Posted: 31 Aug 2017 Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG
It is now being estimated that the total amount of economic damage caused by Hurricane Harvey will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 190 billion dollars. It is a disaster unlike anything that we have ever seen before in all of U.S. history, and federal officials are already admitting that they are literally going to be dealing with the aftermath of this storm for “years”.
At this point, more than 100,000 homes have been destroyed, “up to one million vehicles” have been ruined, and many retailers have already been caught engaging in extreme price gouging. But this could be just the beginning, because this storm has already rendered many areas along the Gulf Coast “uninhabitable” for an extended period of time, and as you will see at the end of this article another hurricane may be arriving early next month. What we just witnessed in Houston is being called “a 1,000-year-flood”, and many basic necessities are now in extremely short supply. So of course it was inevitable that this would lead to price gouging, and this is reportedly even happening at some of the largest retail chains. For example, at one Best Buy store cases of bottled water were being sold for 42 dollars… On Friday, a Twitter user shared a picture of cases of bottled water being sold at a Best Buy in Houston. One of the cases was being sold for $42 when it normally retailed for about $15.But that water was quite cheap compared to prices in other parts of the city. According to CNN, one convenience store in Houston was actually charging 20 dollars for a single gallon of gasoline and 99 dollars for a case of bottled water… Texas officials say they’ve gotten hundreds of complaints about price gouging and scams in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.It is inexcusable to take advantage of people during a crisis in this way. So many are running low on food, water and other basic supplies, and to try to make a quick profit by engaging in price gouging just isn’t right. In the end, many people are going to have to leave Houston and never look back. To this day some parts of New Orleans still have not recovered from the devastation that Hurricane Katrina caused, and we are facing a similar scenario now with Houston. According to AccuWeather president Joel Myers, it will be “weeks and possibly months” before people can even get back into certain parts of Houston… Hurricane Harvey could be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history with a potential price tag of $190 billion, according to a preliminary estimate from private weather firm AccuWeather.I don’t think that the U.S. population as a whole really grasps what has just taken place. Large stretches of the 4th-largest city in the United States have been destroyed. Millions that were living comfortable middle class lives have now lost everything that they worked for. Large numbers of people did not have flood insurance, and so they will be leaning on the federal government for assistance. Many did have flood insurance, and a significant number of insurance companies may end up going bankrupt because of all the claims that will be suddenly pouring in. Houston was one of the most important hubs for economic activity in our entire nation, and the economic damage from this crisis will literally stretch on for years. But despite everything that has happened, many are being very bitter and very cruel on social media and on the comments sections of major news websites. Apparently many on the left do not believe that compassion is appropriate because this storm hit a conservative state like Texas. Not everything has to be politicized, and it has greatly disturbed me to see just how cold many hearts in this nation have become. And what is truly frightening is that another hurricane is potentially heading toward the Gulf of Mexico. It is still way too early to project exactly if it will make landfall or where, but it is being reported that Hurricane Irma has already become a category 3 storm… Hurricane Irma continued its rapid power grab Thursday, with wind speeds increasing by more than 55 mph since Wednesday to become a major Cat 3 storm.I am proud of how the Trump administration is handling this crisis, and when I win my race for Congress I look forward to working with Trump to make sure that our nation is always prepared to handle this sort of event. And please keep praying for Houston, because if another major hurricane were to hit that area it would be a nightmare beyond anything that any of us would ever want to imagine. Michael Snyder is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. |
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Survivor Reveals How God 'Wrapped His Arms Around Me'
KELLIE VAN GILDER/BGEA charisma news
Tales of brushes with death aren't uncommon these days in Louisiana, where residents are trying to pick up the pieces after four tornadoes recently ripped through the New Orleans area. The storms injured 33 people and damaged hundreds of homes.
No lives were lost, but many, it seems, were impacted in a mighty way.
Al New, chaplain coordinator with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, recently met with one such gentleman personally affected by the natural disaster. Crisis-trained chaplains deployed to New Orleans East in the aftermath of the storm and are offering emotional and spiritual care alongside sister ministry Samaritan's Purse.
On that particular Thursday, New was serving in the Mobile Ministry Center and was outside when the gentleman pulled up in a new white van.
"He proceeded to tell me that he was in the tornado area in his personal van working when the tornado came and picked him up in his van, spun him around and slammed him about 15 feet away," New said. "It totaled the van, and he said, 'Bless God. I didn't have an injury nowhere.'"
The man, sharing from the driver's seat of his rental van, was thankful to be alive, and New began to help the New Orleans East resident dig deeper into that blessing. Soon, the man realized that beyond thanking God for safety, he wanted to know Him personally. When New asked if he wanted to have a relationship with the Lord, the man responded, "I sure would. Now would be a good time."
They continued the conversation inside the Mobile Ministry Center, and the man decided to accept Christ as his Savior.
Roots run deep in this community, and New soon learned this man was related to a pastor in the area.
"He said, 'I am going to go to church Sunday at my cousin's church, and I am going to testify to what happened to me in the storm and to what God has just done for me here,'" New recalled.
"I got a call from them [the church] on Sunday saying he came to church. He not only came to church, he testified, and he joined the church. Now he's got a home church where they're going to continue discipling him and mentoring him. We're praying that he'll continue to go."
Testimonies abound in this tight-knit community, particularly in a six-mile stretch where houses stand near one another and the residents draw even closer. Newcomers can give rise to suspicion, yet the residents have found a comfort with the chaplains and Samaritan's Purse volunteers. That has helped open doors for even more sharing.
One homeowner told the chaplains that on the day of the tornadoes, he had just returned home from his job of driving a truck. He just happened to look out the bathroom window when he saw the tornado. He went to the hallway and stood motionless.
"He said, 'I know God wrapped His arms around me because the whole house was up and gone, but nothing touched me,'" New said.
Many homes in the area sustained heavy damage, and these residents who climbed back from flooded homes after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are wondering how they'll rebuild again. As of Tuesday, Samaritan's Purse had received 100 work orders for primary residences.
New said sometimes it's hard to find the right words, but his goal—as well as that of the chaplains—is to continually point to the hope that only Jesus Christ offers.
"You just try to bring them hope and comfort and tell them that they've been through this before; you know that you came through that," New said. "And with God's help and with hope in Him, they're going to come through it again.
"We encourage them to stay strong and trust in the Lord." 
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"The dragon is hovering over Israel. There is a birth that is near and the enemy wants to stop what God is birthing. 
A great foot descended from Heaven, pinning the dragon to the ground. Then the Lord reached down, placed shackles on the dragon's feet, and imprisoned it in the underground mosque at the southeast corner of the Temple Mount. 
Song of Spirit:
"Get out of your wallowing! Get out of your mud pit! Get up and stand! If you cannot stand today in this standard that I Am raising, then you come and you lay your face at My altar and you put down everything else; I will raise a new standard before you. (Photo of Convergencia Hispana gathering via Glory of Zion Ministries)