« Self-Destructive Behavior From Hugo Chavez | Main | Katrina Response Timeline »

September 1, 2005

The End of All Flesh is Come Before Me

Genesis 7:23:

And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth

Every culture has a flood myth. The most famous in the West, of course, is that from Genesis 6-9, the story of Noah. I could not help thinking of this as I viewed photos of the aftermath of Katrina. I do not believe that there has ever been a worse natural disaster in the United States.

Comparison of New Orleans with and without floodwaters

New Orleans residents wade through the water attempting to get to higher ground

National Guard soldiers help family

Perhaps the promise of Genesis 9:11 - "And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth." - only applies to world-covering floods.

(The title quote is from Genesis 6:13)

Posted by jeff at September 1, 2005 9:21 PM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.caerdroia.org/MT/mt-tb.cgi/438

Comments

If you are a Jeff Medcalf from OKC, I may know you. (I have an older brother named Tom.) Anyway, I stumbled on your blog accidentally while searching for information about Marxism and Democrats. Hopefully, you are the Jeff I remember, and I'm not just typing at a stranger.

As to your post, I read somewhere that Houston had a horrible hurricane around 1900 that may have outdone this one.

Your blog layout is impressive.

Posted by: Michael Hoyt at September 2, 2005 10:56 PM

Michael! I remember you well, though I suspect you must have changed a great deal, since you would have been in your mid-teens when I saw you last. Send me mail at blog -at- caerdroia -dot- org, and we can talk more privately.

Oh, and I believe you were referring to the Galveston hurricane of 1900. That killed the most people in a natural disaster (though it's possible this storm, when fully tallied) will match it, but the property damage and the extent of the dislocation geographically was much smaller.

Posted by: Jeff Medcalf [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 3, 2005 11:25 AM

I don't think I ever met you, Michael, but I knew Tom.

3 hurricanes worse in size and strength than this one: Camille, Andrew and the Labor Day hurricane of 1935. The Galveston hurricane of 1900 will likely still be the deadliest one, though.

Posted by: Stephanie at September 3, 2005 2:52 PM