Sitting here watching a steady downpour that promises to get heavier tonight across much of the upper North Island I’m thankful for fast chainsaw work late yesterday afternoon, as I raced against the fall of darkness, that gave me enough firewood to simply put my feet up and enjoy the flames on a dark, gloomy day.

I’m also thankful that nothing like the following has ever happened in my vicinity, not is likely too, given the lay of the land The following video was taken from the 480/San Antonio Street bridge in Center Point and showed the Guadalupe River climbing by 20-30 feet in just 30 minutes, from what is almost a dry gulch passing under the Southern part of the bridge to overflowing it in just 30 minutes.

Watching this is mesmerising and you can understand how people could have been caught almost unawares, hence the death toll of over 100 and climbing.

There were similar floods in 1846 that killed hundreds, mainly German settlers. There’s a good reason why the general area has the nickname, Flash Flood Alley.