"RISK: If a Church Is Flooded 6 Times, Will the Lord Still Provide?"

"The answer to this question is unknown. What is known is that the U.S. government's flood insurance program has paid the First Apostolic Church of Rio Linda for six damage claims and will probably be on the hook again when another flood crests, which could be pretty soon."



"The shabby, one-story wooden church perched on the bank of the misleadingly named Dry Creek in the central California town of Rio Linda floods almost as often as the nation elects a president. Since 1982, it has been inundated eight times by floodwater coursing through a natural drainage basin toward the confluence of two rivers 7 miles south in Sacramento.

Water climbed to a depth of 3 1/2 feet inside the church at least twice. Less severe submersions make dresser drawers bulge and walls of Sheetrock bend. Smelly runoff water competes with the sting of bleach, used to kill mold. After the flood of 1995, one of its worst, the church closed for several months, losing about half its congregation."

Evan Lehmann reports for ClimateWire May 29, 2012.

Source: ClimateWire, 05/31/2012