Condition Critical for United States Gulf And Atlantic Coasts
My brothers and sisters on this site; I beseech you through the love and mercy of our Lord Jesus to devote a little time this weekend to prayer for a situation that is rapidly turning into what could become something this country has never encountered. Allow me to elaborate.
Three years ago today, the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts were devastated by hurricane Katrina. We all saw the images of New Orleans and the barren coastline of Gulfport, Mississippi. A few weeks after Katrina hit, hurricane Rita slammed into a sparsely populated section of Louisiana near Port Charles. A month after Rita hit, Florida was hit my hurricane Wilma. All three of these hurricanes were category 5 storms at one point in their existence.
Only by the grace of God did these three storms end up not causing far more damage than they did. If Katrina would have stayed a category 5 storm, there would be no New Orleans to rebuild and the Mississippi coast would have yielded thousands upon thousands of fatalities. If Rita would have stayed on course for Galveston/Houston; the entire oil industry would have been basically shut down for months and we would have seen $5 gasoline back in 2005. If Wilma had veer a little north, she would have followed the exact same track as Charley had the previous year, thus ruining all the rebuilding work.
Hurricane Gustov is only the tip of the hurricane iceberg that is coming over the next month or so. There is a very real possibility that by early next week there could be 4 named storms at once in the Atlantic. There is a distinct possibility that Florida, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and even New Jersey and points north could all be impacted by devastating hurricanes over the next month. Many of these places could encounter multiple hits my multiple hurricanes.
Most of us live in places not directly impacted my hurricanes. We all live in places impacted by the effects a series of hurricanes would have on our lives. Even now, most oil companies are evacuating their workers from platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. The result is an immediate rise in the cost of gas. If one or more hurricanes damage the petroleum refineries in Texas, Louisiana or Mississippi; we will be seeing an immediate return of sky high gas prices.
The United States opened its collective hearts and wallets after Katrina in a way never seen before. Even by the time hurricane Rita hit, the level of donations dropped off the cliff. Since 2005, the people of this country have tired of hearing about Katrina and have focused their giving on more current needs. Even now, there are still tons of unmet needs stemming from the flooding earlier this summer in Iowa and other states, just as there are from the rash of spring tornadoes.
Americans, and especially charitable Christians are stretched so thin financially, they have little left to give. FEMA is stretched so thin it has turned down numerous requests for financial help that just a year ago they would have granted. The American Red Cross and other charities long ago exhausted all non-earmarked funds for this year. The stage is set for a true humanitarian disaster.
Please, if you can devote a little time this holiday weekend to praying for those who live along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of this country, I am sure they would appreciate it. Even now, huge sections of Florida and other states are trying to clean up from the relentless rains of tropical storm Fay. Thousands of homes were flooded in areas never known to flood previously. Now many of these areas face the threat of Hurricane Hanna which is brewing near the Bahamas.
Wherever Gustov hits, there will probably be damage as bad or worse than Katrina. Right now most experts have moved the track west to endanger Houston. The storm could still go east and hit New Orleans and Mississippi. Speaking with colleagues in these areas, I can tell you the people are very upset and frightened. Many have just recently gotten their lives back in order from Katrina/Rita and now they are faced with the possibility of an even stronger storm. Please pray for these folks.
Those charged with the safe evacuation of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people face the daunting challenge of not pulling the trigger too soon yet not waiting too long. Please pray for the officials who must make these decisions and for those who must carry them out. Evacuations are never pleasant and when people are scared or angry, they can become dangerous.
The various agencies trying to establish tracks for not only Gustov and Hanna, but the upcoming storms have a thankless job. If they are off by even a few miles in their forecast, they will be hated and despised by not only those who get hit, but those who didn't and were forced to evacuate. Please pray that the forecasters do the best they can do and issue warnings for the right places and the right times.
Finally, please pray for those who are even now frantically preparing for life after the storm. Having been on the front line of Katrina relief, I can tell you the job is too big for anyone on their own. Those attempting to secure provisions and arrange for the orderly evacuation of clients need prayer cover to enable them to have strength and wisdom. They need prayer for their facilities that they endure the storms and can be open to help those in need afterwards.
I know most people pay little attention to weather that is not directly affecting them, but in this case, please understand that we could very well be dealing with multiple disasters bordering on the catastrophic over the next few weeks. We could be dealing with millions upon millions of displaced people with nowhere to go and few resources available to them. We could be dealing with government agencies so overextended that the United States military would be dispatched.
Those facing a very uncertain immediate future need all our prayers and then our help very soon. These could be a few weeks coming up that truly do try the soul of this great country. I pray this country, and especially us Christians rise to the challenge and let our lights so shine for all to see.
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Author: blessings2you
Location: Warrenton Missouri USA
Gender: Male
Age: 57
Blog Entries: 824 (archive)
Blog Comments: 1356
god called me to serve him when i was 16 years old while on a church work trip in new mexico in 1969. in the 40 years since; i attended bible school/leadership training, been ordained to the christian ministry and worked full time for a non-denominational ministry for nearly ten...
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in 1969 god stepped in and transformed my life as a sixteen year old teenager. after a couple of years of intense emotional ups and downs, i decided i needed a firm foundation in my life that went beyond emotional experiences. it was the decision to become involved with a...
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