that was no rain today, no mere thunderstorm, but a torrential downpour, a deluge, a bombardment of raindrops not seen on the earth since the Flood; it was a blitzkrieg of bolts, a volley, a salvo, a barrage-- in short, an electrical charge, and the city drowned, floundered, and fell. 7 1 / 1 1 / 8 1