Drawing Near

A Pastoral Perspective on Biblical, Theological, & Cultural Issues | The Personal Website of James B. Law, Ph.D.

Monthly Archive: September 2016

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September 2016

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When You Pass Through The Waters, I Will Be With You

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img_7296I have lived in south Louisiana since 1988 and have been through a number of disasters. Hurricane Katrina has redefined life for those of us along the I-10 corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Often conversations in our area are prefaced with, “Since Katrina….”

The flood waters of August 2016 will also serve as a benchmark of devastation for years to come. It was painful to watch the radar as a stalled weather system churned like a washing machine for four days over south Louisiana dumping massive amounts of water on a region of the country that can’t bear much. When all was said and done, the Baton Rouge area received over 26 inches of rain, according to data from the National Weather Service, shattering records and shoving rivers over their banks.

A number of news outlets tried to help us get our minds around the amount of water that fell in those days. Ryan Miller with USA Today wrote that if the total from each rain gauge from the affected area topped together it would be 630 inches, or over 50 feet, which puts it well above the Lincoln Memorial statue and almost as deep as the White House is tall. From height to gallons, Miller referenced the town of Livingston, LA. which received 25.5 inches in four days. Which means Livingston, a town with just over three square miles, received over one billion gallons of water. (USAToday, August 17, 2016) (more…)