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White to move and mate in two #689 - Flash Floods in Texas [1]

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Date: 2025-07-08

Here is some science background on the devastating flash floods in Texas, which claimed over 100 lives.

The Texas Hill Country, scene of the devastating floods, is well known for flash floods. The area lies just along the Balcones Escarpment, which was formed 20-25 million years ago, dividing Texas into the Western plateau with hills and cliffs and the fertile low plains to the East. You can see the dividing line on a map — it is hills and dry brushland to the west and greenery to the east.

The escarpment also traps moist winds from the Gulf, causing intense rainfall in the region.

Water from sudden downpours rushes down the hills into creeks and rivers flowing east and causing flash floods.

Camp Mystic, the scene of the tragic loss of lives of young children, is located on the banks of the south fork of the Guadalupe river, so are many other camps and communities.

According to the www.washingtonpost.com/… — "More than a dozen summer camps lie along the banks of the scenic Guadalupe River and its tributaries. In the most affected area in Kerr County, at least 13 of them lie next to or are partially inside FEMA-designated high-risk flood zones."

Communities and youth camps in flood-prone areas are required to have early-warning systems and emergency plans that include disaster preparedness. But the risk remains, especially if warnings and evacuations cannot be made in time.

Every so often, we get a perfect storm in the area — meteorological events where moist systems from the west and from the gulf collide, drought conditions in the area, the hilly topography of the landscape, the challenges in getting the message out and other factors that cause devastating flash floods like the ones last weekend. Add to that the dangerous ideology of republicans who want to put a halt to any steps the world has taken to recognize and combat climate change and strangle agencies such as NOAA and the NWS.

Here is a graph from www.washingtonpost.com/…showing the steady increase in fatalities caused by floods in the U,S. since 2000. Climate change means warmer ocean waters, more moisture in the air and higher occurrences of storms and floods.

Now let’s solve today’s puzzle composed in 1933 by noted Hungarian chess composer Ferenc Herpai (1910 - 1994).

P.S.

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