WIPE OUT

The top two images are from Gilcrest Texas...or what's left of it. The very top photo is of the town before Hurricane Ike's deadly storm surge. The second pic is what's left after the storm.

The town of Gilcrest has/had about 1000 structures. All but 5, that's right 5, of them were destroyed. Only 1 house out of about 200 survived. Rescuers pulled about 34 survivors from the town out of Galveston Bay behind the island.

The rescue teams commented that there's no debris on the island to sort through and look for survivors because the island has literally been swept clean by the sea. Most all of the debris from the structures were either pushed into the bay from the initial surge or pushed back out to sea when the storm passed to the north and the winds changed directions and pushed the water back over the island out to the gulf. It's an amazing testament of the power of nature.

Why don't people leave when they are told? Many in this town will never live to regret their decision because they are dead. It's very sad and should be a lesson that everyone in coastal towns learn from but won't. More than 1800 people died in Katrina...and yet people don't leave when they are told to leave. NEWSFLASH...if you live on a spit of sand surrounded by water and there's a storm coming with a wall of water 10 feet high with 20 foot waves on top of that the you should pack up your stuff and LEAVE.

I do want to mention a special prayer request for Celina's brother (a woman from our church). Her brother is a college student who resides in Houston Texas. Houston is the nations 4th largest city and more than 2 million people are without power. Steven is among the powerless. He can't get access to cash because the banks are closed so he has no money. He can't get gas for his car because there is no gas left in the city. In other words, Steven is in a tough place right now. Please keep him in your prayers that he will find the necessary resources to survive.