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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_2025_Central_Texas_floods Flooding in a rural area of central Texas, where the water reached at least 26 feet high in less than 24 hours. Those are floodwaters higher than the roof of a 3 story building.
A least 82 dead,. 40 of them adults, and 28 children, with dozens more still missing.
Over 20 inches of rain in a 1 or 2 day period, and it came down so rapidly from the hills into the lowlands that there was really nowhere else to go.
The good news is that FEMA and helicopters were rushed into the area, and 237 people were rescued, mostly by helicopters. That's at least something, but probably little consolation for the surviving families of the 82 confirmed dead.
The closest I can compare it to here in South Florida was in Nov 1994, when we had over 10 inches of rain in just 2 days. But back in the 1950's in our area, the federal government spent about $ 5 billion building a massive drainage system, that allows that level of rain to be pumped out into unpopulated swamp areas. But even at that time, the news reported that at over 10 inches, the level of rain came very close to overwhelming the system, and if any higher, could have resulted in massive life-threatening flooding and devastation That without that drainage system, if any higher we would have seen homes floating down the river, as often happens with floods that occur on the Mississippi River.
Man... there but for the grace of God... .
