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Realizing I didn’t know how floods work

A story from the devastating flooding along the Guadeloupe River in Texas.

A young woman was on a family camping trip when the floodwaters swept her away, along with her mother and father. They held on for a while, but got separated.

The young woman was found high in a tree - beat up - but conscious.

In order to get to where she was found, she had been washed 14 miles through debris-clogged surging currents.

Five of her family members are still missing.

I had never thought about that, probably because I lived most of my life in the mountains, where such flooding was not expected. That flood victims could be swept so far, still alive, surprised me.
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As long as you can keep your head above water and breathe, it's surprising how long you can live for... and how far the currents can carry you.

Just imagine if the currents had carried her 14 miles out to sea... for context, if she had been dragged out to see in Dover UK, from the narrowest point, she would have been in French waters (and closer to France) before she was found.
@HootyTheNightOwl It’s startling.
tobynshorty · 51-55, F
It’s sad to hear about a flood like that. We lost a lot of homes during Hurricane Helene and approx 117 deaths in NC.
@tobynshorty Yes. Awful.
bowman81 · M
The river rose 27 feet in less than an hour. It occurred at 4 am on a holiday weekend. I can't imagine a worse situation.

There are a lot of people in need.
@bowman81 A LOT. And a lot more facing picking up the pieces.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@bowman81 yes, frightening. Apparently it is not the first time it has happened in your sake place. Those poor victims.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
Such a horrible disaster. I hope the death count stops rising.

Those who want to live near rivers, in areas that have experienced floods in the past though, need to realize that whatever you don't think, nature always wins!
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@exexec you also prepared for some of the problem by installing a generator. That is part of what I am trying to express the need for.
exexec · 70-79, C
@samueltyler2 Correct. We have the generator and windows to withstand most hurricane winds.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@exexec exactly the point I have been trying to make. It amazes me that few people care to plan ahead, to study issues and institute preventive measures. At some point, "we" need to look into discouraging people to build housing in high risk areas. To my thinking, it is unfair to allow the richest among us to build in areas we know will inevitably be hit by a disaster that the rest of us will spend money to help them out, either with higher insurance rates and it rebuilding support.
AngelUnforgiven · 51-55, F
Usually we get weather alerts on our phones and we got absolutely nothing. Christy Noem just blamed Biden in a press conference 🙄
AngelUnforgiven · 51-55, F
@samueltyler2 [media=https://youtu.be/OGfJajNLch4?si=-aUJAXZfmizh4Ib8]
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@AngelUnforgiven please send me the link to use.
AngelUnforgiven · 51-55, F
@samueltyler2 https ://youtu.be/OGfJajNLch4?si=-aUJAXZfmizh4Ib8



There's a space after the https that should not be there I did it because otherwise it would show up as a video here
SunshineGirl · 36-40, F
A terrifying thought.
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@SomeMichGuy Yes. No getting around that.
Musicman · 61-69, M
In floods like that the water is moving very fast. It's quite easy for anything floating to go that far in a short time.
@Musicman I’ll bet it feels longer.
Musicman · 61-69, M
@Mamapolo2016 Oh I'm sure it feels like a lifetime.

 
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