PRAYERS ARE LIFTED AS HURRICANE FLORENCE APPROACHES THE CAROLINAS
By: Katrina de Schiffert
Citizens of the Carolinas were once again urged today to evacuate if they have not yet done so.
Over one million Americans are under mandatory evacuation orders and more than 20 million people are threatened by the impending storm.
Despite the evacuation order, some people are choosing to stay in their homes, a dangerous decision, as the governor of North Carolina, Ryan Cooper warns the people of North Carolina, “Hurricane Florence will affect each and every one of you. This storm is a monster. It’s big and it’s vicious. It is an extremely dangerous, life threatening, historic hurricane. That’s why I’m ordering a mandatory state evacuation to our barrier islands and I’m directing the people of North Carolina to obey local evacuation orders that have already been issued and will be issued along out coast. Don’t bet your life on waiting out a monster.”
Pastor of First Dallas Baptist Church in Texas, Robert Jeffress, a state that has seen their share of natural disasters tweeted a message yesterday asking, “Christians everywhere to join me in praying for those facing this deadly storm, both for the residents, and for the first responders whose job it is to run toward danger.”
Citizens of North and South Carolina have been warned of the extreme dangers of the approaching storm. The wind speeds have dropped from 225 km/h to 175 km/h, changing the storm from a category 4 to a category 2.
Despite the drop in category, Florence is still going to be extremely dangerous, the large and growing wind field makes the potential of ocean surging dangerously high – the potential for tornado watches are high as the hurricane approaches.
Strong winds have started along the coast as the slow but mighty moving storm moves in. Torrential rain could dump as much as 10 trillion gallons of rainfall in North Carolina, earning the name, ‘Storm of a lifetime.’
Astronaut, Alexander Gurst tweeted from space, “Watch out America!, #Hurricne Florence is so enormous, we could only capture her with a super wide-angle lens from the @spacestation, 400km directly above the eye. Get prepared on the East Coast, this is a no-kidding nightmare coming for you.” To see the photos click here: https://twitter.com/Astro_Alex/status/1039870760343543814
Other twitter users are lifting prayers, and encouraging residents to stay safe, get out and bring their pets with them!
Context joins with Christians around the world today and pray for the people of Carolina and all others who are bracing for the storm.
Below is a video from our partners at Global News Alliance.
Hurricane facts:
Slower moving hurricanes, such as Florence, produce more rainfall, which can cause more damage due to flooding than fast-moving hurricanes.
Although hurricanes and tornadoes both contain extremely strong rotating winds, they are very different natural disasters. Hurricanes are wider, last longer, and can be seen days in advance, whereas tornadoes are not as wide, and often last no more than an hour, and often cannot be seen more than 30 minutes in advance.
