These are times that are trying many souls

Over the course of the past year or so, we have witnessed catastrophic earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, New Zealand and Japan.  We have seen a tsunami suddenly kill thousands of people and cause turmoil and anxiety even unto this present hour due to the problems at a nuclear power plant in Japan.  We have seen volcanoes erupt in Iceland and ice storms in places that rarely see them.  Through it all, the United States of America was basically unscathed.

Over the past few weeks, the forces of nature have unleashed their fury upon the very heart of America.  Through wildfires burning in Texas, flooding along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and the current incredible outbreak of tornadoes; there is no longer any feeling of invincibility in this land.  As if the current situation were not bad enough, a very active hurricane season looms just ahead.

In due time, all the damage being done by all these natural disasters will act as a financial stimulus as people will find jobs rebuilding houses, businesses, churches and other facilities.  But, in the short term, the current situation is too much for many to bear.  Losing one’s home or business is a traumatic experience that leaves deep scars in someone’s hearts for years to come.  Obviously there are many hurting people around right now.

The frustration people go through dealing with insurance companies, government agencies, financial institutions and employers is hard to understand unless a person has lived through a major disaster or worked with those who have.  People can talk about “trusting God” all they want, but when your home is a pile of debris, your place of employment is demolished and your creditors want payments NOW; the pressure many times literally breaks people and demolishes families.

In 2006 I took a very long and difficult trip to Cameron, a little town on the coast of southwestern Louisiana, which had been utterly destroyed by hurricane Rita the previous year.  The area was a ghost town as it had been literally forgotten due to most of the emphasis being placed on Katrina damage.  As I trudged through the sand looking at the destruction I came upon a few very haggard people hanging around a white tent.

When I inquired as to what was going on, I was told of how there used to be a church ministry that brought food to that tent twice a week but had run out of resources and had to stop.  My heart ached for these poor people who received no aid from FEMA, the Red Cross, Salvation Army or any other group except one lonely ministry who could no longer find the resources to get food to them.

I was not able to do much but the pictures I took of the people and their plight did make their way to some agencies which in due time were able to get some resources down there.  The town had literally fallen through the cracks due to all the other needs.

As people attempt to put their lives back together in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas and Virginia; I pray that those of us unaffected by the current onslaught of floods and tornadoes remember those whose lives have been turned upside down.

These are very troubled and turbulent times and many of our brothers and sisters are hurting right now.  If ever they needed a friend to lend them a hand or a shoulder to cry on it is NOW.  If there was ever a time to redouble our prayers and “stand in the gap” it is NOW.  If there was ever a time to intercede on behalf of those who are struggling to stay sane and alive, it is NOW.  Truly this is a time to pray for and reach out to all those engaged in the worst battles of their lives.

Fires, Floods and Fears of Hurricanes; Disaster Update 7/1/08

FIRES

As of early this morning, over 1,400 fires were burning in California with no relief in sight.  Many of these fires have been burning for over a week with new ones starting daily.  With the weather forecast calling for a chance of more dry lightning, there is a crisis of epic proportions brewing in paradise.  Even now, there are air quality warnings in effect for much of the Bay area as the smoke from fires settles over the area.  The fire near Big Sur may prove to be especially devastating due to the loss of tourism during the normally busy summer. 

Every tanker used to fight wildfires in the United States is currently in use in California.  This is very troubling since the fire season usually doesn’t peak until the end of July and first of August.  This summer could end up being one of the most physically and financially taxing in many years.  President Bush has already declared California a disaster area and thus eligible for federal help.

FLOODS

Now that the levee has broken at Winfield, Missouri, the flood of ‘08 will be hard pressed to keep its position at the top of the headlines.  As the rivers slowly fall and the extent of the devastation in Iowa, Indiana and Illinois (along with Missouri) begins to be apparent; the full scope of this disaster will shock anyone with eyes to see.  Unlike tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes; flooding generally does not physically destroy buildings.  Floods creep in, do their dirty work and sneak out.  The damage done by floods is not seen looking at a dwelling from the outside.  The damage is internal.

Not only does furniture and other personal effects need to be replaced after a flood; of much greater importance is the replacing of ruined carpet and drywall.  If said items are not replaced, there is almost a dead certainty of black mold growing.  One of the problems with a major flood along a river a wide as the Mississippi is how long it takes for the flood waters to recede.  In flash flooding, the water comes up and goes down quickly.  In major river flooding it take a long time for both the water to rise above flood stage as well as to drop below it.

FEARS OF HURRICANES

The hurricane season has completed its first month with only one very minor named storm.  Is this unusual?  Not at all would be the correct answer.  Although not unheard of to have a hurricane in June, it is very rare.  The components needed to develop and grow a storm into hurricane strength are usually not there in June.  July is when the various pieces of the hurricane development puzzle start coming together and August through September is usually when the greatest threat of hurricanes striking the United States exists.

Those entrusted with trying to see what the next few months hold are very concerned about the potential for at least one major hurricane hitting the East Coast of the United States.  Most experts are expecting at least one direct hit and possibly two or three by the time the season winds down in October.  Areas from Texas to Florida should be ready to deal with potential development by mid-July and North Carolina and points north by August.  This is NOT  a year to take the hurricane threat lightly.

CONCLUSION

This has been an exceptionally difficult year for states such as Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.  Many of these states have been hit with repeated disasters starting with ice in December and continuing to the present flooding and violent storm damage.  Missouri saw horrific flooding in the southern part of the state this spring and now has seen disastrous flooding along the Mississippi River in the northeast part of the state.  So far, the only silver lining has been that the Missouri River has not reached levels anywhere near the floods of 1993 and 1995. 

Iowa was buried with record snows this past winter and then inundated with incredible storms this spring and early summer.  It is no wonder that when areas were hit with a half foot of rain a few weeks ago, the inevitable result would be massive flooding.  Earlier this year Arkansas was hit repeatedly with deadly tornadoes which claimed many lives and caused extraordinary damage.  Also this spring the major rivers in Arkansas reached historic levels and caused extensive damage.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

It has been a rough year for middle America and the year is only half over.  Although the emphasis now switches to the western fires and potential hurricanes in the southern and eastern United States; I pray all remember the all those who will still be suffering in middle America when the rest of country sits down to Thanksgiving dinner.  It takes time to recover from tornadoes and floods even when on a small scale.  It takes “forever” to recover from repeated disasters impacting thousands upon thousands of people covering almost one third of this country.

I am sure those who have lost everything to storms and floods would greatly appreciate your prayers and any help that you could send via your favorite charity.  Many groups are working as hard as they can to help as many as possible.  They are all spread very thin and have pretty much exhausted their resources.  If you want to help, please contact the American Red Cross, Salvation Army or numerous small independent charities working I disaster areas.

 

 

 

Floods; The Result of Man’s Foolishness and Greed.

Back in 1993 when the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers flooded it was called a 500 year flood.  Fifteen years later the Mississippi River is breaking the records set in 1993, and it is called a 500 year flood.  Now, I am no math major, but when did 15 years become equal with 500?  Obviously something is amiss in the calculations or descriptions of what constitutes a true 500 year flood.

To begin with, who is around that could honestly document what the Mississippi River did in 1493 or 1508?  Columbus did not “discover” America until 1492.  Did he send scouts to the Mississippi River to document the great flood going on then?  My point is that no one knows when the last time the river flooded the way it did fifteen years ago or now, for there were no people keeping records until the early 1800’s.

Logic dictates that “back in the day” before man in his great wisdom started building towns along river banks and then started erecting levees to protect those towns, when it rained a lot the river simply expanded into the flood plain.  Every river has a plain where it spreads out during times of floods.  The only good thing about flood plains is that the ground is extremely fertile and grows excellent crops.  Flood plains were never intended to be turned into sub-divisions and shopping malls.

Many years ago, farmers who reaped the benefits of the fertile flood plains during non flood years decided to put up levees to give them more years to grow crops.  Every now and then, the river would still flood and break the levees and flood the farmland.  Either farmers lived with the risk and made do or put up higher levees.  Soon they found that they could withstand all but the mightiest of floods.

Cities also decided to quit dealing with floods and put up cement levees and flood walls to protect themselves from major flooding.  River commerce got in the act and put up locks and dams to allow barges to make it up and down the river whether it was high or low.  What was once a great river with plenty of room to spread out to during floods has been turned into a tunnel with amazing flow strength during times of floods. 

I live near the St. Louis, Missouri area where the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers meet.  On either side of both rivers are bluffs.  Over the centuries the rivers have carved out channels where the vast majority of time the rivers stay.  Usually the bluffs on one side of the river are very steep and go straight down to the river, but on the other side there is a vast flat area which is the flood plain.

One such place is what is known locally as the Chesterfield Valley which is adjacent to the Missouri River in Chesterfield.  Many years ago a levee was put up to protect the valley and business activity boomed.  In 1993 the levee broke and the entire valley was covered with 8 feet of water.  Logic would dictate allowing the river to win and taking down the levees.  Greed does not operate using logic.

The levees were strengthened and made much higher after the 1993 flood.  Assurances have been given that no flood could ever break these levees.  In the fifteen years since the last break, the valley has seen an explosion of business activity.  There are now scores of huge shopping centers, restaurants, high end facilities of every type and many car dealerships.  The amount of money poured into the Chesterfield Valley since 1993 is staggering.

Just downstream from the Chesterfield valley is an area known as “Earth City”.  Again, this area was part of the flood plain years ago but a huge earthen levee was put up (which survived the 1993 flood) and the flood plain was transformed into a mega complex of warehouses, shipping depots and even the practice facility for the St. Louis Rams.  Every UPS package for the entire St. Louis area goes to the facility located in Earth City.

Earth City has grown and expanded and recently a huge Outlet Mall was built in the flood plain along with scores of other retail stores.  Billions of dollars of new construction has taken place since the great flood of 1993.  Fears of flooding are nonexistent due to promises made by those responsible for the levees that no flood could ever break or top them. 

There are places to build and there are places not to build.  Why choose to build on flood plains?  Why not move a little further inland and build there?  Why disrupt nature to accommodate greed? 

The city of New Orleans proved conclusively what can happen when levees fail back in 2005.  Although I have mourned for the loss of life and what the floods did to disrupt lives and livelihood; I have no pity for a city which defies nature and builds itself BELOW SEA LEVEL.  Any city dependent solely upon old weak levees and pumps to survive will surely fail.

One of these days the mighty Missouri River will decide to show Chesterfield and Earth City who is still the boss.  One of these days the Missouri River will decide to have a 1,000 year flood a few years after a 500 year one.  One of these days the impact of man erecting levees, dams and other means to “contain” the river will result in a flood with enough flow strength to crush man’s strongest earthen levees.  One of these days, the mega business centers built foolishly in flood plains will become nothing but a few taller buildings sticking out of a sea of water.

Man is 100% responsible for the damage being done by the current flooding.  Foolish building policies and even more foolish attempts to reign in rivers have resulted in 500 year floods coming every 15 years.  As bad as it is out here in the Midwest, the problem is even worse in the Northeast.  Due to construction of dams, the major rivers such as the Delaware are bound to experience flooding soon every bit as bad as the current flooding on the Mississippi. 

The foolishness and greed of man is ultimately no match for the power of nature.  Whether torrential rains a hurricane or melting snow and ice; sooner or later rivers do as they were put on this earth to do—provide a means to get rid of excess water.  Unfortunately man has hopelessly screwed up the way nature intended to do this so now man pays the price each time nature has to get rid of his foolishness to do its job.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080619/D91DDG5O2.html