My Prayer for the Victims of the #SuperTyphoon in the #Philippines

The #SuperTyphoon #Haiyan / #Yolanda directly smashed some areas in the Visayas region of the #Philippines this week. The authorities expect that death toll will exceed 1,000 +. This reality is overwhelming for us Filipinos. For now, I can only light a candle and say a prayer. Please join me:

"Dear Lord God, our refuge and strength,

even the wind and sea obey your voice.

Put the wind back in its place,

and say to the sea:

Peace! Be still!

Fill us with great faith,

and save us from the surging water,

so that we may tell the good news of your saving love;

through Jesus Christ, our hope in the storm."

Amen

God, guard the hearts and mind's

of the survivors.

Give them peace

 that surpasses all understanding. Amen

 Phil 4:7.

Tropical Storm Chantal Weakens According to my Fox Orlando

According to my Fox Orlando news, Tropical Storm Chantal weakens and was downgraded to tropical wave which means, we have nothing to be alarmed of this weekend. I am so relieved hearing that news. We probably head out to the beach to see the waves. I bet surfers will be feasting on the big waves this weekend. I hope that by the time it reaches the Florida waters, it weakens more. Hopefully, no big storms this year but, 4 months is a long way yet.

In the Middle of a Nasty Weather

We travel a lot so; this is not the first time that we encountered bad storm on the road. One time, we traveled to Miami during Storm Fay to pick up someone in Miami airport. It was like going into a cave in total darkness with tornado warning in effect. It was not a smart decision you know but, circumstances are the factors and we had to go.

There was also another incident when my schedule for "fingerprint" processing was in Metaire, Louisiana. It was too late to re-schedule and it was the hurricane season. My father in law was worried  so; he told us to travel the day before the storm hits Louisiana. It was a smart decision. That was the time when an EF3 tornado struck the north part of the Magee, Mississippi. The tornado destroyed 60 homes, 25 injuries and there were no fatalities. The tornado damaged the water treatment plant and interrupted the services of the town.

Yesterday, we were traveling SR 528 and the weather changes abruptly. We saw a brush fire on 528 near the first toll booth after the airport. We were traveling home towards the beachline and the clouds are showing signs of a nasty storm. In a matter of minutes, the rain was blinding us, hails were falling on the windshield, drivers were stopping on the side of the road and it was totally dark.

Hubby decided not to stop. We were driving at minimal speed watching our distance to the car ahead. It was less than an hour drive from Orlando to Cocoa but, with the storm and driving on 528, dang ... it was not easy! We arrived safely, thank God.

Beach Houses

Houses near the beach are vulnerable to storms and Hurricanes. I had the opportunity to travel from Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana along the scenic routes. It is indeed beautiful to live along these area. But, when the calm seas turns ugly because of Hurricanes, the devastations are beyond imagination.Here is a video that shows the devastation of Biloxi, Mississippi from Hurricane Katrina. This is where I work for almost two years and it is sad to note that at present, you can still see the remnants of the storm. My friends would tell me, they stayed and survive. The hard part was after the storm when they have no food, dead lay on the streets and the rescue took a long time to reach their area.

For those who don't listen to the warnings of the authority, you will pay the price of getting killed. When you have Hurricane Warnings in your area, GO! Do not under estimate the power of Nature. God bless everyone!

When the Weather Turns Ugly

These are just the storm bands and yet, it looks so scary! Imagine if a Category 3 hurricane is heading to your place. I was watching the weather news whole day today. I just can"t believe that the people are swimming on the beach with 7 foot waves. Somehow, seeing the big waves and feeling the strong breeze of winds amazed them. Hurricane Irene is a category 3 and it will have a landfall at North Carolina. It will hit New Jersey and New York too. Let us just hope that these places will not hit so badly. Let us pray for the safety of the people living in the Coastal Area.

Remembering Hurricane Katrina Four Years Ago

These are the people who doesn't want to leave during the Hurricane Katrina. Four years ago, many lost their lives thinking like this. They are lucky to be alive. As you can see later on, deciding to stay is not a wise decision. I always show you the beach pictures in my blogs right? This area is far from it and as you can see, the downpour of rain and water from the Gulf Coast made the streets flooded. View the video, it happened four years ago on this day in Biloxi, Mississippi. I got this from BenMarbleMD channel.

Remembering Katrina in New Orleans

When we visited New Orleans,Louisiana last March, I remembered the hurricane Katrina. The world watched this incident on TV in great horror and yet, help did not come too soon. I had the chance to travel by land , from Florida to Louisiana and the rebuilding of these places continues at present. It will take more years to rebuild the city like it was before. I embed this video from the channel of DBUTTRY.

Bad Weather In Mississippi

That is the kind of weather that I don't like. But, we have it today and the worst part is, we will have that weather on our trip to the Louisiana State today. A very important appointment that can not be postponed. We are planning this for 2 weeks now and no turning back. The cable/internet was cut off at dawn time today.

Oh man! This storm though passing, the lightning and thunder really makes you stop breathing. We were awaken again by the sound of thunder. Luckily, at 7AM, cable/internet went back and so, I was able to talk to my mom in the Philippines thru IM. We talk everyday through Yahoo or MSN IM's since I got here in the US.

Anyway, I was reading to the weather forecast in our place and this is the local detailed report:

• Today: Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Storms may produce large hail and strong winds. High 72F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Rainfall possibly over one inch.
• Tomorrow: Thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. High near 75F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

I never seen hail before and I don't wish to encounter one specially when we are on the road. That is truly dangerous specially if it is the size of a fist. But, we will really travel to Louisiana state at 10 AM today. The weather outside is calm, I hope it stays the same. Light rain will be okay with us. Here is the weather forecast to the place where we are heading:

• Today: Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Storms may produce large hail and strong winds. High around 75F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.
• Tonight: Thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. Low 69F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
• Tomorrow: Variably cloudy with showers and thunderstorms likely. Some thunderstorms may be severe in the afternoon. Storms may produce large hail and strong winds. High around 80F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

We really plan to go back as soon as possible after all my appointments done. Be seeing your blogs again on Friday. Thanks for stopping by and wish us good luck on our trip.