ANDERSON — Destructive and deadly flooding in Texas last month, which resulted in an estimated 125 deaths — including 25 children at a Christian summer camp — shocked the nation.
Camp Mystic was located northwest of San Antonio near the Guadalupe River, which rose by 26 feet in less than an hour on July 4.
In the aftermath of the flooding, hard questions arose from the general public, including about whether residents were adequately informed by local alert systems.
In Indiana, Gov. Mike Braun recently said the state should take a serious look at its emergency alert system.
“I think it brings to light that discussion, ‘Are there enough resources for something as tragic as that?’” Braun told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “You’ve got to set a lot of it aside, get through it, focus on what’s most important, and then come back and see if there are any things you can do better.
“Here in our own state, I’m going to be cognizant of it,” he continued. “We have our own calamities, through tornadoes and flooding — thank goodness, nothing of that magnitude — but we all need to be prepared.”
Braun’s comments on the topic stemmed from a cogent question: Could similar floods happen here?
At least two Indiana experts believe the answer is “yes.”
Indiana experiences the same types of storm systems that contributed to the Texas floods.
These patterns are comprised of systems that can contain high volumes of water and weather fronts that keep the systems moving slowly or completely stalled, according to Gabriel Filippelli, professor of earth science at Indiana University Indianapolis.
In the United States, he said, these systems tend to move from west to east. While the storms they spawn are not necessarily threatening, they can become a cause for concern should they slow or stop moving.
Indiana is no stranger to these low-pressure zones.
This spring, Indiana experienced major flooding during the first week of April. In cities like Shelbyville, residents were forced to evacuate as the Blue River crested at nearly 18 feet.
Other cities like Nashville and Bloomington were left with eight to 10 inches of standing water.
“There were four days of about two inches of rain each day,” Filippelli said. “Each one of those as an individual event wouldn’t cause a flood, but when they’re three days in a row, it doesn’t provide the water enough time to naturally absorb into the soil. So, you get the runoff and the flooding.”
Indiana University Bloomington Professor Broxton Bird noted that Indiana has experienced large floods in recent history — most notably the spring and summer floods of 2008.
“The spring 2008 floods were especially bad because they were rain on snow events,” he wrote in an e-mail. “What this means is that there were very heavy rains that fell on the spring snowpack, melting it and releasing a considerable amount of winter precipitation in addition to the rainfall.”
Many experts believe Indiana is not prepared for floods, given the relative absence of structures like dams and lochs that can control the excess water.
“Cities become particularly vulnerable – especially those near rivers,” Filippelli said. “We have a lot of areas where the water can’t percolate naturally because of streets, parking lots and buildings.”
Increasingly sticky lowpressure zones and other conditions favorable to flooding can be boiled down to a single factor: climate change.
As the Earth warms, the atmosphere will likely carry more water vapor in the atmosphere which could be released as heavy rain, according to Filippelli.
“The analogy is, if you have a glass of water and you only fill it up half an inch and spill it on the floor, that’s a minor cleanup. If it fills up to the top, it requires a major cleanup,” Filippelli said.
Such “spills” come with a hefty price tag. In Texas, the floods resulted in an estimated $20 billion in damages and economic losses.
Filippelli recommended residents be mindful of weather alerts, even if conditions don’t seem dire at the time.
He recommended that state and local officials take the threat of flooding seriously.
“Don’t assume it can never happen here,” he said. “Do exercises. These war exercises they do for war, they have the same thing for emergency response.”
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