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Why do you think the house is empty in the story "There Will Come Soft Rains"?

The automated house in Ray Bradbury's futuristic short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" is empty of people because the city has been destroyed by a nuclear attack. In the story's text, the paragraph which begins "Ten O'Clock" tells the reader that the house stood alone in a "city of rubble and ashes." In the next paragraph, Bradbury describes silhouettes of four people, a man, woman, and two children—most certainly the inhabitants of the house who perished in the blast as they participated in outside activities. These silhouettes are similar to those recorded on the walls of buildings after the atomic detonations at Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. The only sign of life, other than the machines, is the family dog, who inevitably dies of radiation poisoning. Despite the absence of humans in the house, the automation goes on with its normal day, preparing breakfast, making announcements, cleaning, and setting up the day's activities. In the end, a fire destroys the house. 

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