The flooding in Texas along the Guadalupe River has caused collective grief across the country as searchers continue to look for victims including many, many children swept away by raging waters. The circumstances only add to the level of grief as the contemplation of those final minutes of the lives of so many children. The black of night, the sudden awakening, the lack of help of any sort, and the horror of facing imminent death in swirling darkness.
Governor Greg Abbott is calling a special session of the legislature to ask for new funds to create a new warning system in the Texas Hill country where the flood occurred. This hill country is a known area of deep ravines, rocky soil conditions, and an area of former floods. The question remains: who would allow buildings constructed on a flood plain? What insurance company would insure anything built on the flood plain? But, this is Texas. Recall what happened to homes near Houston, TX a few years ago that were built in a flood plain: wiped out when the flood hit the plain.
Texas and Texans like to deny reality as they always have, going back to the days of the Republic and the Texas Rangers. Too big to fail; build, build, and build some more. Land is cheap:(worthless?). Keep building affordable husing on worthless land. Yea, Gov. Abbott. Oh, about those presidential aspirations? Forgettaboutit.
Over 143 victims are still unaccounted for and searchers continue looking; families and survivors grapple with the ongoing aftermath.
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