Harvey flooding in Texas

[simple_gifts]

Some people don't have the resources to 'just move inland 100 miles';

I suspect with Katrina, the fatalities were low income people of few means which is unfortunate.

I see a lot of good samaritans doing boat rescues; this is encouraging.

 

[danez_yoda]

If this track from this morning holds Houston will get some relief. The CCW North winds will help blow out water from the bay and allow the city to drain.

Unfortunately whatever Houston doesn't get, someone else has to endure. Looks like Beaumont is in the path. Those folks got hammered by hurricane Rita in 2005. I drove through a week after and the destruction was unreal. All the debris on side the interstate just to get traffic flowing again was massive.

Prayers for all affected.

 

[fields]

Do not forget that after Rita in the Beaumont area, we also got Ike.

 

[oilpsi2high]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
Can't believe people decided to stay and ride out the storm.

Mayor told them to stay.


After the evacuation window had passed, no?

Did they not know about this storm at least a week in advance or more?

 

[CT Rob]

Bad just very bad.Prayers for all affected.

 

[4WD]

Friend from Louisiana dug a pond on his land and used the dirt to get his home high and dry. It flooded anyway. Found a company to jack the (4000 SF brick) house up another 5 feet.

 

[Soggydog]

"there has been a great number of "good old boys" with toys helping the officials"
An un-official group called "the cajun navy" headed that way this morning. A group of big hearted sportsmen repurposing their duck boats and air boats to resuce flood victims. They brought many to safety last year when we had catastrophic flooding here.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/08/27/cajun-navy-heads-texas-aid-rescues/606883001/

 

[eljefino]

This thing boiled up from "nothing" to "newsworthy" in 30 hours and if you want Houston on radar they get the long edge of a streak of rain which noone could have predicted in a timely manner. If you evacuate from Houston where do you go, where you're guaranteed a hotel room and within a couple hours of your preexisting life?

I remember last major hurricane, someone on BITOG asked the question, why are ambulatory people afraid to wade through waist deep water? Why do they need "rescuing"? Now we see adults riding piggyback on National Guard troops up to their hips. C'mon!

And what is a "high water vehicle"? Bro truck? I'm seeing on TV city dump trucks and cops tearing around in an armored personnel carrier. THAT won't end well, they aren't trained in it, and if they drive down a washed-out road the water's coming in the top hatch.

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: Soggydog
"there has been a great number of "good old boys" with toys helping the officials"
An un-official group called "the cajun navy" headed that way this morning. A group of big hearted sportsmen repurposing their duck boats and air boats to resuce flood victims. They brought many to safety last year when we had catastrophic flooding here.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/08/27/cajun-navy-heads-texas-aid-rescues/606883001/


Yeah, just saw those folks on the news helping out fellow Americans in time of need.

 

[ZeeOSix]

I bet hardly anyone had flood insurance on their home. Massive property damage, and "flood cars" that are saved will be sold to unsuspecting people.

 

[bioburner]

They had a couple on idiot box that had moved their camper to Corpus a month ago and media got to look for the camper. The truck was parked in front and the camper had rolled. Two week window to move their home
Glad to have the help from neighbors from LA. MN Red Cross had started prepping to go two weeks before it hit. 28 people there now to help with food etc.

 

[AdRock]

We got really lucky here in San Antonio. I think we only got around 3" we offered to take in some friends of ours that live down near Baytown but they got out before things got bad.

 

[spackard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m45oJfOsA0M blancolirio channel

He's been doing coverage of California's Oroville Dam problem for months.
This is his first coverage of Hurricane Harvey. Give him a couple of days.


P.S. His day job is as an international commercial pilot.

 

[4WD]

Typical scene of average citizens in action:



Wish I could get to my skinny water boat and help out - area it is stored is too flooded and pounded again today ...

 

[spackard]

Katrina was called a 100 yr Storm.
Sandy was called a 100 yr Storm.
Now Harvey is a 500 yr Storm.

They were all in the last twelve years.

(Credit to Patrick Tomlinson on Twitter)

 

[maximus]

I live just north of The Woodlands. Had to bail. Water was half way up the driveway and rising when I finally left. Houses on adjacent street are flooded. I'm sure my house has water in it at this point. National Guard was rescuing folks as I was leaving.

 

[TX_1821]

PSA:
Death Toll Number Not Being Released

I believe without a doubt that there are maybe a hundred or more fatalities....
Unfortunately yes, I don't even want to say.

I know of atleast 15+ drownings and that's only within friends of friends. (Small area/part of Houston as well)
Some bodies floating too.
Fatality number way higher, but media doesn't want to induce a panic/spread fear I guess.
People looted gas stations today in my area, large grocery stores all closed.

National Guard and volunteers are rescuing plenty of people non-stop.
So that there is great.
Mostly the volunteers and not the government, Like always.
Government does transport them though.

 

[TX_1821]

Also social media sites like twitter/facebook/instagram blocked this content immediately.
Ie video/pictures of said fatalities or even proof!

It is pretty bad out there in regards to flooding, never seen anything this bad myself.

 

[02SE]

Absolutely amazing images of widespread destruction coming out of Texas. Some areas are already at 40" of rain, it's still raining, and Harvey is out over the Gulf gaining strength and will make landfall again in the coming days.

Best wishes to all those affected by this storm.

 

[CarbonSteel]

I have lived in the south for the majority of my life and have seen plenty of hurricanes come and go. I believe this one will be the record-breaker of all previous in terms of cost of loss and overall damage due to flooding. The news is already stating that Harvey has done in 2 days what it took Allison 5 days to accomplish (the previous Houston flood champion). It is now out in the Gulf and will likely re-energize before hitting Louisiana later this week. The officials here informed everyone yesterday they were going to have to open the Addicks and Barker reservoirs to prevent catastrophic failure and that will only compound the flooding in those areas. Now why those were not opened in the days before Harvey made landfall remains a mystery to me--especially with the history of what happens when they open them after a storm.

The Sabine River Authority said it is not expected to open spillway at Toledo Bend Reservoir, but I am very skeptical of that particularly since they opened it in 2016 under far less conditions which resulted in the majority of the homes being flooded from the spillway to the Gulf of Mexico along the Sabine River. Crazy times to be sure.

For me in NW Houston, I am good (unless something changes). The subdivision has 50% of the exits flooded, but I can still manage with my PSD. The subdivision retention ponds reached 80% at one point before dropping somewhat and the rain may taper off enough to allow some of the flooding to drain out. Homes in adjacent subdivisions were not so lucky with many of them experiencing 4 feet or more of water in them. Stores are empty of most major staples and this highlights (for me) what it would be like if something "immediate" happened in any large city. Wyoming/Montana/Idaho has been tapping me on the shoulder for the last 20 years, perhaps it is time to consider listening.

I hope all BITOG'ers in SE Texas/SW Louisiana are doing well and managing despite the conditions--stay safe all!