There is a broader theory that the Earth has a lot of water in it, and is in fact a big sponge which sometimes squeezes itself, and sometimes these massive forms of water convert and to the surface in quantities which overwhelm us, the land and all, until some process unknown, "pulls it back into the core", sponge-like.

Its a crackpot theory, but I do wonder where things are going with all these scientists having interests in flood events and other crazy weather conditions.