Texas Flooding Results in Death and Destruction

Aaron M. Sprecher/AFP/Getty Images

Texas Flooding Results in Death and Destruction

Are we to blame for massive floods in Texas?

Massive flooding in Texas and Oklahoma over Memorial Day weekend resulted in dreadful death and destruction. According to CBS Houston, the current toll stands at 21 dead and at least 30 are unaccounted for.

Among those dead are a 14-year-old boy found in a storm drain, an Oklahoma firefighter in Claremore, a high school senior on her way home from prom, an unidentified male along the Blanco River, and a 33-year-old Tulsa woman. Along with those dead, 12 others are missing—three are under 10 years old.

This video, uploaded by Daily News, shows the rushing Blanco River after torrential downpours in Texas.

In Wimberley, Texas—between San Antonio and Austin on the Blanco River—more than 350 homes washed away, while 1,000 more were damaged in Hays County. On Sunday, the river there swelled above 40 feet—triple its flood stage of 13 feet—creating chaos and overrunning Interstate 35. San Marcos suffered similar damage with police cars washing away and a firehouse flooding. In Harris County, between 500 and 700 homes have received damage.

On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott added 24 counties to the 13 already declared to be in a state of emergency this month. He described the flash flooding as “a relentless wall of water that mowed down huge trees like they were grass.” He continued, “This is the biggest flood this area of Texas has ever seen.”

Emergency crews spent nighttime hours rescuing hundreds of stranded drivers, while others slept in their cars overnight. Drivers who sought higher ground abandoned at least 2,500 vehicles. Those who attended Monday night’s nba game at the Toyota Center in Houston were asked to delay their exit due to the torrential rains; approximately 200 stayed overnight.

Harris County residents were advised to remain home Tuesday while some 20 school districts announced closures or delays due to flooding.

Massive damages and costs accrued over the weekend and have worsened as the week has progressed.

Yet even as Texas suffers horrible flooding, California continues to suffer a horrific drought.

This video, uploaded by CNN TV, gives an overview of Texas flooding.

Why such starkly different devastating events merely 1,500 miles apart?

Texas sets the record for wettest month in its history and California sets the record for driest year since the start of recording in 1895. California’s record-setting drought and Texas’s record rain and flooding paint a stark picture of two extremes.

Many people blame these weather extremes on growing industry and the ever increasing burning of fossil fuels. But there is another more fundamental cause.

The Bible details a reward system—blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience. The Bible clearly dictates that disobedience can bring floods. Amos 4:7 expounds by showing us that a time will come when rain pours down on one city and no rain on another city. Editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in the April 1996 Trumpet magazine:

God says, “I caused” it! God is the cause. We are being cursed by God! Do we really understand what that means? When we continue to have serious floods and droughts at the same time, it is a warning sign from God. And this is only the beginning.

To learn why more inclement weather is guaranteed, read “Twisters, Floods, Drought—What’s Wrong With the Weather?