Flash Flooding, In-the-Country Edition

WHY HOUSTON'S PROSPECTS FOR RECOVERY LOOK BETTER THAN OTHER STRICKEN PLACES
FLOODS AND STORMS ARE NATURAL, FLOOD AND STORM DISASTERS ARE MAN-MADE

SINCE THURSDAY AFTERNOON INTO TODAY WE'VE BEEN POUNDED WITH SHEETS OF RAIN AND FLASH FLOODING FROM WHAT'S LEFT OF HARVEY. It seems to be petering out now and moving on north, though not without some residual damage.  Here in the country where I live flash floods can come on powerfully, crest and go back down quickly because there's so much porous soil to absorb the extra water.

Here's a great scene at the end of my road this morning.  Rain flooded the field of freshly mowed and baled hay, then carried it downstream before depositing under the STOP sign.

While this soggy mess is undoubtedly a pain to the farmer who recently worked the field, it's surely better to have hay moved or destroyed in the flood plain than a home and everything you own get destroyed.  A reminder that flood plains are designed for high water flooding, even if it only happens every 500 or a 1,000 years.

All this power from a little creek that was only a trickle yesterday. The stream is doing exactly what it was designed to do. And it'll be back to its normal trickle in 4-5 days.