Floods – Fourth Grade

Miss Hull was our teacher in the fourth grade at Barrick in 1953. I do not recall much from that year. I only remember her name because years later, after we moved to Jersey Village, Eva learned she was living in JV. Eva visited with her before she passed away.

It was in the spring of 1954 when the subject of flash floods caught my attention. Miss Hull had grown up in Missouri and she was telling us about her first-hand experience with flash flooding in her hometown. We did not have TVs and had never seen a movie about flash flooding or even about hurricanes. In the years since then, numerous flooding events have occurred in the Houston area and across the country.

I had made the drive from Estes Park to Loveland, Colorado, before the great flood of July 31, 1976, and then, years later, the road was finally reopened again. At least 144 people were killed when the Big Thompson River flooded the canyon with a wall of water caused by 12-14 inches of rain in less than four hours, with 7.5 inches in one hour in the mountains that fed into that river. Houses, businesses, RV parks, and campsites lined the river for years, and the area was typically crowded in summer.

So much of the Houston area was flooded during Harvey, Alison, and many other events when many lives were lost. Flooding is often a major political talking point and yet it seems never gets resolved regardless of how much money is spent.

The reports of yesterday’s flash flooding of the Guadalupe River and the missing children and adults were hard to watch without feeling helpless. I have been to Kerrville many times, once a few months after a major flooding event, and saw the damage done for many miles. The videos shown during the news reminded me of the reporting of the hurricane and the wall of water in North Carolina and the lives lost.

This morning, I was reading more about the efforts to find the missing children and adults when I remembered the day Miss Hull was explaining to her fourth-grade students how frightening a flash flood can be, especially to children during the night. Many of the children were in the area at church camps. The parents of the children who do not survive, their lives will never be the same. For some of those with strong faith, their loss will be great, but they will have assurance that their child is in Heaven. Some may carry guilt for letting their child be in that situation and it could destroy marriages.

Many prayers include, “why?” There will be politicians who will use the event to gain attention and power. There will be the “Climate Change” campaign ads and insults. We are almost smart enough to be able to see where the rain fell, how much during a short period, and how that water rushed into the area very quickly during the night. Weather experts tell us what events in Mexico sent outer bands up to the areas that produced the 12-14 inches of rain.

Just hours before the flooding, the weather forecasters for two of the Houston TV stations had said the rain that could fall in that part of the state would be good because that area was in a drought pattern and needed the rain. I am not a person who blames God for events like this, and I am not smart enough to say how anyone can protect us from these events. I do know that tomorrow is not promised to any of us.

² For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴ But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 English Standard Version

This message can apply to an entire nation or to each of us as individuals. Some may suffer from a terminal illness for months and others may die within seconds in an auto accident or during an unexpected flash flood. If something needs to be fixed, do not put it off!