Strike Teams" in 120 major American cities are in training for a possible major biological terrorist event. Perpretrators of a biological attack could be responsible for thousands of deaths within days of spraying lethal agents into the air or on food. By the time the illness is analyzed, several days later, the terrorists would have time to disappear, and infected people would travel all over the country spreading the disease.
Source: WorldNetDaily
'3.5m North Koreans starved to death'
- Aug. 30, 1999 - Isolated because of its threats of war, and ravaged by floods, North Korea is unable to feed its people. A Buddhist assistance agency has estimated that three and a half million people have starved to death there since 1995, and the rest of the population is undernourished and sickly. Some think North Korea would be willing to halt its military missile development in exchange for food.
Source:BBC News
'Scientists started Aids epidemic'
- Aug. 28, 1999 - A new book called The River makes a strong case for the possibility that the AIDS virus was first introduced to humans accidentally through a vaccine.
Source: BBC News
Ten Million Hungry In Africa
- Aug. 10, 1999 - According to The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, nearly 10 million people in sub-Sahara Africa need emergency food. One million people in Somalia alone face food shortages, and 400,000 of them are at risk of starvation.
- The Rome-based agency lists 16 nations, most in the east of Africa,
as "facing exceptional food emergencies" blamed on population
displacement, civil conflicts, weather, poor harvests and localized food
deficits.
Source: Virtual News
Ebola fears in Berlin
- July 5, 1999 - Two men in Berlin are believed to be the first Europeans to contract the Ebola Virus. The two, a cameraman and a biologist have just returned from the Ivory Coast. They have been placed in quarantine.
- Ebola causes severe bleeding and high fever leading to death. It has been considered untreatable, but just this week a Nigerian scientist claimed to have found a plant which may stop the spread of the disease. Even if it is valid, treatment will not be available for up to 5 years.
Source: BBC News
Emerging Water Shortages Threaten Food Supplies, Regional Peace
- July 17, 1999 - A new book from the Worldwatch Institute shows that spreading water shortages threaten to reduce the global food supply by more than 10 percent.
Left unaddressed, these shortages could lead to hunger, civil unrest, and even wars over water.
- Today, irrigation problems are widespread in the grain-growing regions of central and northern China, northwest and southern India, parts of Pakistan, much of the western United States, North
Africa, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula.
- Water tables are dropping steadily in several major food-producing regions as groundwater is
pumped faster than nature replenishes it. The world's farmers are racking up an annual water
deficit of some 160 billion cubic meters-the amount used to produce nearly 10 percent of the
world's grain. The overpumping of groundwater cannot continue indefinitely.
- From Sandra Postel's, Pillar of
Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last?
Biohazard bacteria stolen
- June 29, 1999 - A deadly culture of Tuberculosis was stolen from a medical conference in San Francisco by someone who probably has no idea what he has taken.
Source: BBC News
- See also: Six Diseases Threaten The World
Red Cross predicts climatic super disasters
- June 23, 1999 - Changing weather and population pressures brought the worst weather year on record, with 60,000 disaster-related deaths. It is thought that tlhe situation will continue to worsen.
- Source: Yahoo - International Disasters Report 1999 - Red Cross and Red Crescent
- See also: The Misery of '98- BBC News
- Related paper: 21st century disaster response: the new complex emergencies
Another Doomsday Clock Is Ticking, Ticking
- June 20, 1999 - Eric Margolis writes about the growing threat, especially from Russia and China, of biochemical warfare.
- According to Ken Alibek, a former deputy director of the Soviet-era top-secret biowarfare program, who
defected to the west, Russia never ended its offensive biological warfare research. Alibek claims Russia
has stockpiled many hundreds of tons of anthrax and plague, as well as smaller quantities of smallpox,
Ebola and Marburg virus, and toxins designed to attack plants and animals. Russia is also developing a
new strain of `invisible' biowarfare agents, known as `bioregulators,' that destroy the body's immune or
neurological systems.
700 Missing in Pakistani Cyclone
- May 21, 1999 - 170 mph winds caused tidal waves which submerged hundreds of small fishing villages about 40 miles east of Pakistans's port city of Karachi.
- Source: Yahoo (Story no longer on line)
US tornado breaks records
- May 13, 1999 - Wind speeds for the recent tornado in Oklahoma City were measured at 318 mph (509km/h). Such wind speeds were previously thought to be impossible.
- If the speed had been just 1 mph higher, this would have been the first storm ever to have been classified as an F-6 tornado.
Source: BBC News
Twisters slam Oklahoma, Kansas; at least 41 dead
- May 4, 1999 - Tornadoes may have destroyed 2000 homes in Oklahoma and Kansas. 36 people are known dead in Oklahoma and 5 in Kansas in the aftermath of an "unprecedented" series of twisters. Hundreds were injured. One of the tornadoes is thought to have been a mile wide.
Source: CNN
- See also: Yahoo Full Coverage: Severe Weather
Bleeding virus hits Congo
- May 4, 1999 - An Ebola-like virus has already claimed the lives of 63 people in the Congo, and is moving toward Sudan. This disease may or may not be like the Ebola virus, which was first identified in 1976. A epidemic in the Congolese city of Kikwit in 1995 caused at least 245 deaths.
Source: BBC News
Zimbabwe:1200 AIDS deaths a week
- April 18, 1999 - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe says that 1200 people are dying from AIDS each week, up from 700 per week a year ago. More than 20% of the population has the disease.
Source: Yahoo News (Story no longer on line)
Hail shatters Sydney
- April 14, 1999 - A freak hailstorm pounded Australia's capital city with some hailstones larger than golf balls, breaking building and car windows, and causing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage! Dozens of people were injured as well.
North Korea 'loses 3 million to famine'
- Feb. 17, 1999 - A survey, from North Korea's news agency Yonhap, indicates that their population fell by between 2.5 million and 3 million people from 1995 to March 1998. This means that droughts and floods have left the country in a far worse situation than previously believed.
Source BBC News
AIDS Origin Discovered
- Feb. 1, 1999 - Scientists have determined that human infection by HIV-1 began in the first half of this century "as a result of people hunting and eating the chimps." The article says that this practice continues today.
- The team said that genetic
tests show the main human
virus, HIV-1, is closely
related to a virus that infects
chimps but does not make
them sick.
33.4 million people were living with AIDS in December of 1998. 5.8 million became infected in 1998 alone - one every 11 minutes.
Source: BBC: Sci/Tech.
Record Year For Weather Related Disasters
- Nov. 27, 1998 - With one month to go, this Worldwatch Institute article declares 1998 the worst year on record for bad weather. Economic costs have totaled $89 billion, and,
- The direct human impact of this year's weather-related disasters has also been staggering. An estimated
32,000 people have been killed, and another 300 million-more than the population of the United
States-have been displaced from their homes or forced to resettle because of extreme weather events in
1998.
Hunger Even In America
- Nov. 25, 1998 - According to this Religion Today report, Bread for the World says one of every eight American families is on the edge of hunger this Thanksgiving. This is due, in part, to Congressional cut-backs on help for the poor.
- ...The demand for emergency food assistance increased by 26% in the
first half of 1998, Catholic Charities said. About 40% of those seeking food
aid in 1997 were members of families in which at least one person was
working. The wealthiest 1% of U.S. citizens had more money than the
bottom 90% combined in 1996, the Internal Revenue Service says.
Sudan: Cry, The Divided Country
- World Vision Policy Paper on Sudan
Shortage of Fresh Water Predicted
- Aug. 27, 1998 - In an AP article by Donna Abu-Nasr, the next generation will bring severe shortages of good water to as much as 1/3 of the world's population, and will probably lead to wars for water rights.
- To reduce demand for drinking water in the future, the report from The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health recommended that countries conserve water, pollute less, manage supply and demand of water better and slow population growth.
Now, nearly half a billion people don't have enough drinking water. That number is expected to increase to 2.8 billion people by 2025 - or 35 percent of the world's projected 8 billion people, the report said.
Today, 31 countries, mostly in Africa and the Near East, are facing water stress or water
scarcity. By 2025, population pressure will push another 17 countries, including India, onto the list. China, with a projected 2025 population of 1.5 billion, will not be far behind, said the report.
Source: Yahoo (Story no longer on line)
Sudan Famine Gets Worse
- July 31, 1998 - CNN reports on the sad plight of Sudanese refugees who, in spite of world aid efforts, are dying from malnutrition. Food delivered to Sudan is not easilly distributed because of the breakdown of roads and transportation during the past 15 years of civil war. The problem is compounded now because of the rains which threaten to spread disease and unsanitary conditions.
- A news report from Sudan.Net claims that 200 people per day are dying at present, and that 1.2 million people are at risk.
- See the related article about persecution of Christians in Sudan.
AIDS Getting Worse
- June 24, 1998 - While AIDS deaths have declined in some places due to better education and better treatment, it has skyrocketed in others. A new study from the World Health Organization shows that in 1997 AIDS death reached the 2.3 million mark, which is a 50% increase over the previous year. About 16,000 people per day contract the disease. In some parts of Africa one person in every 4 is infected. In the United States and Western Europe less than 1% of the population has AIDS. Experts estimate that an effective cure for Aids Is at least 10 years away. This Sunday the 12th World AIDS Conference will convene in Geneva. 12,000 specialists and others will discuss advances in HIV research. (Post Gazette Online)
All Fall Down
- May 11, 1998 - This article from The New Scientist magazine explains why a large terrorist "bio-attack" is a likely scenario for the future.
Youth Plagued by AIDS
- April 22, 1998 - A UN report claims that worldwide, children and youth between the ages of 10 and 24, are contracting AIDS at the rate of 5 per minute (7000 per day)! Because of this, UNAIDS is launching an education campaign called "Force for Change: World AIDS Campaign with Young People."
Serious Famines in Various Places
- April 14, 1998
North Korea - UN Aid is helping the approximately one-third of the population of North Korea which is suffering from severe famine. A meager harvest, flooding, drought and years of communist mismanagement, combined with the loss of Soviet aid have all contributed to this country's food crisis. (Source: MSNBC - Story no longer on line.)
Sudan - War between the Muslim government and the struggling Christians has resulted in severe food shortages threatening the lives of 350,000 people. This number is expected to rise to 1.6 million by August 1999 when there may be an adequate harvest if fighting does not continue. 1.3 million people have already died from fighting and famine. (Source: CNN- Story no longer on line.)
Ethiopia - Drought and a poor harvest have left 800,000 people in need of famine relief in Ethiopia. (Source: CNN - Story no longer on line.)
The Philippines - 300,000 families are hungry because of severe drought. 36 people have died recently from eating poisonous wild yams. (Source: Weekend News Today - Story no longer on line.)
Iraq - The infant mortality rate has risen to 6500 per month in Iraq because of the shortages of food and especially of medical supplies. (Source: CNN - Story no longer on line.)
Biological Terrorism: "Just a Matter of Time"
- April 2, 1998 - Maj. John Friel, chief of the Army's Chemical and Biological Defense Command in Abderdeen, Md., says that, even though no group is presently known to plan civilian attacks using chemical or biological weapons, it will eventually happen in a US city. Tokyo suffered such an attack in their subways three of years ago. That incident killed 12 and injured 6000. (Source: Yahoo / UPI)
World Health Organization: TB Out Of control- Mar. 19, 1998 - Health officials sounded the alarm that 1 billion may become infected by TB and 70 million die during the next two decades. The major problem is in poor countries with inadequate treatment, but there is also the threat of drug-resistant strains that have developed, for which there is no cure. (Source: MSNBC - Story no longer on line.)
Critical Famine in North Korea
- Mar. 13, 1998 - Despite severe rationing, it is feared that the country will run out of grain by mid-March. Three million have died of starvation according to reports, and another three million are at risk. (Source: Yahoo - Reuters - Story no longer on line.)
Expert: World Vulnerable to Biological Weapons
- March 10, 1998 - According to D.A. Henderson, former World Health Organization (WHO) scientist , anthrax and smallpox could be stolen from the poorly guarded Soviet Vector Base, the Russian complex that keeps eradicated viruses. These deseases could be developed into weapons which would be very effective because people are no longer vaccinated against them. (Source: Yahoo - Story no longer on line.)
Arsenic In The Water
- Feb. 19, 1998 - In one of the biggest outbreaks of poisoning this century, scientists have discovered that Bangladeshi villiagers are being slowly poisoned from water wells provided by foreign aid agencies. As many as 30 million people are at risk of developing cancer from the contamination. (Source: Online Guardian - Story no longer on line.)
Military To Get Anthrax Inoculation
- Dec. 16, 1997 - The government will begin the process of vaccinating all 1.5 million men and women in the armed services against anthrax, the deadly flu-like disease which can be used as a military weapon. (Source: Washington Post - Story no longer on line.)
Monkeypox Outbreak In The Congo
- Dec. 12, 1997 - According to a Washington Post article, there has been an increase of incidences of humans contracting Monkeypox in Congo, with at least 511 cases reported since February, 1996, making this the largest outbreak on record. The disease is similar to Smallpox, but less severe. So far, fatalities have been limited to approximately 5. (Source: Washington Post - Story no longer on line.)
Researcher Dies From Monkey Infection
- Dec. 11, 1997 - CNN - A woman researcher at Emory University's Primate Center contracted Herpes B from a monkey when a fluid from the monkey struck her in the eye. After a six-week struggle, the researcher, whose identity was not revealed, has died.
Who Believes In Global Warming?
- Dec. 4, 1997 - While the world debates the "problem" of global warming in Kyoto, conservatives are calling for a "Strike For Liberty" to oppose the President's position in this controversial issue.
- Study the matter and decide for yourself.
- Pro-treaty information
- Global Warming Central
- Earth Summit +5
- Anti-treaty information
- Global Warming Information Site
- There Is No Global Warming
- Strike For Liberty on December 5
AIDS Epidemic Is Far Worse Than Thought
- November 26, 1997 - According to an official report from UNAIDS, there are close to 16,000 new infections a day at present. From the report: "New estimates show that infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which causes AIDS is far more common in the world than previously thought (see table). UNAIDS and WHO estimate that over 30 million people are living with HIV infection at the end of 1997. That is one in every 100 adults in the sexually active ages of 15 to 49 worldwide ². Included in the 30 million figure are 1.1 million children under the age of 15. The overwhelming majority of HIV-infected people - more than 90% - live in the developing world, and most of these do not know that they are infected."
- There is much more information in the report.
The Coming Plague
- Overview site for two-part, four hour documentary about infectious diseases.
Here is the description of the documentary:
Turner Broadcasting Superstation has put two years of work into a 4 hour documentary based on the research from Laurie Garrett's book of the same name. Part 1 (two hours long) will show Sunday, April 20, 1997 at 9pm (ET). It will show again Monday, April 21 at 12:05 am (ET). Part II (also two hours long) will show Sunday, April 27 at 9pm (ET). Part II will show again Monday, April 28 at 12:05 am (ET).
Hour one: "Virus Hunters" follows disease cowboys around the world in an effort to solve epidemic mysteries anddiscover ways to prevent future outbreaks.
Hour two: "The Price of Passion" focus on the AIDS epidemic and its global implications.
Hour three: "Revenge of the Microbes" documents the pathogens ability to fight back against our technology.
Hour four: "A World Out of Balance" details how many aspects of 'modern' life must change if we are to avoid -- the coming plague.
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National Center For Infectious Diseases.
- Read about "New, Reemerging, and Drug Resistant Infections," and link to The Center For Disease Control.
Check out Today's News
Famine Links
- Bread For The World
- Disaster Relief Organizations
- World Vision
Weather Links
- Earth Watch
- Worldwatch Institute
In the actual software package, many key words would appear as colored hyperlinks to other articles. These links are not shown here.
Famines and Plagues
The above verses mention famines and plagues (pestilence) as one of the factors that would characterize the end times.
Famine is usually the result of changes in weather patterns or of war. Both of these are characteristic of our times. For most of our generation there have been great numbers of deaths, especially of the young because of famine. At times this problem reaches staggering proportions: 40,000 babies starve to death every day. (Time, 1/2/89, p. 66)
There have always been plagues, but they do seem to be increasing in our times. Cancer is an ever-growing threat, AIDS is a new disease or the most sobering proportions. So far there is no cure for this plague. Alzheimer's is a new, incurable ailment of the elderly. We are constantly hearing of serious outbreaks of such diseases as the Ebola Virus which can destroy whole towns. Terrifying reports are surfacing of a rare Flesh-eating Strep disease which disfigures or even kills its victims in a matter of hours. Resistant strains of "conquered diseases", such as tuberculosis are now appearing. Some people are even wondering if some of these problems are the result of genetic engineering.
Other "Signs of the Times": Apostasy | Lawlessness | Persecution | Earthquakes
Famines and Plagues | Terrors In The Heavens
Also, in the list below, False Christs and Wars are also considered "Signs of The Times."
See features of The Prophecy Puzzle, Bible study software for prophecy students.
Last Updated: 12/21/99
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