Natural disasters and America's downfall

By Nadirah Muhammad and Ebony Muhammad | Last updated: Jun 2, 2015 - 10:00:54 AM

Mass flooding in the Houston, Texas on May 27. Photo: MGN Online

HOUSTON (FinalCall.com) - Local forecasts predicted that Houston has seen the worst of the severe weather that “punished” it during the past Memorial Day weekend. But even as residents in the ravaged areas were still struggling to recover, another slow moving storm struck, bringing with it dangerous lightning and street flooding that again previously brought the city to a halt.

Roberto Salas, left, and Lewis Sternhagen check a flooded car on the frontage road between South Loop West Freeway and South Post Oak Road near the Willow Waterhole Bayou, May 26, in Houston. Photo: MGN Online

The Memorial Day flooding, which has broken or nearly broken many rainfall records, brings to mind the prophesied destruction plaguing America.

According to The Weather Channel, as of May 30, over 14 inches of rain fell at Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport on the city’s North side, pushing it to fifth place among the city’s wettest Mays. The wettest was 15.87 inches in May of 1907, meteorologists reported.

Many would like to attribute it to “Mother Nature” however, these incidents are not just happenstance. The strange weather occurrences represent divine chastisement, not accidents, warns the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. In fact, his teacher the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad said the four great judgments that Allah will use to chastise America are rain, hail, snow and earthquakes.

Mario Mai, who has lived in the complex for just over three years, collects some of his belongings in his apartment following a roof collapse during a morning storm, May 24 in Houston at the Rockport Apartment Homes on S. Gessner. Photo: AP/Wide World photos

Many religious scholars and leaders speak about the “Day of Judgment” as if it is a long way off, but America is living in it right now, so teaches the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Minister Farrakhan talked about this during his 2015 Saviours’ Day address titled “The Intensifying, Universal Cry for Justice.”

“And that’s why if you watch the weather, the meteorologists can’t get it right! That’s why there’s trouble all over the Earth, because we are at the end of the time of this world,’’ Minister Farrakhan warned.

Preliminary costs estimates of the damage caused by the floods are still being calculated.

As the weather started to intensify early Sunday morning May 24, with heavy downpours, residents in southwest Houston’s Rockport Apartment Complex were awakened shortly after 6:30 a.m. by an EF-1 tornado with winds up to 100 miles per hour, according to the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which measures the strengths of tornadoes from EF0 to EF5.

The tornado ripped the roofs off buildings and destroyed more than 11 of 24 buildings, according to local news reports. It was a precursor to the inclement weather that would batter the region on Memorial Day. Dangerous flash flooding caused by heavy rain—a destructive army within itself, said the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

Streets flooded in Houston, Texas. Photo: MGN Online

The National Basketball Association’s playoff game at the Toyota Center was impacted as nearly 200 fans choosing not to leave because of the inclement weather stayed inside the arena until early Tuesday morning May 26,—about six hours after the NBA playoff game between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors had ended.

The dangerous weather conditions also stranded many at the Galleria shopping center in southwest Houston.

The rough weather forced many motorists to drive to safety and others found roads impassable and were forced to spend the night in their vehicles if they were in relatively safe locations. Others simply had to abandon their vehicles as they had no defense from the fast moving floodwaters.

Dozens were rescued by strangers or emergency personnel. In fact, The Emergency Operations Center reported The Houston Fire Department received more than 900 calls, of which more than 500 were related to danger caused by the heavy rain and flooding. According to media reports 27 weather-related deaths occurred in Texas, seven of them in Houston.

Carlos and Candy Cortez, comfort each other in the Redbird Aviation Terminal in San Marcos, Texas, May 24, after they, their three children and one of their dogs were rescued from the roof of their San Marcos home by an Army helicopter after the Blanco River flooded. Their son A.J. Cortez, 6, lies on the couch next to them. Record rainfall was wreaking havoc across a swath of the U.S. Midwest, causing fl ash floods in normally dry riverbeds, spawning tornadoes and forcing at least 2,000 people to flee.

“This and Tropical Storm Allison are the worst two flooding situations that I’ve seen,” commented Governor Greg Abbott to ABC 13.

The Fort Worth weather service attempted to put in perspective just how much rain the state of Texas had received for the month of May in a tweet it sent out on May 29. “There has been enough rain across #Texas during May to cover the entire state nearly 8 inches deep. That’s over 35 trillion gallons! #txwx.”

To add to woes, three Houston Bayous exceeded their flood stages causing them to swell and spill over their banks prompting mandatory residential evacuations. Streets, highways, and bridges were impassable and many vehicles were submerged in water. Metro and rail services were halted and schools, municipal courts and businesses were forced to close.

Mayor Anise Parker in her press conference downplayed the National Weather Service’s report of the severe flooding that submerged much of Houston May 27.

“If you watch the national news, you would have thought the whole City of Houston was under 20 feet of water,” she said. Yet, she declared a local state of disaster and requested the state Declaration of Disaster from Gov. Abbott. This would allow her and those affected to request assistance from FEMA.

More impact amounted to 4,000 properties damaged, 1,400 structural damages and 1,083 cars had to be towed.

According to the Emergency Operations Center, only 66 city vehicles were damaged in the flood, and a southwest treatment plant facility spilled 100,000 gallons of untreated wastewater in and around Brays Bayou.

“None of the believers have reported loss of life, property, or injury during the storm and the flood,” said Southwestern Regional Nation of Islam Representative Robert Muhammad of Mosque No. 45.

In the neighborhood surrounding Muhammad Mosque No. 45 there were homes flooded, however, the mosque property was spared, he said.

“Houston is so big that certain parts flood and other parts are just fine. What people were seeing on the news were actually the freeways and interstate systems that were inundated with water,” Mr. Muhammad explained.

Motorists are stranded along I-45 along North Main in Houston after storms flooded the area, May 26. Overnight heavy rains caused flooding closing some portions of major highways in the Houston area. Photo: AP/Wide World photos

He further noted that gentrification efforts in Houston targeting the Inner-Loop (610 Loop) resulted in building impervious surfaces that caused water to collect and flow in increasing volume and velocity, because it had nowhere to go.

Impervious surfaces do not allow the rainwater to seep into the earth so it has to go somewhere, which contributes to the flooding, he noted.

Houston is 650 square miles. It is built 50 feet above sea level and transversing through the city are bayous (small rivers). The city floods often when it rains. The drainage systems are the bayous, and the bayous drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Muhammad, a Ph.D. candidate in the field of urban planning and environmental policy, adds that the city is designed so that its street grid serves as a drainage system, which is why street flooding is so common here.

Ironically, he stated, during the past few years, the Houston and Galveston area has suffered drought conditions, but now, they’re submerged after increasingly violent rainstorms.

In comparison to the historic Tropical Storm Allison (June 2001) and Hurricane Ike (September 2008), Mr. Muhammad noted, the latter caused more damage because of the high winds.

“This one was like tropical storm Allison. Fortunately, the Harris County flood district has been widening and deepening the bayou system, otherwise the damage could have been more extensive. However, I do believe, as the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, the worst is yet to come. I’m not sure Texas is prepared,” said Mr. Muhammad. “As far as what can be done in preparing for the worst? Spiritually— repent for the evil done to the Black man and the indigenous people of this hemisphere. In terms of emergency management: educate the people, particularly on an individual and community (neighborhood) level so that neighbor may help neighbor as opposed to city, state, and federal government coming to rescue them,” he added.

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