On Sept 2, my wife (Cindy) and I
left a day early to fly to Miami from Tallahassee to help our daughter
(Jenna) prepare for Hurricane Frances. We live in Panama City, and it is
about a 95-mile drive to the airport. Jenna had just moved into her first
house with our grand-daughter (one year old) in Miami Shores. Jenna’s
husband was out of the country for several weeks and she asked if we could
come down to help with our grandbaby since she works full-time.
We left a day early (changed flight plans) since we were flying out of
Tallahassee’s airport to avoid our flight being cancelled the next day.
At the time we left, Hurricane Frances was a category-4 storm heading
slowly and directly for Miami (not following the computer predictions for
turning northward).
We arrived at 10 a.m. at the Miami airport and I spent the next eight hours
helping Jenna make preparations for the storm but there was no plywood
available. We spent 2.5 hours taking down a large canvass awning that went
across the back of the house after making several calls to a vendor in Maine
as to how to take it down (we had to unbolt the vertical legs from the patio
and fold them horizontally into two brackets on the house, remove five large
horizontal staves and then roll up the canvas, since this awning had never
been removed the latches were hard to operate and it took a long time to
undo the rusted bolts).
Next we had to hand-bail out a pool, store roofing tile in the backyard
away from house, take down flower pots, tape windows, travel to the store
for milk, park a second car at a mall three miles away (driveway prone to
flooding), etc. It rained for the next seven days straight and the sewer
backed-up but after saying a lot of rosaries Hurricane Frances turned at the
last moment and went north into West Palm Beach after (miraculously)
dropping in strength.
No sooner had Frances passed Miami than Hurricane Ivan was coming at Miami
as a very dangerous catergory-5 storm. It would be difficult to evacuate
much of Miami at this point because gas supplies along Interstate 95 were
low since there had not been time to get many trucks out to re-supply since
Frances was still hitting central Florida.
Most people decided to stay that were not directly on the water.
The same shortage problems were occurring with food supplies since the
central distribution points for trucks was in central Florida which was
getting flooded by the slow motion of Hurricane Frances. This time we got a
lot of plywood and boarded up all the windows and doors to the house. We
kept waiting to decide to evacuate or not as the storm did not turn and
finally passed west before turning northward.
We flew back to North Florida on Tuesday morning (just ahead of Ivan) –
only four people on the jet. Again the track of the Hurricane Ivan at this
point was on Panama City but gradually shifted west to Pensacola/Gulf
Shores.
We arrived in time (24 hours ahead of the storm) to prepare for Hurricane
Ivan (category-4) and to say more rosaries for mitigation.
Both my wife and I grew up and went to high school together in Pensacola and
were married in Pensacola (Sacred Heart Cathedral). We have close childhood
friends who lost their homes in Pensacola after the storm so the events of
the past three weeks have brought a new realization of community and family
to us.
Cindy’s brother had three large pine trees fall into the pool at his
house and a car port fell on his new car. The city of Pensacola looks like a
war zone and houses/condos on the barrier islands such as Santa Rosa and
Navarre are destroyed (major future insurance issues).
Huge waves (perhaps higher than 30 feet) hit Pensacola Beach and Gulf
Shores – nobody can recall a storm of this magnitude hitting Pensacola
since 1926 (this type of event has been predicted to occur in the US in
prophecies by a number of Catholic visionaries as well as increasing storms
of this magnitude continuing to happen).
Cindy and I travel to Pensacola regularly to visit family. In June of
this year as we were traveling home over the Escambia Bay Bridge (Interstate
10), Cindy said to me she did not like this bridge. When I asked why, Cindy
said she had a repeated dream in which she saw the span of the east bound
lane of this bridge collapsing into the Escambia (Pensacola) Bay.
At the time, the location where Cindy said this to me was at almost the
exact location where this bridge collapsed from the surge from Ivan last
week (I have since heard a rumor there are design issues with the
construction of this particular type of bridge span which had only vertical
supports).
My aunt (now 85 years young) lives in Tiger Point (near the water about ten
miles east of Pensacola). Despite repeated attempts by her daughter to get
my aunt to evacuate she refused but went to a neighbor (cousin) to “ride out
the storm”. My aunt and the other couple had to form a human chain to get to
another house on a hill when water started coming under the door at the
height of the storm. They barely escaped with their lives with gusts of 120
mph+!?
What is now happening is that people have to come together to share food and
water in these devastated areas in Florida. All the roads to Pensacola were
knocked-out after the storm. At least fifty of the electrical substations
are heavily damaged and 80percent of the electrical transmission system may
have to be replaced. It will take weeks to restore some power back other
than the beaches. However, city water is working in some areas. The death
toll is now at 48 for Pensacola but you may not see this in the news any
longer (officials will quote a lower number just after a storm and usually
not mention it again).
To help expedite the Florida emergency requests, Senator Bill Nelson (FL) is
personally manning the phones in Destin to get the proper State/Federal
emergency responses (this is a needed action for your communities).
FEMA (to register for disaster assistance call 1.800.621.FEMA) will normally
set-up a free water, ice and food distribution centers at a either Fire
Station, Wal-Mart parking lot or other central point (find out where yours
maybe located in the event of an emergency) as soon as possible after a
disaster (three to five days?). The food is distributed in a box with
fifteen individually-wrapped packages or meals in a box (military meals
called MREs). To open a package you do not need scissors. You pull the food
package apart from the center.
Inside the package is a small box with the main course (say beef
enchiladas). Open the box and pull out the plastic-wrapped meal but do not
yet open the plastic-wrapped meal. You can heat it (chemically – no matches
required only a bottle of water). There is another light green wrapped
piece of felt looking material in a separate wrapping. Open this package
from the top and pull out the felt material. Add about one inch of water to
this plastic bag. Next combine your plastic-wrapped meal and the white felt
and stick it back inside the water-filled bag. In a few minutes the bag
(meal) will get hot, and will be ready to serve (hot) in ten to fifteen
minutes.
As we enter the End Times, I have already seen the city I grew-up in and
love (Pensacola) destroyed and this has become a bitter reality. We also had
tornadoes strike Panama City and Blountstown that were large (not seen
before in this area) and two of them killed seven people. Fourteen homes
were destroyed in Panama City and 56 damaged from one tornado event. There
were many other micro-bursts which also occurred. The storm since caused a
lot of other flooding and damage along the entire east coast including
knocking out power in our son’s apartment in Atlanta as well as extreme
flooding – this water will continue to flood low-lying areas in South
Georgia and Florida.
Why did it happen to Pensacola? Pensacola is a faith-filled, conservative
community with strong roots in family ties in which many generations grow-up
and go to school together.
Pensacola also had one of the nation’s first abortion clinics – the Ladies
Center. Many people who once lived in Pensacola have come back to retire
including many military. My personal feelings is that Pensacola will serve
as a future role-model for the rest of us as to how to we should cope as
Christians when faced with a major disaster. It is already placing a premium
on sharing resources to survive and to rebuild a “new community.” There will
be many “lessons learned” out of this disaster for the rest of the US.
Perhaps this is the beginning of “predicted significant natural disasters”
which are now striking the heart of America. Be prepared – both physically
and spiritually.
Where would you stand if all roads are cut-off and gasoline is in short
supply (cannot run home generators either)? What if there is no electrical
power for a month and sewer systems do not work? What if the churches can no
longer hold services for months or the buildings are heavily damaged and
cannot be occupied? Do you have cell phone numbers for family and friends
written down?
Without power, your cell phones cannot be charged – you need to
pre-arrange a call time between loved ones in the future for cell phones to
conserve battery power in an emergency. Do you have a satellite phone or
cell-tower phone? Satellite phones may work if the cell towers get
knocked-out during a storm!? You need to have extra bottles water on hand,
canned food, propane tanks for cooking, “C” and “D” batteries (one of the
first items stores will sell-out for flashlights), powdered milk (?), keep
car tank full of gas (or more than half-full), extra plywood to board up
windows, buy five-gallon plastic pails to fill with water (replace water in
toilet systems), battery-powered radio and mini-TV (for tornado warnings),
evacuation plans thought out and rehearsed (do you really wish to get on
Interstates with millions of other people) or find back roads/motels off the
main drag, have a good set of US maps readily available and a compass, and
most importantly carry an extra rosary and prayer in your heart for the rest
of us.
We are the children of the Light. We need to come together and do things for
ourselves and each other. Our existing infrastructure is too fragile to
survive continuing disasters – stringing wires on poles for electrical
systems are cheap but archaic. Most importantly you will find you need to
place your trust in The Father and ask Our Mother to intercede for your
family. I know I did…..and it works if you believe!
Peace,
Dr. Stephen A Rinehart
Second story
Dear Spiritdaily
I so very much look forward
to your writings on your web site. Prayerful consideration of the
prophecies you present for discernment is a high point of my day.
There is the added reason that our governor is not only pro-life, he's a
devout Catholic who has consecrated the state of Florida to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Not only that, he's
the only Republican governor in the history of the state to be
reelected.
I've been watching him on the local news, and listening to his words.
He's a man of faith who cares deeply about the people of Florida, and we
are so lucky to have him.
I've written before, about being called to Florida -- after 15 years,
finally making it here, and the thought of living anywhere else is
unthinkable. It's painful even to leave the state for vacation (that
probably sounds neurotic - and maybe it is, a little).
We live in interesting times, my friends. VERY interesting times. I
pray that the Lord is merciful in His Divine Justice!
Deb Brown
Orlando, Florida
Third story
Dear Spiritdaily
Hi this is about the
results my mom, my aunt in Tampa, Florida, and I experienced as it
hit the Florida coast. The hurricane was in the path arc of my
aunt's house on the eastern coast so the night before the storm was
to hit we all prayed together, the three of us, and we saw the
storm had turned so sharply, as the news was dubbing it,
miraculously. I could feel the power as we prayed together. Thank
God for His blessings and thank you for allowing me to share them.
Clare
Fourth story
Dear Spiritdaily
Hello! a team of UCLA
scientists have predicted a major quake in Southern California. They
have successfully predicted two others. While it is reported to occur
in the desert, it could have an effect on large metropolitan areas.
I firmly believe what Our Lady says about prayer changing the course of
nature. God is God and it's all up to Him, but it would sure be nice if
the West Coast had prayer covering like Florida did so recently.
Thanks ever so much,