A River's Rampage: The Texas Flash Flood
The Guadalupe River near Comfort, Texas, swelled from hip-height to three floors in about two hours, sending upstream water as heavy as the Empire State Building almost every minute it was at its peak.
Floodwaters can have more force and surprise than people realize.
Comfortis is downstream of the river's rain-soaked forks, offering a view of flash floods' force. James Doss-Gollin, a Rice University professor, noted the crest was among the highest recorded, with flash floods happening so fast they 'warp our brains.'
The Texas storm left twisted wreckage after smashing buildings, dragging cars, and uprooting trees. It caused rescues, killed over 100, and left dozens missing. Most casualties were upriver in Kerr County, including the damaged Camp Mystic. The flood hit early without warning.
Water is heavy and swift, causing devastation. One cubic foot weighs 62 pounds (28 kg), like a box slightly larger than a basketball. At Comfort's peak, the river flowed at 177,000 cubic feet per second—11 million pounds (5 million kg) of water.
People, automobiles, and homes may be washed away by a tiny quantity of water, which is less than most people realize. It just takes six inches (15.2 cm) to knock someone off their feet. It takes a few feet of swift-moving water to submerge a truck or SUV, and much less to move a vehicle.
And it took a little more than fifteen minutes for so much water to reach Comfort that it was not only capable of carrying away a big pickup truck, but also posed a threat to buildings since water as heavy as a jumbo aircraft passed by every second.
Even more frightening is the fact that the water floats items in addition to pushing them. Pushing is an instantaneous sensation that alerts one to danger. According to Upmanu Lall, a water specialist at Arizona State University and Columbia University, upward force could not be perceived until it is overpowering.
According to S. Jeffress Williams, a senior scientist emeritus with the U.S. Geological Survey, rain swiftly raced downhill in hilly territory because to the abundance of limestone covered by a thin layer of soil, with little of it being absorbed by the earth.
Typically, a flash flood begins with a lead wave and then intensifies as rain rushes across the terrain and into the river basin. The water takes a while to converge, even if it rises swiftly.
Trees were toppled like grass, steel was bent, and automobiles were crushed into heaps by the water. The disorder and erratic nature of the water's ferocity were caught in pictures.
The river then retreated, not as swiftly as it had risen, but nevertheless swiftly.
Its damage was revealed in retreat after it had already plunged 10 feet (3 meters) 5 hours after its summit at Comfort. A few days after it began to rise, it was once more possible to stand with one's head over the river.
