Hurricane Harvey

[baymule]

@Ridgerunner AMEN and AMEN and AMEN to that! I lived in Livingston during Rita and we were not supposed to shelter people, they were supposed to go past us to Lufkin and Nacogdoches. A 1-2 hour drive took 24-28 hours and they ran out of gas by the time they got to Livingston. As a Red Cross volunteer, I spent nights in an elementary school a few blocks from the house, and I spent a couple of nights at our church where people were sheltered. Church members brought food from home to feed people, there was no food at the schools. I went on a scrounging trip for food and ran into the manager of Sonic (fast food drive in for those who aren't lucky enough to have one in town) and he opened his freezer and stacked boxes in the back of my truck. He said it was going to thaw and ruin anyway, so he was glad to give it away to help others. I took it back to the church and spread it around neighborhoods. People got fed.

If they had opened contra flow lanes for Harvey, an evacuation could have been managed much better than that of Rita, where it was a free for all mess. There are contra flow barriers on all the major highways going out of Houston. There is no excuse.

There is a long post on BYH with lots of pictures if anybody wants to go have a look.

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/hurricane-harvey.36636/

 

[baymule]

The picture of the nursing home was taken by the owner and posted on Instagram in a cry for help. Because of the impact of the picture, they were rescued quickly after that.

 

[catjac1975]

Hind sight is 20/20.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

From an acquaintance who used to live in Houston but left after Ike.

Many people have been asking why Houston wasn't evacuated. Here is a shared blurb that may help explain.

"Things non-Houstonians need to understand:

1. The streets and many of the public parks here are designed to flood. We sit just 35 feet above sea level, and most of the city is as flat as a pool table. We average about 50 inches of rain a year. The streets and parks serve as temporary retention ponds, accommodating slow, steady drainage through our bayous.

2. We average about 50 inches of rain a year, but in the last 48 hours, many areas of greater Houston received 25 to 30 inches of rain. That's six to nine month's worth of rain, in two days. The drainage system, which works well in normal conditions, was overwhelmed. Officials are calling this an "800 year flood": that means there was a one in 800 chance of its occurrence. Even with advance notice, there was little means of preparing for this.

3. It is impossible to evacuate a city the size of Houston. Harris County is 1700+ square miles, with a population of 6.5 million people. How do you evacuate 6.5 million people? During the hours leading to Hurricane Rita's landfall, tens of thousands of Houstonians attempted evacuation. The traffic jams lasted for days. One hundred people died. So far, six Houstonians have died in Hurricane Harvey, all of them (as far as I have heard) drowned in their automobiles. For more than a decade, the local mantra has been "shelter in place and hunker down." That's hard, but it's the right approach.

4. Some outsiders are treating this disaster with schadenfreude: Texans helped elect an anti-big government president, and now we're going to need big government help. Houston is the bluest spot in Texas, and voted Clinton in 2016. Suggesting this is karmic payback for backing Trump is as inaccurate (and offensive) as Pat Robertson's suggestion that Hurricane Katrina was God smiting sinners. We really aren't thinking Red or Blue right now. We are taking a royal beating, all of us. Disasters don't care about ideology.

5. You are going to feel this. Gas prices are going to skyrocket. Oil refined products, everything from PVC pipe to dry cleaning fluid, will rise in price. The stock market will take a hit. New Orleans is a fantastic city, but it's not a major economic force. Houston is the center of the nation's energy industry. It's home to dozens of Fortune 500 companies. And 85% of it is under water. It may be this way for weeks. The aftermath of Katrina captured the world's attention. The aftermath of Harvey is going to grab you by the lapels, and shake you 'til you're cross eyed."

 

[digitS']

Murphy's Ranch did you go Rogue ..

. Illinois ..

. or Applegate River, there in southern Oregon?

Steve
You may have already told us but i disremember.

 

[aftermidnight]

This is a heart wrenching disaster so very hard to watch, not a place for blame. This is a time when politics, borders and whatever else gets our knickers in a twist must be put aside, it's everyone working together regardless of what your beliefs are that's going to get through this. With climate change, these types of disasters can hit anywhere.

Annette

 

[Smart Red]

Without climate change these types of disasters have hit these areas in the past.

 

[Just-Moxie]

Murphy-Thank You for that enlightening post. And you too Baymule-

I too have been there-done that. I lived down on the beach, gulf of Mexico, Charleston SC, as well as Cuba, for 15 years. Evacuated for many hurricanes. Stay or go. So much affects that major decision. As a military family for all of those years, the ex had standing orders on evacuation, his family, everything.
It is easy for others not in that scenario to judge. But you wouldn't know till you are there. All the rest of us can do is offer support, any way we can. Donations, food, assistance, shelter, animal fostering. Etc.

All I had for experience when growing up was the tornadoes in the Midwest-KS/MO. That is a far cry from hurricanes, earthquakes, storm surge, flooding, wild fires, volcanoes.

We can learn from others experience, as well as their generosity.

 

[aftermidnight]

DH just heard on CNN... So far as a named storm, 117 hours, previous record is 54 hours.
25 trillion gallons of water so far.
It takes 15 days for 1 trillion gallons of water to go over Niagara Falls.

 

[ninnymary]

About nursing homes my grandfather would say " A mother can take care of 6 children, yet 6 children can not take care of 1 mother"

I love this quote, so true.

Mary