Deluge in Houston!

Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Gulf Coast over the weekend, destroying properties and drenching parts of Texas and Louisiana. One Houston county saw over 30 inches (nearly a meter) of rain in just 72 hours (Washington Post, August 28, 2017). Officials expect over 30,000 people in evacuation shelters, and President Trump designated parts of Texas and Louisiana national disaster areas. Officials are calling this catastrophic flooding an 800-year event (Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2017). Harvey has shattered rainfall records in the continental U.S. for a single storm, with more than 50 inches (127 cm) falling in parts of Houston—America’s fourth largest city (New York Times, August 30, 2017). After moving briefly off shore, the storm returned to hit the Louisiana coast and bring more flooding on Wednesday. Major oil refineries along the Gulf Coast have shut down due to flooding. More than one million barrels of crude oil per day will go off-line, leading to a hike in gasoline costs (CNBC, August 27, 2017). There are also growing health concerns due to public water supplies contaminated by sewage and petrochemicals. Amidst all the rain and flooding on the Gulf Coast, parts of the American northwest and western Canada are enduring sweltering heat and drought-like conditions.

Bible prophecies have long warned that as a result of disobedience, God will cause rain to fall on one city and not on another (Amos 4:7). Droughts, floods, disease and disasters are also part of prophesied signs of the end times (Amos 4:9; Deuteronomy 28:22; Matthew 24:7). The impact of Hurricane Harvey on a key American city could be just one example of what is to come. We need to pray for all those who are suffering from this and other tragic situations that are occurring around the globe. To learn more about why weather catastrophes like this occur, be sure to read or listen to Who Controls the Weather?