A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches, associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican church, view the diaconate as part of the clerical state; the title is used for the president, chairperson, or head of a trades guild in Scotland. The word deacon is derived from the Greek word diákonos, a standard ancient Greek word meaning "servant", "waiting-man", "minister", or "messenger", it is assumed that the office of deacon originated in the selection of seven men by the apostles, among them Stephen, to assist with the charitable work of the early church as recorded in Acts 6. The title deaconess is not found in the Bible. However, one woman, Phoebe, is mentioned at Romans 16:1–2 as a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. Nothing more specific is said about her duties or authority, although it is assumed she carried Paul's Letter to the Romans.

The exact relationship between male and female deacons varies. In some traditions, the title "deaconess" was sometimes given to the wife of a deacon. Female deacons are mentioned by Pliny the Younger in a letter to the emperor Trajan dated c. 112. “I believed it was necessary to find out from two female slaves who were called deacons, what was true—and to find out through torture ”This is the earliest Latin text that appears to refer to female deacons as a distinct category of Christian minister. A biblical description of the qualities required of a deacon, of his household, can be found in 1 Timothy 3:1–13. Among the more prominent deacons in history are Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Prominent historical figures who played major roles as deacons and went on to higher office include Athanasius of Alexandria, Thomas Becket, Reginald Pole. On June 8, 536, a serving Roman deacon was raised to Silverius; the diaconate has been retained as a separate vocation in Eastern Christianity, while in Western Christianity it was used in cathedrals and as a temporary step along the path toward priestly ordination.

In the 20th century, the diaconate was restored as a vocational order in many Western churches, most notably in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the United Methodist Church. In the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox churches, the diaconate is one of the major orders — the others being bishop and subdeacon. Deacons assist priests in their pastoral and administrative duties, but report directly to the bishops of their diocese, they have a distinctive role in the liturgy of the Western Churches. Beginning around the fifth century, there was a gradual decline in the diaconate as a permanent state of life in the Latin Church; the development of a cursus honorum found men entering the clerical state through tonsure ordination to the minor orders of lector, exorcist, acolyte before ordination to the major orders of sub-deacon and deacon, all stages on the path to priesthood. Only men destined for priesthood were permitted to be ordained deacons; as seminaries developed, following the Council of Trent, to contemporary times, the only men ordained as deacons were seminarians who were completing the last year or so of graduate theological training, so-called "transitional deacons."

Following the recommendations of the Second Vatican Council, in 1967 Pope Paul VI issued the motu proprio Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, reviving the practice of ordaining to the diaconate men who were not candidates for priestly ordination. These men are known incorrectly as permanent deacons, in contrast to those continuing their formation, who were called transitional deacons. There is no sacramental or canonical difference between the two, however, as there is only one order of deacons; the period of formation to the permanent diaconate varies from diocese to diocese as determined by the local ordinary, but it entails a period of prayerful preparation and several years of study. Diaconal candidates receive instruction in philosophy, study of the Bible, sacramental studies, ecclesiology and pastoral care and ministry before ordination, they may be assigned to work in a parish by the diocesan bishop, where they are under the supervision of the parish pastors, or in diocesan ministries. Unlike most clerics, permanent deacons who have a secular profession have no right to receive a salary for their ministry, but many dioceses opt to remunerate them anyway.

During the Mass, the deacon's responsibilities include assisting the priest, proclaiming the Gospel, announcing the General Intercessions, distributing Communion. They may preach the homily; as clerics, deacons are required to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. Deacons, like priests and bishops, are ordinary ministers of the sacrament of Baptism and may witness at the sacrament of Holy Matrimony outside of Mass. Deacons may lead funeral rites outside Mass such as the final commendation at the gravesite or the reception of the body at a service in the funeral home, may assist the

The Bohai Sea or Bo Sea known as Bohai Gulf, Bo Gulf or Pohai Bay, is a marginal sea 78,000 km2 in area in the east coast of mainland China. It is the northwestern and innermost extension of the Yellow Sea, to which it communicates to the east via the Bohai Strait. A medium-sized gulf, the Bohai Sea is enclosed by four provinces from three different regions of China — Liaoning and the Tianjin municipality and Shandong, considered part of the internal waters of the People's Republic of China, it is the center of the Bohai Economic Rim, its proximity to the Chinese capital Beijing makes it one of the busiest seaways in the world. Until the early 20th century, Bo Hai was called the Gulf of Chihli or the Gulf of Pechihli or Pechili. Zhili and Beizhili were historic provinces in the area surrounding Beijing. There are three major bays inside the Bohai Gulf: Laizhou Bay to the south, Bohai Bay to the west, Liaodong Bay to the north; the provincial-level administrative divisions that have a coastline to the Bohai Sea are, from the south going clockwise: Shandong, Tianjin, Hebei again, Liaoning.

Some of the major rivers draining into the gulf include the Yellow River, Xiaoqing River, Hai River, Luan River, Dai River, Daling River, Xiaoling River, Liao River and Daliao River. There are a few important oil reserves including the Shengli Field. Important islands or island groups in the gulf include the Changshan Archipelago, Juehua Island, Bijia Mountain, Changxing Island, Xizhong Island, the East/West Mayi Islands, Zhu Island and She Island; the opening of the Bohai Gulf is bounded by the aforementioned Changshan Archipelago between Dalian's Lüshunkou District on the southern tip of Liaodong Peninsula, the Cape of Penglai on the northernmost protrusion of Shandong Peninsula. Due to its proximity to the capital city Beijing and the population of its surrounding provinces exceeding 210 million, the exit of the Bohai Gulf to the Yellow Sea, the Bohai Strait, has become one of busiest sea routes in recent times. Due to the Changshan Island Chain traversing the southern half of the strait, the Bohai Strait is subdivided into several channels: Laotieshan Channel known as the Lau-ti-shan Channel, the widest and deepest Daqin Channel Xiaoqin Channel North Tuoji Channel South Tuoji Channel Changshan Channel, the most direct route to Tianjin Dengzhou Channel known as the Miaodao Channel or Miaodao Strait, the nearest to shore but the shallowest There are five major ports along the Bohai Sea rim, with throughputs over 100 million tons, though the port of Tangshan is further subdivided into Jingtang and Caofedian: Port of Yingkou Qinhuangdao Port Port of Jingtang Port of Tangshan Port of Tangshan Caofeidian Tianjin Port Port of Huanghua Caofeidian and Jingtang are treated as one port for statistical purposes.

The ports of Dalian and Yantai are traditionally considered part of the Bohai rim though speaking they lie outside the limits of the sea. The Port of Longkou reached 70 million tons of cargo in 2013, is expected to reach the 100 million ton landmark in the near future. Liaoning province Dalian Yingkou Panjin Jinzhou Huludao Hebei province Qinhuangdao Tangshan Cangzhou Tianjin municipality Shandong province Yantai Weifang Dongying Binzhou The Bohai Bay contains significant oil and gas reserves, providing much of China's offshore production; the main field in the region has been exploited since the 1960s. It is declining. Production is dominated by Chinese majors but foreign companies are present, like ConocoPhilips, Roc Oil, others; the Gudao Field, located in the Zhanhua sedimentary basin, was discovered in 1968, based on gravity and seismic surveys between 1963-1964. The reservoir includes the Guantao and Minghuazhen geologic formations within the dome-like anticline; the Suizhong 36-1 Oil Field was discovered in 1987, produces from Oligocene fluvial-deltaic and lacustrine sandstones.

Oil spills have been reported in this region: three spills occurred in a two-month timeframe in 2011. In February 2011, the PRC announced that it would build a road and rail tunnel across the Bohai Strait to connect the Liaodong and Shandong peninsulas; when completed, the tunnel would be 106 kilometres long. This plan seems have been superseded as of July 2013, with a modified plan involving a 123-kilometre tunnel between Dalian and Yantai, Shandong; the overall concept had its origins in a 1994 plan, intended for completion by 2010 at a cost of $10 billion. Balhae, Korean kingdom named after Bohai Bijia Mountain Bohai Economic Rim Bastion Unep Reports – Regional Definition: Bohai Sea

Flood is a 2002 disaster thriller novel by Richard Doyle. Set in present-day London, the novel depicts a disastrous flood and fire of London, caused by a storm, the consequential accident at an oil refinery, failure of the Thames Barrier; the plot is similar to his 1976 novel Deluge, updated to include the construction of the Thames Flood Barrier. The book was adapted into a 2007 disaster film, directed by Tony Mitchell. In 1953, the East coast of England was struck by one of the worst storms of the century. In response to this, the Thames Flood Barrier was opened in 1984. However, global warming has resulted in rising sea levels, higher waves and more frequent extreme weather. Londoners have become thinking that the flood barrier will protect them; the events will prove them wrong. The Prime Minister is out of the country, leaving the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Secretary Venetia Maitland in charge; as the danger signs mount up, officials at all levels of the government are reluctant to take the necessary precautions, relying on margins of error, earlier missed predictions and fearing the consequences of an unnecessary evacuation.

A storm rages over the north of Britain, a troop carrier founders in the Irish Sea, flood indicators go off the scale, the seas are mountainous and a spring tide is about to strike the East Coast. Air-sea rescue and military personnel struggle to save lives all down the coast; the worse is yet to come. When the storm reaches the south the two forces of wind and tide will combine and send a huge one-in-a-thousand tidal surge up the Thames, but London is safe: the Thames Barrier will save the capital from disaster as it was intended to do? The river is a titanic presence by now, higher than anyone has known it, the surge thunders towards the Barrier. Scientists begin to talk of the possibility of overtopping. Can fifty feet high gates be overwhelmed by a wave? There is an explosion the size of a small Hiroshima: a supertanker is ablaze in the estuary and most of the Essex petrochemical works are going up with it; the Thames catches the wall of fire and water thunders towards Britain's capital. This is the story of what happens next, the desperate attempts to save the capital from destruction.

Firefighters and other first responders from all around the country, supplanted by German and American military bravely fight against the disaster, but they can only save a fraction of those threatened. The saviour of London proves to be the same thing that threatened it, with rain from the storm extinguishing the fire. Due to the vignette style, many characters are unnamed, only appear in single vignettes. However, many characters are recurring throughout the book. Venetia Maitland: Home Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister - With the prime minister on a visit to Australia, Maitland is the most senior politician available. Roland Raikes: Secretary to the Civil Contingencies Committee; the civil servant charged with organizing the response to any emergency. Angus Walsh: Engineer in charge of operating the Thames Flood Barrier. Lauren Khan: Journalist for the Daily Telegraph. Claire Panton: A teacher supervising her school's trip to the Dome. Paul Suter: A repair gang leader on the London Underground.

Melanie Sykes: Junior doctor at St Thomas's Hospital. Ted Turner: Captain of the Jen-0 Tug & Fireboat, escorting a VLCC to dock at the Coryton Refinery. Sophie de Salis: A banker with an office in Canary Wharf. Chrissie de Salis: 12-year-old daughter of Sophie de Salis. Jo Binney: Friend of Chrissie de Salis. Harriet Binney: Mother of Jo Binney