A few years ago, a flood barrier was installed to protect the island city of Venice, Italy from winter storm surges. But it also protected a sandbar that used to wash away every year. Well, that sandbar is now an island with a flourishing ecosystem with flowers, rushes, and even trees!

You see, this is a tiny reminder of what happened after the global flood of Noah’s day. Plants fill in any bare soil very quickly, and that brings in insects and birds and other larger animals. It doesn’t take long for a new ecosystem to emerge and, in the rapidly changing post-flood world, creatures quickly adapted and settled into new environments.