Flooding in central Texas over the Fourth of July weekend continued to take its toll this week.
By Wednesday morning, national news reported the death toll from Texas floods had climbed to 111 over six counties. More than 161 people are missing as the search and rescue efforts continue.
Tuesday afternoon, CNN reported the 84 deceased in Kerr County included 56 adults and 28 children. Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp along the Guadalupe River, confirmed 27 campers and counselors died in the weekend flood. Ten campers and one counselor are still unaccounted for.
Our hearts go out to the victims and survivors at times such as this. An entire nation is watching, expressing empathy and looking for ways to help.
During events such as this, we see what makes humans unique from other animals on the planet. We can care about other people even if we’ve never met them. We are also likely to look for patterns – who deserves praise and who should be blamed? Is FEMA doing enough? Did the National Weather Service give enough warning? Should funding to these agencies be cut? Should it be increased? Could humans do anything to lessen the rising global temperatures by changing their behavior? Would that matter?
Saul Elbein, writing for The Hill, reported, “Local, state and federal officials are all pointing fingers in the wake of the deadly Texas flooding, but one thing is certain: The warnings weren’t heard by the people who needed them.”
What isn’t clear is what more could have been done. There were warnings but they were either too late or didn’t get to the people who needed them most.
Brian K. Sullivan with Bloomberg News examined “The key weather ingredients that fueled Texas’ deadly flood.”
“More than a foot of rain fell on Friday, sending the Guadalupe River and other waterways surging over their banks. While researchers haven’t analyzed the storm that spawned the floods, extreme precipitation is becoming increasingly common as the planet warms,” he wrote.
One of the researchers he spoke to was Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center.
“Texas is particularly flood-prone because the fever-hot Gulf of Mexico is right next door, providing plenty of tropical moisture to fuel storms when they come along,” she said.
As climate change warms the world, the atmosphere can hold more moisture. For every 1.8F (1C) increase in temperature, the air can carry about 7% more moisture.
Francis concluded that natural patterns add to the dangers, but said cutting emissions would at least lower the risk of human-caused climate change.
There are things beyond our control, things we can control, and things we can attempt to control or at least alter. It makes sense to learn all we can to improve life on our planet. We can also improve everything from rescue equipment to warning methods to emergency response. Maybe we can improve ourselves. We can learn about severe weather alerts and how to prepare for weather emergencies.
Tragedies like the Texas flooding can bring out the best and the worst in us. The Austin American-Statesman lists several ways to help the recent flood victims, such as Austin Disaster Relief at https://adrn.org/centraltexasflood/#donate.
