I've been to many places in the Texas Hill Country. The rivers can be dry for months, and when the heavy rains hit, they can rise extraordinarily fast. The current reports on the Guadalupe River are it rose 28 feet in 45 minutes. That's over 7 inches per minute. With that rise, in 3 minutes the rushing water will take you off your feet, and if you're lucky, there something to climb on to escape. Waiting can lead to an almost certain death, and if you're caught off guard, there is no escape.
Unfortunately, these types of floods can't be predicted, and old timers will seek higher ground, even when the heavy shower isn't overhead. To make things worse, the rivers are clear, inviting places to surround with camps. One was inundated, many are not accounted for, and may not be found for days.
the weather manipulators hate texas. we get the leftovers here. very unusual radar signatures. prayers for those lost/missing.
ReplyDeleteI looked at the Camp Mystic area. It's in a low area, the river meanders around the area, and if the water rises quickly, it appears some places have little escape routes.
DeletePrayers for those missing and the families. And yes, you don't have TIME to dither...
ReplyDeleteI have a friend that was camping at Garner Stater Park years ago. He awoke to heavy rain, woke his wife and son, threw everything in his car and barely made it across the Frio on the way out. He met a ranger on the road out that was going in to get them. The next morning showed 20 feet of water over their campground.
DeleteI watched an arroyo on my uncle's ranch in West Texas flood to 6 feet in less than a minute back in the mid-60s. The amount of trash, tree limbs, trees, and cactus that 'led' the flood was scary! And if that rolled over you, you'd never be found.
Delete28 feet is huge, and people like to live near water. My prayers are with them.
ReplyDeleteIf there is one good thing that comes from this, people won't build in the flood plain in the future. There's too much of a risk.
Deletenah, they'll build back after a while. short memories, greed, denial work together. look at florida and the outer banks. we really need to get a handle on the manipulators/geo-engineers. its not government, it's private oligarchs funding it.
DeleteAs a Boy Scout back in maybe '73, I was at El rancho cima when the heavens opened. River rose 20 feet in an hour. First day of a week long summer camp. Unloaded, made camp, and we were looking forward to hitting the river the next day. (20 Mile hike). Things did not go as planned.
ReplyDeleteERC was near San Marcos, if you know the Texas hill country. Very rocky ground, no topsoil to speak of. Lovely in a severe fashion. I aspired at the time to become a geologist, then I discovered that the only jobs were in petroleum. The ground is an inch of sand and gravel over limestone. Its the area that feeds the Edwards Aquifer, if the water could just stay there for 20 minutes. I still love geology . Got all the way to diffeq (differential equations) before figuring my soul was being sucked out. Continued my interest, though. As a rock musician.
ReplyDeleteThe rivers in the Hill Country are usually shallow, clear streams over washed gravel and limestone. You can wade in most of them for miles, until the rains starts. They're also mostly on private land, with some of that land way beyond the reach of most people. Access is only by the river, and some landowners aren't friendly if you leave the river.
ReplyDelete