“To be plagued with too much rain will destroy property and lives. It swells the rivers and creeks. Too much rain floods cities and towns. Large bodies of water at the ocean shore lines will be made to swell with unusually high waves, dumping billions of tons of water over the now seashore line.”
—The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, “Four Great Judgments of America” from “The Fall of America”
LOS ANGELES—From the Atlantic coast to the Pacific, severe storms and floods have hammered coastal and inland communities in a single week, stretching the country’s disaster system thin.
As of Oct. 1, FEMA’s records show one federal emergency declaration tied to the storms: in Hawaii for Hurricane Nolo. From the tail end of September into the beginning days of October, America is getting inundated with storms that have generated severe flooding and powerful winds.
A powerful nor’easter swept the East Coast Sept. 25–28, bringing coastal flooding, damaging winds and rough surf from New Jersey to Massachusetts. New York reported more than 28,000 power outages statewide on Sept. 26, and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said crews had restored power to about 180,000 customers by Sept. 27 morning.
The storm turned deadly on Sept. 26. The New York City Housing Authority said an employee, Leighton Brown, 56, was killed by a falling tree in Brooklyn.
In New Jersey, the storm brought coastal flooding, rescues and severe beach erosion. Water in Atlantic City rose Sept. 26 to its highest level since Superstorm Sandy in 2012, according to AccuWeather.
Gov. Sherrill declared a state of emergency for Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Salem counties, effective Sept. 25. “I urge all New Jerseyans to take this storm seriously, stay safe, and be prepared,” she said.
The same day, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a disaster emergency for the Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk and Westchester counties and their contiguous counties.
The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam, consistently warned Black people that America was surrounded by the Judgment of Allah (God) and that Allah (God) would use the forces of nature to humble the country.
“America is in the grip of divine judgment. America is in the position toward her once slave, so-called Negro, as Pharaoh was with Israel as his slave.
Oct. 1. Photo: AP Photo/Eric Gay
She is in this position because of the injustice done to the American so-called Negro slave, brought to America over four hundred years ago, and refuses to let them go free,” the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad writes in His book, “The Fall of America,” in the chapter, “Four Judgments of America.”
His National Representative, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, called this book the best book one could have in their collection. “The Fall of America is the best book that you could have in your library. White and Black and Brown, Asian: All of this affects us all.
Every one of you “scholars” should get this book. All of you who preach The Gospel, whether you are an imam, whether you are a rabbi, whether you are a “leader” of religious groups:
Get this book, and study it, because the Honorable Elijah Muhammad gives you the clearest exegesis of the scriptures that foretell ‘The Fall of America’ and ‘The Destruction of this Present World,’” Minister Farrakhan said, in part 10 of this 58-week lecture series, “The Time and What Must Be Done,” in 2013.
Nation of Islam Student Eastern Regional Minister Arthur Muhammad is based in New York and said the storms should be read as a warning. “When the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan speaks, he does not speak idle words,” he said.
“So, when he says, ‘Watch the weather,’ he’s not like a content creator trying to get a buzz or push the envelope. He is literally warning the people of God,” he told The Final Call.
At Final Call presstime, New York was still being hit with rain. “Anyone who goes in or near the water this weekend is literally gambling with their life,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said, as AP reported.
Student Min. Arthur Muhammad said the damage is exacerbated by infrastructure that can’t withstand the severe rain and flooding “So the water drain pipes … they’re not built to take extreme water.
The roofs are not built to take the extreme weight of heavy, heavy rain. So, as it intensifies, what building departments deemed as safe buildings—buildings are not going to be safe.
Infrastructure, utilities, everything is going to be affected,” he said, adding, “Not only do individuals have to be ready, but literally municipalities have to be ready for what’s coming. … And remember what Jesus said, ‘This is just the beginning of sorrows.’”
Student Minister Abdul Haqq Muhammad of Mosque No. 25 in Newark, New Jersey said the weather has been “very unpredictable.” In New Jersey, he said, places like Hoboken often flood when it rains hard, and the Nor’easter brought very strong winds that knocked down trees in various areas.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a Nor’easter is a storm along the East Coast of North America, named for winds that typically blow from the Northeast.
“We see what happened in Gary, Indiana,” said Student Min. Abdul Haqq Muhammad.
In August, residents of Gary were left without power for two to three weeks after a violent storm struck Northwest Indiana.
“We all have to be prepared. Let that serve as a sign of what potentially could be coming,” he said.
Student Min. Abdul Haqq Muhammad said that Minister Farrakhan’s consistent warning to “watch the weather” is not out of joy, but because he is a diligent, benevolent warner, as is the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, from Almighty Allah.
“I pray that our people, in general, and us in the Nation of Islam, specifically, would not fall asleep and continue to remain vigilant and heed to His warning that we must be as prepared as we can. We know the Bible says no man knows the hour, and He teaches us that when the Judgment comes, even the righteous won’t be spared of death.”
West Coast impact
Hurricanes Nolo and Polo were two powerful storms that were active in the Pacific Ocean in September at the same time.
In Hawaii, Gov. Josh Green announced Sept. 25 that the president had approved a pre-landfall emergency declaration for Hurricane Nolo. Nolo passed south of the islands without making landfall.
Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda told Hawaii Public Radio that Nāʻālehu and Waiʻōhinu were flooding, and communities were still recovering from Hurricane Lala in August.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a statewide state of emergency Sept. 21 to prepare for an El Niño winter that his office said could become the strongest on record.
The same unusually warm Pacific fueled Hurricane Polo, which grew from a tropical storm into a Category 5 hurricane in about a day, with top winds of 175 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Polo struck Mexico’s Baja California Sur early Sept. 29 with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, according to AP, then crossed the Gulf of California and weakened as it moved inland. Its remnants battered the U.S. Southwest.
In South-Central New Mexico, fears that the McLeod Dam could fail prompted evacuations of hundreds of residents in Rincon, Salem, Garfield, Hatch and Placitas. The weather service issued a Flash Flood Emergency for the Hatch Valley. Most residents were allowed home late Sept. 29, but Rincon remained evacuated, according to Weather.com.
The weather service expected heavy rain to spread into Texas and the central U.S. through the week. Texas had made more than 1,900 state responders and 1,500 pieces of equipment available for flood response.
According to reporting by the Associated Press, “Parts of Texas, Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa were still under flood watch October 1 afternoon as storm remnants continued to batter the region, flooding streets and neighborhoods and setting off water rescues.”
The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad warned what was still in store for America. In the chapter, “America Surrounded with The Judgment of Allah,” He writes: “All around the Southern Border of America, storms are raging.
There are tornadoes and heavy rains and more storms are on the way—one right after another. And in the North and Far West and in the East, America is surrounded with the judgments of Allah (God). There are earthquakes and the sea is raging. The Pacific Ocean is now angry and is raging and tossing up great waves as never before.”
