In The Path Of Life-Taking Hurricane Milton, Tears Don’t Help, Only Prayers Do

Like countless others, Canada Free Press in faraway Nova Scotia spent the last week on ‘Internet Storm Watch’ with many of the videos about souls in hard-hit western North Carolina bringing us to tears.

Now with far too many Floridian friends still desperately trying to dig out from the horrific destruction of Hurricane Helene, with little help from their own government, millions are in the path of Category 5 Hurricane Milton with its life-threatening 165 mph winds ready to strike.

“The storm is forecast to make landfall near Tampa on Wednesday evening and could become the worst storm to hit the area in about 100 years, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned earlier this week. (Epoch Times, Oct. 8, 2024)

“An official in Pinellas County, Florida, said the storm surge will likely cause the deaths of people who stick around.

“This is not survivable,” Pinellas County Emergency Management Director Cathie Perkins told a news conference. “This is the ocean coming into your living room. This is fast-rising water with a lot of pressure behind it.”

"Tampa Mayor Jane Castor provided a more stark warning on people who don’t leave evacuation zones ahead of the storm.

“Do whatever you need to do and then get out of the evacuation zones which now are evacuation zones A and B, and as we all have heard so many times now, you hide from the wind and run from the water and we are talking about, right now, the possibility of a direct hit with 10 to 12-foot tidal surge,” she told CNN on Monday evening.

"Milton is “literally catastrophic, and I can say without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die,” Castor then warned."

Meanwhile, most of CFP’s dearest American friends are in North Carolina, where we met our first American reader Barbara Laviner and her late husband, Ronnie in strikingly beautiful Topsail Beach; South Carolina, where close friends Burt and Cathie Tyler live, and in Florida where much cherished friend, Katherine, widow of beloved “in-trainin’” CFP columnist Doug Bronson lives, as does the dear lady known as ‘Isthmus Kathie’. We met Isthmus Kathie and her now late husband, Joe in person at Glenn Beck’s ”911 Event in Washington, D.C.

As far away as we are from the raging’ life-threatening last two hurricanes, Helene and Milton are striking close to home:

Recent email from one of CFP’s best-read regular columnists Milt Harris:

‘God’s Grace Shines Through The Darkness’-(Canada Free Press, Oct. 2, 2024)

“About six years ago, we moved to a condo on the beach. The transition from living in a house to a condo took a while, but we adjusted and learned to love it. After all, the beach, with its gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, makes for a fantastic backyard.

"35-40 cars scattered like “Pick-Up-Stix"

“Last Week, as Helene approached, it appeared to be another storm that would brush our coast on its way to the Big Bend area of the state. For us, a storm surge of 5-8 feet was predicted, so again, we felt confident that all would be good. We lowered our shutters to wait things out as the storm got closer on Thursday. The intensity seemed more significant than the others, and that evening, we lost power at 8:30 p.m. When we woke up Friday morning, the power was still off, and we soon learned that we also had no running water. Thinking it would be back on soon, we took the stairs down to the garage and were hoping to drive to the grocery store for a few things.

“Once there, we were shocked. The cars were in total disarray, scattered all over the garage and covered in mud. Imagine approx. 35-40 cars scattered like “Pick-Up-Stix. As we tried to get to our car we quickly realized that even walking was treacherous as the garage was covered in mud that made it as slick as ice. Both of us almost fell several times. When we reached the car, both front windows were down, triggered somehow when the water reached the electrical system. The car was filled with water, which poured out when I opened the doors; later that day, my neighbor and I bailed out the remaining water. Of all the cars in the garage, only one started. Another neighbor had moved his car, meaning two would start out of the entire building.

“As we made our way back to the building, we realized that our huge, beautiful lobby, which had just been renovated, was also destroyed. The water had entered the lobby and reached 2-3 feet up the wall. It became clear that the predicted surge of 5-8 feet was way off. The lobby is 4 feet higher than the garage, meaning that the water really reached a height of around 20 feet.

"We decided to take a run at establishing water supply to the building

“During the day Friday, several of us, including my neighbor, assessed the situation and decided how to proceed. That afternoon, we decided to take a run at establishing water supply to the building. A pipe had broken, and we sounded out different ideas for a fix. We ultimately decided on capping off the broken line and bypassing the pumps. That meant rigging up a fix with various PVC pieces we found in the maintenance room. Our fix worked, and the building had running water, which included having toilets that flushed, an essential aspect of everyday life that we take for granted.

“On Saturday, Sunday, and yesterday, we worked all day cleaning the lobby, removing furniture, tearing out sopping wet carpeting, and attempting to clear walkways. The work was hard, hot, wet, and often smelly. The core group started with two, grew to four, and eventually to six or seven. People showed up with food, water, and Gatorade. As time passed and freezers defrosted, we emptied our neighbor's freezers, discarding spoiled food. We also did our best to keep everyone’s phones charged so contact with insurance companies and concerned friends and family was maintained as well as possible. The stairwells were unlit, which meant every trip up or down this 14-floor building meant carrying some type of a light, which made navigating the steps extremely challenging.

“Some places are much worse off than we are. Some people have lost everything, and some have lost their lives. I am not writing this as a tale of woe; I am writing this to say that no matter how bad things are, God is there and will get you through.

“Please take advantage of every gift you have in your life today, but don’t take any of them for granted.”

And this from popular CFP columnist and author Linda Goudsmit:

“Dear Judi and Brian,

"Hurricane Helene forced my husband and I to evacuate last week, but we returned safely home with minimal damage. Now Hurricane Milton is upon us and predicted to be a catastrophic event. We have evacuated again, but remain uncertain if/when we will be able to return home. Come hell or high water I am determined to distribute all 45 chapters of Space Is No Longer the Final Frontier––Reality Is before November 5, 2024! I have posted Chapters 40 and 41, and will post the remaining 4 chapters tomorrow while there is still Internet service and power.”

In the end, our tears are nothing compared to all of those who have lost loved ones still struggling in the dark, many still left without food and water waiting for whatever Hurricane Milton brings.

It is only God Almighty who can dry our tears.

But it is guaranteed that He will hear our prayers if we only humbly turn to Him for help.