In Thailand, flooding has plagued large areas of the country since July, and now it appears to be headed for the city of Bangkok. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has issued an evacuation warning for suburbs of the area, which caused many citizens there to panic. Flood waters are flowing south toward Bangkok, and have already affected northern parts of the city.

Tropical Storm Lee continues to cause devastation in the eastern United States. Driving rain has pelted parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland, flooding homes and businesses there. At least three people have died as a result, and 130,000 people have had to leave their homes and flee to safety.

Upstate New York and parts of Vermont were struck by rapid flooding brought on by Tropical Storm Irene over the weekend. Due to wind damage and fallen trees, downed power lines remain a problem, as do hundreds of flooded roads. In Vermont, there have already been three confirmed fatalities due to the storm — two were swept into rushing waters and drowned. Fifty-thousand homes and businesses remain without power in what officials are calling Vermont's worst natural disaster since flooding in 1927. A majority of homeowners in Vermont who were affected by the storm lack insurance that covers flood damage.

By all accounts, the Mississippi flood waters threatening communities across the South are reminiscent of the “Great Flood” of 1927. That historic event forever changed how the country’s levees, spillways and flood control systems are built and operate. It allowed for federal and state governments to create a flood preparedness system to make sure we never see a disaster like 1927 again. But despite the best efforts by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard and emergency responders, thousands of people have already lost their homes to the rising flood waters. 

The Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers continue working around the clock to prevent massive flooding to major cities in the South. But even as they open floodgates and break through levees, the Mississippi River continues to rise. If it rises above 18.5 feet — two feet higher than it was on Saturday — access to parts of the river could be limited or temporarily shut down.

The Mississippi flooding heading south into the Delta, the 200 mile stretch of land between Memphis, Tennessee, and Vicksburg, Mississippi. Along the way, river residents are watching the waters and the levees carefully, scared that they won't hold. In Vicksburg, the flood is supposed to crest just under the historic record high — and the Army Corps of Engineers says it is monitoring the situation. But even further south, in New Orleans, it is not just the vision of the Mississippi — but the memory of Hurricane Katrina that haunts residents.

We’re seeing the worst flooding along the Mississippi river in many decades. Eight states have evacuated residents, levees have been blown up or breached and the water is still coming. Many are saying that by the time the flooding reaches the southern Mississippi Delta, we’ll be looking at the worst flooding on this river since the great flood of 1927.

The Australian state of Queensland — a state with the area the size of France and Germany combined — has been hit by flooding, inundating 20 towns and affecting more than 200,000 people. It’s one of the area’s worst natural disasters, and Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard has boosted emergency support, increasing rescue crew numbers and providing hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency grants to residents.

Devastating flooding in Pakistan continued over the weekend as the Indus River surged south and authorities raised the spectre of easily communicable waterborne diseases passing among the millions of people displaced from their homes.

The flooding is taking place during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It's a time when, along with prayer and fasting, Muslims donate to various charities. We're taking a look at how Ramadan is being observed in Pakistan and here at home where Muslim communities are rallying to raise donations.  

To support relief efforts in Pakistan, the United States currently has 18 military and civilian aircraft in the country and three based in Afghanistan. American helicopters have evacuated nearly 6,000 people and delivered more than 717,000 pounds of relief supplies. And Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has just announced the U.S. will increase aid to Pakistan to $150 million.

But the context for the American military presence in Pakistan is more complicated than simply delivering humanitarian aid. Pakistan is home to militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, whose offshoot organizations have already become a visible force during this crisis. The Pakistani Taliban is already believed to be behind two attacks against security forces in Peshawar since the start of the flooding.

The U.N. estimates that as many as 20 million people have been affected by the massive flooding in Pakistan. People have lost their homes and their land, and there'a a high risk of water-born illnessess. Children are especially affected by illnesses like eye infections, scabies and diarrhea. Aid workers are faced with a huge job as they try to help the victims.

Lucia Ennis regional director for Asia at the aid organization Concern Worldwide describes the challenges of getting food and supplies to 250,000 victims of the floods in Pakistan, as waters spread to the south. She says the most important thing is to get clean water and food to the victims.

One fifth of Pakistan is underwater, and many of the country's residents — reportedly as many as 400,000 — continue to be threatened by the worst flooding in nearly a century. Some of the hardest hit are those in the country's more remote regions, where aid and even information is difficult to deliver. Our partner the BBC has offered a radio service called "Lifeline" that is trying to help reach Pakistanis, offering a call-in for people who need important aid information, and also giving them a forum for telling their own story during the disaster.

The number of people affected by the massive flooding in Pakistan over the past week is larger than the combined total of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Flash floods have hit neighboring Kashmir, killing at least 85 people, and China where more than 1,300 people are feared missing. In Europe, a heat wave has led to the deaths of 5,000 people, and in Russia drought and wildfires are ravaging the country.

Are all these simultaneous natural disasters this summer just a big coincidence, or is it a harbinger of something more serious for Planet Earth? Environmentalist Bill McKibben connects the dots and finds out how much it has to do with global warming.

Pakistan's worst flooding in 80 years has killed hundreds and displaced what's estimated to be more than a million people. The United States has pledged $10 million in relief, in addition to providing helicopters and other critical supplies to Pakistan. But is this enough relief to matter?

• FLOOD TAKEOUT: 24 people have so far been confirmed dead in the floods that hit the Southeastern United States. More than half of those killed are in Tennessee. We get a live update from WPLN Reporter, Blake Farmer, in Nashville, Tenn.
• LISTENERS RESPOND: Following an attempted car bombing in New York City’s Times Square on Saturday, Takeaway listeners write and call in to share their experiences of the importance of being vigilant.

Below: Video from the floods

Flooding has caused the death of at least 95 people in Rio de Janeiro, and more rain is expected in the next few days. The downpour is the worst in decades. It has caused huge mudslides that swept away homes in hillside shanty towns. The city of Rio has been paralysed and the authorities have declared it a disaster zone. The BBC’s Paulo Cabral is in Rio de Janeiro and joins us with the latest.