Displaying items by tag: storm damage

On 27 September Florida’s governor told millions, ‘You must evacuate now’. By the 29th Hurricane Ian, the worst storm in US history, had devastated Florida with cars submerged, power lines downed, and rivers sweeping away homes. Storm surges of 18 feet are forcing water inland across 250 miles of coastline. At the time of writing a 140-mile wide system is crawling towards Orlando. 24 inches of rainfall is expected in the next 48 hours. The storm surge flooded Port Charlotte’s hospital emergency room, and fierce winds ripped away the intensive care roof. Pray for the evacuated 2.5 million people, the 30,000 search and rescue teams, the ambulance and medical teams, and the 7,000 National Guards ready to help once the weather clears. The hurricane knocked out Cuba’s entire electricity grid before reaching the USA.

Powerful Hurricane Laura battered the Louisiana and Texas coastline, bringing unsurvivable storm surges up to 20 feet in Louisiana and Texas with 150 mph winds. Parts of Lake Charles will be underwater that no-one has seen before. 100,000 residents are at risk of flooding. Pray for the search and rescue operations as they swing into action. The storm is complicating evacuations in the midst of a pandemic, as officials send evacuees to hotel rooms. Pray for all evacuees now in fear for the future. Some first responders in Louisiana stood outside the sheriff's office for a moment of prayer before the hurricane made landfall. Over 270,000 homes in Texas and Louisiana are without power. Pray for hospitals and the vulnerable who need electric machines to survive. People refusing to evacuate were told, ‘Write your name, address, social security number and next of kin and put it in a Ziploc bag in your pocket. Pray that it does not come to this.’