Support Harvey victims; flooding worst kind of natural disaster

Charlottesville.


Houston.


Both were the recent scene of disasters. In Charlottesville, we saw the worst of humanity.


In Houston, we've seen the worst of Mother Nature, but the best of humanity.


Neighbors, strangers and volunteers have all come together to rescue those in need. Across the country, donations have poured in and money pledged to help those in need.


If you haven't experienced a flood, it's the worst kind of disaster. I covered the Flood of '93 as a young reporter in central Missouri. Our county was bordered on two sides by the Missouri River, which flooded to more than a mile wide in places after weeks of rain both upstream and locally. In 2011, I was the website editor for my hometown newspaper, again helping cover the flooded Missouri River. This time, we didn't flood because of excess rain, we flooded because the Corps of Engineers had to release water upstream to protect massive reservoirs filled by snowmelt.


I say it's the worst kind because it lingers. A hurricane or tornado blows through the area, but you can begin the cleanup within a day or so. The same is true of a fire, earthquake or ice storm. But a flood will be around for weeks or even months, as we experienced in Missouri. Saline County was on the "high" side of the river; most of the flooding affected our neighboring counties. But there were still plenty of places where our side of the river was low enough that homes were flooded.


There were still other issues, though, as our towns lost their water supplies and were cut off as roads were closed. Only one Missouri River bridge, Interstate 70 not far from Columbia, was open.


While we are all thinking about Houston now, we need to remember them in one month, two months, six months. The impact of flooding from Hurricane Harvey will still be there. Hopefully the wave of humanity and aid will still be there, too.