Houston witnesses power of flooding

The images from Houston were stunning.

A long line of cars piled up on Interstate 45, not from a car crash, but from flooding. The Houston skyline in places appeared to be emerging from a lake. People were photograph stranded, waiting to be rescued.

Flooding in Houston and other places in Texas has been a huge national story in recent days.

As of Friday morning, another victim had been found, presumably having died from being swept up in the flood, meaning the death toll from the intense flood would stand at 25, with one still missing.

The area received as much as 11 inches of rain in a 24-hour period, a dramatic amount, creating a flood emergency.

USA Today reported that a record surge of the Blanco River reached 44 feet high, exceeding the previous record by 12 feet. The newspaper reported the river grew 223 cubic feet per second, the fastest rate ever recorded. About 70 homes were destroyed.

We in Southeast Missouri are familiar with the devastation of floods. Our hills and low-elevation near the Mississippi River, one of the world's largest water tributaries, exposes us to the threat of floods. But we haven't seen this type of devastation from a flash flood.

Floods are not new to Houston, either. It's a city that has dealt with many floods over the years, occasionally prone to the aftereffects of hurricanes that land ashore in the Gulf of Mexico. According to an Associated Press report, Houston, located 50 miles from the gulf and situated on the confluence of two bayous, is the No. 1 city in America for flood-related injuries and deaths. Population growth in the nation's fourth-largest city has outpaced flood-control measures there.

The tragedy of the events that left more than 20 dead in Texas is yet another reminder of how serious floods can be and humans' inability to completely control Mother Nature's extremes.

We extend our sympathy to the victims in Texas.