Texas Hill Country flooding...

[selmaborntidefan]

I think that area only averages about 20" rainfall per year and they got half that inside a few hours, following a prolonged drought. You can understand their overconfidence...

Definitely.

When I saw one of my coworkers telling me they got 18 inches in 12 hours when they get 21 in a YEAR, yeah, I get it. I really do.

I hate it, though.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Definitely.

When I saw one of my coworkers telling me they got 18 inches in 12 hours when they get 21 in a YEAR, yeah, I get it. I really do.

I hate it, though.

Flat areas along streams, AKA "floodplains" are there for a reason...

 

[92tide]

something similar happened almost 30 years ago

Remembering the 1987 Guadalupe River flash flood that killed 10 after raging through a Hill Country summer camp

Teens at the Pot O’ Gold Christian Camp near Comfort, Texas were swamped by a wall of water as they tried to escape.

www.kvue.com

 

[selmaborntidefan]

something similar happened almost 30 years ago

Remembering the 1987 Guadalupe River flash flood that killed 10 after raging through a Hill Country summer camp

Teens at the Pot O’ Gold Christian Camp near Comfort, Texas were swamped by a wall of water as they tried to escape.

www.kvue.com

Yep.

 

[spidermayin]

This is one of those tragic freak mother nature events. I know I have alerts that go off when a tornado warning, or flash flood warning occur, on my phone but it was really early in the morning and who knows how good the cell phone reception was. Also, I wonder what camp mystic would have done in the best case scenario. Let's say someone gets the alert on their phone and they choose to evacuate immediately, what does the terrain look like and how fast would they have been able to get everyone up and out the door? Honestly, I think people underestimate flash flood warnings.

 

[crimsonaudio]

something similar happened almost 30 years ago

While the scale of this year’s flooding is abnormal, it’s sadly part of the history of this part of Texas. There’s a reason for the song titled “Texas Flood”, made famous by SRV…

Texas as a whole leads the nation in flood deaths, and by a wide margin. A colleague and I analyzed data from 1959 to 2019 and found 1,069 people had died in flooding in Texas over those six decades. The next highest total was in Louisiana, with 693.

Why Texas Hill Country, where a devastating flood killed dozens, is one of the deadliest places in the US for flash flooding

A hydrologist explains why the region is known as Flash Flood Alley and how its geography and geology can lead to heavy downpours and sudden, destructive floods.

www.yahoo.com

 

[selmaborntidefan]

This is one of those tragic freak mother nature events. I know I have alerts that go off when a tornado warning, or flash flood warning occur, on my phone but it was really early in the morning and who knows how good the cell phone reception was. Also, I wonder what camp mystic would have done in the best case scenario. Let's say someone gets the alert on their phone and they choose to evacuate immediately, what does the terrain look like and how fast would they have been able to get everyone up and out the door? Honestly, I think people underestimate flash flood warnings.

James Spann brought up the point - that we DO declare so many warnings/watches that we get complacent and don't take them seriously.

Anecdote: in August 1992, I moved down to Biloxi to attend lab school training. The day I reported in, this monstrosity known as Hurricane Andrew was listed as having a 50% chance of hitting us (It missed us and went further west to Houma, LA). I went down to the local gas station to fill up the car in case my (now) ex had to flee, which seemed pointless because we'd seen the one-way traffic on our way into town. Some lieutenant came in and muttered about how this place was running around like chickens with their heads cut off over a stupid hurricane. The lady behind the counter - who looked like she was supplementing her Social Security with extra hours - said, "Honey, have you never heard of Hurricane Camille?" He then grunted something about Hurricane Hugo that he'd lived through, and she said, "Hugo wasn't Camille."

I walked back to my car and looked up and noticed something I missed going in: a red line that said "water mark, Hurricane Camille, August 20, 1969" - and it was a good couple of feet over my head.

Everybody thinks their storm is the last storm.

 

[92tide]

While the scale of this year’s flooding is abnormal, it’s sadly part of the history of this part of Texas. There’s a reason for the song titled “Texas Flood”, made famous by SRV…

Why Texas Hill Country, where a devastating flood killed dozens, is one of the deadliest places in the US for flash flooding

A hydrologist explains why the region is known as Flash Flood Alley and how its geography and geology can lead to heavy downpours and sudden, destructive floods.

www.yahoo.com

that song popped into my head when I first heard about this

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Saw something interesting on CNN, and this might belong in the "media" thread. Pamela Brown is on the ground in TX for them. After her report, she asked if she could add one more remark. She went on to say that she understood all were on tenterhooks for the latest news but urged patience under the circumstances. A little unusual, coming from CNN...

 

[TIDE-HSV]

They're interviewing volunteer workers on radio who say there was debris 35 feet up in trees...

 

[Bazza]

CNN last night was showing some of the victims. So sad.....

Massive respect to those helping with the aftermath.

The Cajun Navy in particular - I didn't realize they had a special ops group that consists of military veterans who have had experience in dealing with death and recovery.

 

[Bazza]

Worth noting:

Professional sports teams and leagues combined to provide millions of dollars in donations to those impacted by the devastating and deadly floods in central Texas, which thus far have killed at least 95 and left dozens more unaccounted. The Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and NFL Foundation were the first to announce their philanthropy and pooled together $500,000 apiece to provide both immediate assistance and long-term resources to the victims' families and survivors.

The NBA announced Monday that it is joining the effort and that it partnered with the state's three franchises -- the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs -- and the NBA Players' Association to donate more than $2 million in total. Additionally, MLB's Houston Astros and Texas Rangers pledged $1 million each.

NFL, NBA, MLB teams pool together donations for Texas flood recovery efforts as death toll spikes

At least 95 are dead after devastating floods ravaged central Texas

www.cbssports.com

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Saw something interesting on CNN, and this might belong in the "media" thread. Pamela Brown is on the ground in TX for them. After her report, she asked if she could add one more remark. She went on to say that she understood all were on tenterhooks for the latest news but urged patience under the circumstances. A little unusual, coming from CNN...

Our local news had a segment with their meteorologist who had taken the time to look over the weather activity log of the surrounding stations in the flooded area. He said after looking at the activity logs (in his OPINION) it would be best for any thoughts or conclusions on trying to find someone to blame to be put on hold until people who actually know what they're doing had a chance to look at everything. The worst thing anyone could do at the moment is publicly give assessments on the situation, especially those who are trying to find someone to blame.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

Slight tangent but my neighbor works for Microsoft and apparently his most recent project was developing an AI for the government to use during disasters. It apparently takes aerial footage and then classifies the debris somehow. I don't fully understand it but I wonder if it is of any use in this situation.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

The worst thing anyone could do at the moment is publicly give assessments on the situation, especially those who are trying to find someone to blame.

Our culture of narcissism insists we be part of the events.

And that "someone somewhere" be to blame even for acts of God.

 

[Islander]

There is an interesting episode of Weatherbrains on YouTube which gives a lot of information concerning this calamity. Episode 1016 if you’re interested.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Our local news had a segment with their meteorologist who had taken the time to look over the weather activity log of the surrounding stations in the flooded area. He said after looking at the activity logs (in his OPINION) it would be best for any thoughts or conclusions on trying to find someone to blame to be put on hold until people who actually know what they're doing had a chance to look at everything. The worst thing anyone could do at the moment is publicly give assessments on the situation, especially those who are trying to find someone to blame.

It came out today why she's there. She attended the camp 30 years ago, when she was the daughter of an up and coming KY politician who later became governor. It's very pricey - $4300+ for 30 days...

 

[Bamabuzzard]

It came out today why she's there. She attended the camp 30 years ago, when she was the daughter of an up and coming KY politician who later became governor. It's very pricey - $4300+ for 30 days...

Yeah, we have a friend whose son was right up the road at another summer camp. He was in one of the houses that got lifted off the ground by the water and carried the house with the boys in it for a nice little "ride" before getting wedged between trees. Thankfully, they all got out safely without any casualties or injuries. What happened is just simply AWFUL!

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Yeah, we have a friend whose son was right up the road at another summer camp. He was in one of the houses that got lifted off the ground by the water and carried the house with the boys in it for a nice little "ride" before getting wedged between trees. Thankfully, they all got out safely without any casualties or injuries. What happened is just simply AWFUL!

I wonder what factors led them to house the youngest kids in the cabins nearest the water...

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I wonder what factors led them to house the youngest kids in the cabins nearest the water...

I have no idea other than the historical pattern of that river is that it floods once about every decade, or at least that's what ABC News reported last night when I watched it. Flood watches were posted in plenty of time for people to know at least there was a chance of flooding. But, it is possible that since it doesn't flood that often, they just chalked it up to another time when it wasn't going to flood and got burnt. Also, they said the cell phone reception at the camp was "spotty" or "hit and miss".