Still Harvey rolls on; 9 days since initial landfall and still 2+ inches of rain here in central Va. over the last two days as the water slowly drains from southeast Texas. Flooding and carnage left in the storm's wake; is this the new hurricane, the new warming reality denied by the leaders representing Texas? Next in line is Hurricane Irma, churning slowly westward in the open Atlantic, the path guessed at but more likely to follow the whims of the planet than the models proposed by computers - so many variables. The rainfall here, after a summer long drought, has barely added enough to the groundwater to return the Hershey Dog creek to flowing. Our porous, dry soil has slurped up the moisture, slowly allowing gravity to distribute any extra. Unbridled growth, putting pavement and roofs over former spongy wetlands, lead to the problem in Texas, 50 inches of rain reminded all that a flood plain is eventually going to flood.
As the nightmare in the Lone Star state continues, cleanup beginning while still search and rescue and recover slogs on with help from far and wide pouring in, will there be lessons learned? The reality that Earth is in charge and with all its constant roiling and churning, shaking and erupting is just a wild chunk of rock flying around a star. It is an amazing place to call home but disasters in our world are just another rewind of a planet feedback loop, hot to cold, high pressure to low, solar energy aways stirring the water and air pot that allows us to live. Hang on folks, just another day on Earth.
