I have to wonder if Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner laughed out loud when he made an interesting suggestion.

The state of Texas, he said, ought to tap into its Rainy Day Fund to help Houston recover from the savage attack leveled on the city by Hurricane Harvey.

Ironic, yes? Well, sort of.

The Rainy Day Fund is set aside by the Legislature as a backup fund for the state to use when emergencies arrive. In August, to be sure, a major emergency arrived on the Texas Gulf Coast when Harvey came ashore not once, but twice. First it came ashore as a hurricane; then it returned as a tropical storm.

It also dumped more than 50 inches of rain on Houston and the Golden Triangle, a record for any single weather event in the continental United States.

I believe the mayor is making a reasonable request. The state does have this money set aside to help. Houston is the state’s largest city. It presents a major economic impact for the state. It is severely damaged by the storm that savaged it.

It’s called a Rainy Day Fund for a reason. I would guess the mayor wouldn’t ever think it would apply so directly to the needs of city created by a rainstorm of epic — even biblical — proportions.