![]() Neighbouring Malawi - where health authorities are battling a cholera outbreak - is also set to be affected. Mozambique's national disaster management agency estimates more than 1.5 million people have been affected since the storm first hit last month, with more than 8,000 forced from their homes.Ī humanitarian operation is under way in the region, but there are fears that aid efforts may be hampered by new heavy rains from Freddy's return. It's really scary," charity worker Vania Massingue, from the port city of Quelimane in Zambezia province, told Reuters.Įxperts says climate change is making tropical storms around the world wetter, windier and more intense.įreddy had already broken records for the strength it has accumulated over the 8,000-km (5,000-mile) path it travelled across the Indian Ocean for north-western Australia. "I can see some houses with roofs torn apart, broken windows and the streets flooded. The cyclone is reported to have stalled offshore and is thought to be making its way on to land soon. The denomination's distinctive practices include a refusal to bear arms, receive blood transfusions, salute a national flag or participate in secular government.More than half a million people could be at risk of a humanitarian crisis this time around, according to local disaster agencies.Īs the high winds hit the country, one person died when his house collapsed, Reuters news agency quotes state channel TVM as saying.Įlectricity has been turned off as a precaution by the power utility firm and all flights have been suspended, according to TVM. Members are known for their evangelistic efforts that include knocking on doors and distributing literature in public squares. It claims a worldwide membership of about 8.7 million, with about 170,000 in Germany. Jehovah's Witnesses are part of an international church, founded in the United States in the 19th century and headquartered in Warwick, New York. His video showed a person firing multiple shots into the building through a first floor window before the lights inside the room went out. After police arrived, one last shot followed about five minutes later, he said. Miesbach told German television news agency NonstopNews that he heard at least 25 shots. The figure later apparently emerges from the hall, is seen in the courtyard and then fires more shots inside. Gregor Miesbach, who lives within sight of the building, was alerted by the sound of shots and filmed a figure entering the building through a window. She said she looked out her window and saw a person running from the ground floor to the second floor of the Jehovah's Witnesses hall. "There were always several shots in these periods, roughly at intervals of 20 seconds to a minute," she said. ![]() ![]() Student Laura Bauch, who lives nearby, said there were around four periods of shooting, German news agency dpa reported. He said police did not have to use their firearms. He said that after officers arrived and found people with apparent gunshot wounds on the ground floor, they heard a shot from an upper floor and found a fatally wounded person upstairs who may have been a shooter. Police spokesman Holger Vehren said police were alerted to the shooting about 9:15 p.m. The scene of the shooting was the Jehovah's Witnesses' Kingdom Hall, a boxy three-story building next to an auto repair shop in the Gross Borstel district, a few kilometers (miles) from downtown Hamburg. We appreciate the courageous help provided by the police and emergency services." "We understand that the authorities are still investigating the details of this crime. "The congregation elders in the local area are providing pastoral care for those affected by the event," he wrote. Hamburg officials said there would be a news conference Friday afternoon to discuss details.ĭavid Semonian, a U.S.-based spokesman for Jehovah's Witnesses, said in an emailed statement early Friday that members "worldwide grieve for the victims of this traumatic event." Officers placed yellow cones on the ground and windowsills to mark evidence. On Friday morning, forensic investigators in protective white suits could still be seen outside the building as a light snow fell. Investigators worked through the night to secure evidence. Police said during the night that they believe that there was only one shooter, and that that this could be a person who was found dead in the building. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a former Hamburg mayor, described the shooting as "a brutal act of violence." There was still no word on a possible motive for the shooting on Thursday evening that stunned Germany's second-biggest city. An unspecified number of other people were wounded, some of them seriously. BERLIN - A shooting at a Jehovah's Witnesses hall in the German city of Hamburg killed eight people, apparently including the perpetrator, police said Friday.
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