Have you heard of the
ARk Storm?{ATMOSPHERIC RIVER}Basically in certain situations, water rises from the Pacific Ocean and floods the West Coast.
You almost get rain for
Forty Days and Forty Nights.This happens about once a Century. The last time that it happened back in the 1800s. There was at least thirty consecutive days where it rained
at least an Inch every day with as much as
10 inches falling on one Noteworthy day.Large parts of California's Central Region was
10 foot under water.According to serious Government Studies, a modern day
ARk Storm would kill and displace about half again as many people as the worst case "
Big-One" Earthquake.
There are Government Studies online, but they're rather dry reading.
A.} I have never lived on the West Coast and I'm a little uncomfortable setting a story there.
{I have spent less than two months West of the Mississippi River and have never been West of Cheyenne Wyoming…}
B.} I haven't been able to see how far North the Flood would go—how much would Oregon and Washington State be Affected?
How about Nevada, Utah and Idaho?
{It wouldn't take a Huge amount of rain to create problems in some Desert areas…}C.} Think about "
The Grapes of Wrath". A big
ARk Storm might launch "Oakie" style California Refugees knocking around like gypsies for a decade or two.
{Or The Kenyan, or someone like him, might diligently round most of them up and inter them in Refugee Camps.}
D.} I know that Most of that moisture will fall on the West Coast, but I'd expect higher than average rainfall and some flooding at least to the Smoky Mountains.
E.} I like the idea of Synchronicity. According to Weather experts it is only a matter of time until a big
F-5 Tornado goes right throughout the heart of Dallas, Houston or several other Big Cities in Tornado Alley.
A Tornado could hit New York or Chicago and a Big Slow moving Hurricane could flood all of New York's Subways and have much of the city several feet under water.
Look at the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina.
Large parts of New Orleans hasn't been rebuilt—
they've just quit showing the devastation on the air.
Some significant percentage of the displaced citizens will probably never return.And while I don't have numbers at hand, I'm satisfied that the cost of Construction materials has been "Bid" up by the demand in much of the Mid-West…
I don't mean that you have to have a tidal wave hit Miami, Tornados tear through both Houston and Dallas, and a Hurricane dunk large areas of New York all to happen in the same month or even the same year.
Think of American Society as some partially Dry-Rotten Denim stretched as Tight as a Drum Head and every extra weight that you put on the Trampoline
makes a few more tiny tears and piles some more weight on it… And eventually it TEARS.Martial Law, Fevered
FEMA Pogroms, Rioting and Insurrection and Terrorism could all enter into the mix.
I mean an
ARk Storm three years
after a Dallas Tornado
followed by a Katrina
+ sized Hurricane Devastating Miami and then waltzing up the East Coast improbably far a year
after the
ARk Storm.
My favorite part of any "
Survivalist" type story is the moment that our Hero decides the Ship isn't going to Stay Afloat and
starts crossing Personal Rubicons based on that Premise. Walking confidently with Handguns, Bowie, Rifle,
Bug-Out Bag with Blankets, Tarpaulin
*, Ground Sheet, Tomahawken, Hobo Stove and at least a couple weeks worth of Food—
while most everyone else mostly have nothing but the clothes on their backs… {Don't Flaunt it. I'd go considerably out of my way to avoid crowds of Refugees.}…..RVM45
* Please say "Tarpaulin" when you mean "Tarpaulin" and avoid the Vulgar and ugly Chopped Word "Tarp".