U.S. hit with extreme weather, wildfires and earthquakes during National Preparedness Month
In the U.S., the summer of 2026 through today has been marked by active wildfires, thunderstorms, and a string of coastal and seismic events. These events will become more frequent, and as the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam, warned, “the worst is yet to come.” His National Representative, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, has constantly warned to “watch the weather.” For decades, both Divine Servants and Warners taught their followers to prepare for these pending calamities.
September is National Preparedness Month and was established in 2004 by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) to encourage individuals, their families, neighborhoods and communities to prepare for natural and man-made weather-related and other disasters and emergencies.
Weather and warning
Southern California felt the effects of Tropical Storm Marie over Labor Day weekend in early September, even though the storm itself never made landfall, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Its Los Angeles/Oxnard office reported a significant southerly swell producing hazardous surf conditions – reaching up to 5- 15 feet high on some beaches and life-threatening rip currents along the coast- alongside increasing heat and humidity causing moderate to major impacts focused on the coasts and valleys.
In Malibu, a beachfront driveway on Sea Level Drive collapsed on September 8, forming a sinkhole roughly 25–30 feet deep and 30 by 60 feet wide, and rupturing a natural gas line, prompting the proclamation of a local emergency the same day. City building inspectors ultimately red-tagged seven properties for direct structural damage from the collapse and red-tagged an additional 24 homes because the destroyed roadway cut off emergency vehicle access. The 31 properties were placed under an evacuation order, according to an official statement and Emergency Proclamation, Sept. 8–9.
Student Minister Ishmael Muhammad is the National Assistant to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and a son of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and he recently spoke on these extreme weather events and what they signify.
“I wish we could tell you that it’s going to go away soon. It’s not. It’s not. The only way that God will stay His hand is if America does a miraculous thing,” he said, in part 4 of his message, “Accept Your Own And Be Yourself,” delivered September 16, 2026 at Mosque Maryam in Chicago. He referenced the Bible and the book of Jonah 3:6 and the King of Nineveh and the people humbling themselves before God to repent. Nineveh was a great and powerful nation, and God sent the prophet Jonah to warn them of their wickedness before His Judgment.
“He came out in sackcloth and ashes, and repented, and asked God, but it was from the king all the way down to the little man, and the whole city went out in sackcloth and ashes, and that stayed the hand of God,” Student Min. Ishmael Muhammad explained.
“What if we just did that in a city? … Pray to your God. But the whole point is, see, unless we repent, unless we ask God for forgiveness, then things are not going to get better. But America? America is under divine judgment. That’s the point I’m making: the weather is going continue to intensify, and Minister Farrakhan has told us for years. What does he say?” he asked the audience.
“Watch the weather!” some replied. He repeated, “What did he say?” “Watch the weather,” they replied. “Okay. Well, these rains and these storms are only going to intensify,” added Student Minister Ishmael Muhammad.
The damage from Hurricane Marie sustained in Dana Point, located in Orange County, California, impacted the area’s Beach Road/Capistrano Bay community beginning August 28. When a residential deck was destroyed by coastal erosion undermining a home’s foundation. Inspectors inspected it and red-tagged it the same night.
“It is a war zone down here,” Chris Rogers told ABC 7. Their back deck is gone, and their kitchen now opens up to the ocean, she reported during a tour of their property.
The City’s Director of Emergency Services issued a formal Proclamation of the Existence of a Local Emergency for the Capistrano Bay Community Services District on September 9.
In Long Beach, waves generated by the remnants of Hurricane Marie battered the Peninsula neighborhood for several consecutive days beginning around September 6. The Long Beach Fire Department issued mandatory evacuation orders for approximately 20 homes in the Seaside Walk community, between 63rd and 67th Place, after waves compromised a seawall and damaged the boardwalk.
Earthquakes near Compton and nationwide wildfires
A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck on September 6 about 2.5 miles Southeast of Compton, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). This followed a similar-magnitude earthquake near Ontario, in neighboring San Bernardino County, on September 2. On September 17, USGS recorded a second magnitude 3.1 earthquake at the identical location.
Nationwide, wildfire activity remained severe through late summer. As of August 31, approximately 8.2 million acres had burned across the country and the National Preparedness Level stayed at Level 5, the highest possible, throughout August, with active-duty military and international crews from Australia and New Zealand brought in to help with firefighting resources, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
By early September, the national preparedness level had eased to Level 3, though 56 large fires remained uncontained nationwide as of September 17, with 86 new fires reported in a single day and more than 12,000 personnel assigned to incidents, USGS reported.
Texas became one of the season’s most active states in late August, when the Ross Fire ignited August 24 near Fort Worth and grew to roughly 80,000 acres, prompting the evacuation of about 630 homes overnight, according to Governor Greg Abbott’s office.
Preparedness is key
Nation of Islam Student Southwest Regional Minister Dr. Abdul Haleem Muhammad, an urban planner, strongly suggested that people stop procrastinating and take this lull before the next calamity to prepare to either learn what is required to shelter in place or evacuate during these natural and man-made disasters. “Your very life is at stake. The frequency, intensity, and the sudden unfolding of these events should heighten our awareness and efforts toward preparedness,” he said.
Sister A’ishah Muhammad, a member of the Nation of Islam Shura Executive Council and National Student Auditing Coordinator, said the pattern of disasters striking unfamiliar regions demands a mindset shift. “It doesn’t matter where we live anymore,” she said. “We used to expect tornadoes in certain parts of the country and hurricanes in others … but at any moment, at any time, it could strike any one of us.”
She described residents of her own town walking around “in a trance” after an EF-1 tornado, unable to believe their community could be hit—and she pointed to Minister Farrakhan’s longstanding instruction to “watch the weather” as guidance too many still dismiss until disaster forces the point home.
“Although we have been talking about and encouraging and pushing and warning others to pay attention to the Divine Warner, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, some of us, as they used to say in the South: ‘don’t believe that fat meat is greasy,’ until we are faced with it, unfortunately. Now we don’t have to really try to convince too many because they see it for themselves. There are still those of us who don’t get it until we feel it, and unfortunately we will have to feel (it) hard! Hopefully we can live beyond that to make sound decisions going forward,” she told The Final Call.
In practical terms, Sis. A’ishah Muhammad explained that it is better to have the items and supplies needed to prepare ourselves and our families than to have nothing.
“It’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it,” she said, describing how households in flood-prone areas should keep a small boat, raft, or canoe with paddles, wading boots, and life vests on hand.
She stressed neighborhood-level readiness—meeting neighbors, discussing what has worked and what has not, and arranging walkable backup shelter agreements—alongside power redundancy. Power redundancy, she explained, means that generators need backups of their own, and even a sump pump’s battery should be swapped every three years, since a working indicator light doesn’t guarantee full power.
She recalled Indiana residents stranded at gas stations during outages, one paying “two dollars and some change” just to beat someone else to the last portion of the fuel.
Sister A’ishah Muhammad also flagged less obvious preparedness gaps, such as safely managing dry ice used to preserve food during extended outages and planning for basic sanitation if toilets stop working.
The Nation of Islam has made online videos available that cover several practical preparedness areas to help individuals protect themselves and their families while sheltering in place as severe weather becomes more frequent.
Panelists discussed situational awareness, cybersecurity, how to respond in a medical emergency, how to secure one’s home, being security-minded, protecting self and family while building alliances in the community, how to secure, organize, and occupy children while sheltering in place, what to do to prepare for an emergency evacuation, handling stress, and other tips.
The videos are available to view on media.noi.org or watch.noi.org under the titles: “The Days of Trouble: Are We Prepared?” and on The Nation of Islam official Facebook Page.
