Hurricane Carla, which smashed into Texas last week, was a whirling doughnut of wind, but like most hurricanes it used water to do its worst damage. Torrential rain raced ahead of the storm, giving Gulf Coast lowlands a preliminary flooding. Then, while the eye of the hurricane was still well offshore, great, white-topped waves cruised out of the sea and crashed across the land. Coastal settlements were washed out; those lying farther inland were flooded by fast-flowing water and picked to pieces by the screaming wind. Buildings that might have been strong enough...
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