Police, Church Members Pray Together after Hurricane Iota Devastates Honduras
In a powerful display of faith, local police officers and church members are crying out to God as Hurricane Iota made landfall in Honduras this week.
Iota, which has downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm, was the second hurricane to hit Central America this month following Hurricane Eta, which made landfall on Nov. 3.
Honduras, alongside neighboring Central American countries, are still reeling from Eta’s effects while Iota deals further damage to the region and its people.
According to Premier Christian News, the National Police of Honduras (Policía Nacional de Honduras) tweeted video footage of a large group of officers and church members praying together as they stand on a bridge over the Ulúa river in the Pimienta municipality of Cortés, Honduras.
“Prayer with faith by police officers and members of churches, in the flow of the Ulúa River, in Pimienta, Cortés,” the translated tweet reads.
#TormentaTropicalIOTA ⛈ | Oración con fe por parte de funcionarios policiales y miembros de iglesias, en el caudal del río Ulúa, en Pimienta #Cortés pic.twitter.com/JEDaAWzjUu
— Policía Nacional de Honduras (@PoliciaHonduras) November 17, 2020
The Honduran police force also showed officers carrying out a high-risk evacuation on top of a hill hit by heavy winds.
A subsequent tweet showed many officers praying together as they asked God for “national healing” in the country.
#AlertaRoja🔴| #TormentaTropicalIOTA🌧
Nuestros funcionarios policiales realizan plegaria de oración pidiendo sanidad a nivel nacional pic.twitter.com/7gXoC7JIro
— Policía Nacional de Honduras (@PoliciaHonduras) November 18, 2020
In the mountainous region surrounding Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras, residents have evacuated due to risk of flooding and potential landslides. Residents along the country’s remote east coast had also evacuated as some were hit with flash flooding.
While over 600 temporary shelters were erected to help Hondurans, many are concerned that there is a lack of emergency supplies.
One woman told CBC News that the storm had destroyed many of the local farms, leaving many at risk of death by starvation.
“We could die,” she said. “There is nothing to eat at all,” she added, noting that the storm had destroyed many of the local farms.
As Christian Headlines previously reported, Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian humanitarian aid organization, deployed their relief team to Honduras as they are attending to hurting families with supplies and medical care through their emergency relief hospital.
World Vision, another Christian aid group, has also stepped up their emergency efforts in Honduras as well as other Central American countries impacted by the storms.
According to the Associated Press, Hurricane Iota is the 30th named storm of this year amid a record-breaking active hurricane season.
Hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach of Colorado University noted that Iota became the second storm in almost 90 years to develop into a Category 5 storm in November, with the first one being the 1932 Cuba Hurricane.
The hurricane season is expected to end on Nov. 30.
Related:
Christian Organizations Deploy Relief Teams to Central America after Hurricanes Make Landfall
Photo courtesy: Honduras Police Twitter
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer. Visit his blog Blessed Are The Forgiven.
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