By Dr. Glenn Mollette
Surprises can be deadly.
A devastating flood recently hit Nepal and China. A glacier collapse caused a massive flood that killed approximately 1,300 people and left more than 5,000 missing. The flood destroyed entire communities, including the border crossing between Nepal and China and caused over $2.56 billion in damages. Rescue efforts are still underway, but the search area is divided into seven zones, with three remaining to be searched.
A devastating flood hit the Grand Canyon on August 29, killing two people and leaving one missing. The flood was caused by heavy rainfall and compound climate extremes, sweeping through Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area. It destroyed footbridges, trails and utilities, and damaged the Trans canyon waterline, causing stage 4 water restrictions. The South Rim of the park is still open, but with limited access to water.
In July, 2025 a horrific Texas flood occurred. Heavy rainfall and a flash flood warning that came too late swept through a campsite in Texas, killing at least 120 people, with 160 still missing The campsite Camp Mystic, lost 27 campers and counselors.
Hurricane Katrina was a category 3 storm that made landfall off the Louisiana coast August 29, 2005 with maximum sustained wind speeds of 120 miles per hour. An estimated 1,200 people died as a direct result of the storm, which also cost an estimated $108 billion in property damage making it the costliest hurricane on record
These events were surprising and deadly. Who could have imagined such tragedies? These people were shockingly surprised. Surprises can happen to any of us at any time. It’s almost impossible to always be on guard. We can travel and live with a cautious attitude but weather conditions can rapidly change.
Events can happen in our daily travel routine whether we are driving, flying or just going to the office. Such was the day of September 11, 2001. Hundreds of people had booked airplane tickets for a day of routine air travel that ended up being their last life’s event. People in the World Trade Towers had reported in to carry out their daily work assignments, but it would be their last day of life. Officials at the Pentagon had shown up for a routine day of service. Terrorist hijackers of four planes successfully carried their surprise mission of death to more than 3,000 people. Their planning to hijack our planes and carry out their mission was successful. Most of us remember where we were that day and the terror of that day.
Just last week a demented woman with a knife took the life of another woman in Times Square in New York City. The demented woman was shot by police and killed but her surprise attack injured one woman while killing another.
So often, it is the surprises that we can’t handle. A motorist who is drinking intoxicated. The surprise medical report. A financial surprise that drains us and many more.
Typically, if we know, we can handle the situation. We can move to higher ground, or take shelter. We can try to avoid bad people if we know where they are and what they are up to. We can seek medical care if we have advanced information. What brings us the most grief is when we are surprised.
May we all remember the families impacted by these deadly events. May we be very aware that we are not immune to such events and live our lives prayerfully and as intuitively as possible.
Dr. Glenn Mollette is the author of 15 books. His column is published in more than 600 media outlets nationally.