A young Jewish couple were killed by a falling tree as Hurricane Sandy hit Brooklyn, New York, on Monday night.

Jacob Vogelman and Jessie Streich-Kest, both 23, were walking their dog when they were struck by the tree in Ditmas Park, according to various media reports.

Freak flooding sent rivers of water into Jewish homes and businesses in Manchester on Sunday afternoon, one of only a few areas to be hit in the region following a two-hour deluge.

Turkey has accepted Israel's offer of foreign aid in the wake of an earthquake in the east of the country.

Following the disaster, Israeli President Shimon Peres telephoned his Turkish counterpart, President Abdullah Gul and offered to send search-and-rescue teams, food, medicine, medical staff and equipment.

Israel was among the first countries to offer support to Turkey following the devastating earthquake in the east of the country.

The death toll from the disaster has reached above 200 people and there are fears it could rise significantly.

Three Jews were among the 40 deaths in 10 American states hit by Hurricane Irene, reports said this week. Among them was a rabbi, a first aid worker and a Holocaust survivor.

On Sunday, Rabbi David Reichenberg, 50, who lived in Spring Valley, New York, was trying to save a father and his six-year-old son, Reuven Herbst, from power lines which had been downed during the storm.

The Jewish community of Joplin, Missouri, is struggling to come to terms with the effects of the huge tornado which hit the town this week, killing 125 people and turning houses into rubble.

Although not one member of the 50 Jewish families that live in the town were killed, many lost their homes.