Here in Florida, water can be a problem. There are a few days when it doesn’t rain during summer. Many days we’ll see over an inch of rain, and there was one day last year when we had just over seven inches of rain in one storm system – that one was caused by a hurricane. Inland, where we now call home, hurricanes are more like severe summer storms back home, with strong winds and lots of rain. On the coast, storm surges and powerful winds cause a lot of damage. The aftermath is water in places where water isn’t normally. In some areas, there will be homes with several feet of water inside. The flooding here is mostly from a slow rise in water levels from rivers and lakes that swell to flood stages. The floods here aren’t from rapidly moving water, but rising water.
Nothing like what those poor people in Texas experienced almost two weeks ago, when the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet within 45 minutes from over 20 inches of rain in a very short time. In that rising water’s path was a summer camp. As of this writing, it was reported that more than 100 are dead, and more than 160 are still missing (not all from the camp – nearly 30 children and a couple of counselors lost their lives in the raging waters). The news reports showing recovery efforts were hard to believe. Buildings, cars, and other debris were washed away, and with them were many of the dead. Hundreds of volunteers continue to dig through piles of debris, still hoping to find the missing.
I remember one report that showed a woman being rescued 27 feet above the ground in a tree, hanging on for her life.
It’s difficult to imagine what the parents of the dead and missing are going through. Not knowing where their children are and if they are alive has to be excruciating.
Probably the best we can do from this distance is keep those people in our prayers.
Have A Good Week!
