First the drought, then the Floods
By Carol Brown
@blitzfrick (2890)
United States
October 31, 2015 11:39am CST
I woke up today with two text messages on my phone, both from my computer guru, who lives near Austin, in central Texas.
"Over 400 low water crossings closed around Austin. Some parts got 13inches." and "ABIA [the Austin airport] got 14.99inches. Had to close for awhile."
I immediately googled the story and found that Houston, 160miles southeast of Austin, is also flooded. At times like these, I like to say I'm sure glad I don't live in Texas anymore. But hey, here I am, parked on the edge of a teutonic plate that may snap at any second, causing floods in Texas to look like child's play. If I lived 2,000 years ago, I'm sure I'd be living at Pompeii and bragging about how much more wonderful it was than anywhere else.
Which makes me wonder, Is there any safe place to live anywhere on the face of the earth?
NOTE: My son calls "low water crossings" creek beds, which is exactly what they are.
Image: Pixabay.com
For more images and reports of the floods, google "Texas floods October 2015" (w/o the quotes).
6 people like this
7 responses
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
31 Oct 15
The weather is changing world wide right now and it is either too hot or too cold. Either too dry or too wet. Not sure what will happen next. So far in just a few short weeks a hurricane and typhoon hit and left a world of destruction and flooding. Looks like people might be in for one very bad wet and cold winter this year. I sure hope not but it could happen.
1 person likes this
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
31 Oct 15
Drought, then flood, is par for the course in Texas. But I hear you about climate change. A mild winter is predicted for Oregon, the weather people say it's due to another El Niño this year. In, and near, Austin it's the creeks that flood; around Houston, which is 40 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, it's bayous that are over their banks. Houston itself was built on a swamp and much of the wetlands surrounding it have been developed over the years, destroying the natural flood protections.
1 person likes this
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
31 Oct 15
@poehere I think Texans are now beginning to see that protecting wetlands is in their best interests, even though the realization is a grudging one because it's mandated by the federal government. Texans can be a stubborn lot, even to their detriment. It's probably too late for Houston, though.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
31 Oct 15
@blitzfrick That is dangerous and not too smart and yes for years they have gotten away with this one. But soon or maybe sooner than we think it will catch up to them and t hey will wish they never did this one.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
2 Mar 16
@blitzfrick I remember that, I got stuck in Houston...
1 person likes this
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
2 Mar 16
In the 1998 floods I was living in Lockhart and working in Austin. As it was happening, I was in San Antonio on a date with my boyfriend. We had to wade to his car; the water was calf-high at that time. The rain was coming down in sheets. We made it back to Lockhart but were marooned until the waters receded. I-10 was totally flooded.
1 person likes this
@suziecat7 (3349)
• Asheville, North Carolina
1 Nov 15
Here in the mountains of North Carolina our greatest weather threat is snow. It's been a few years since we've had a bad winter but this year may change all that. The good thing is it doesn't usually last long unlike the north. We do have occasional mild flooding near the river. I live on the side of a mountain so we're okay here. The weather surely has been crazy all over.
1 person likes this
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
31 Oct 15
Okay, that's it. I'm moving next door to you. Not really, but I wish I could.
1 person likes this
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
31 Oct 15
England is prone to periodic flooding, if I recall correctly. Are you generally high and dry where you live?
@boiboing (13147)
• Northampton, England
31 Oct 15
@blitzfrick I am half way down a hill so pretty safe.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21845)
• Canada
1 Nov 15
Canada is pretty safe if you stick to the east or west coast. Some of the middles get tornadoes like the mid west in the states. Of course now that I said that I remember the forest fires on the west coast and the hurricanes do hit the east coast but we rarely see earth quakes, hurricanes, floods in Ontario. We all see snow but that's a given this far north.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
1 Nov 15
I don't think there is a really safe place, we get hurricanes and freak snow storms and even have some small earthquakes from time to time.
1 person likes this
