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Catastrophic flooding in Houston
- enraged_camel 9y agoBefore the hurricane of 1900, Galveston, TX was the largest metropolitan area west of the Mississippi. After the hurricane... yeah. It's still difficult to judge the full scale of Harvey's damage, but major roads and bridges are starting to collapse, which means it will be incredibly difficult to even bring in supplies and equipment to start rebuilding. Houston, the fourth most populous city in the United States, will not recover from this for months.
- cylinder 9y agoHaven't seen any reports of major roads collapsing. Bridges? There are no major bridges in Houston. America has a knack of encouraging people to move to completely unsustainable places and not planning for the growth at all.
- r721 9y agohttps://twitter.com/RosenbergPolice/status/901837267299430400 https://twitter.com/RosenbergPolice/status/90183726729943040...
- cylinder 9y agoThat is not going to prevent any supplies from reaching anyone.
- enraged_camel 9y agoThe worst of the rain has not arrived yet. If gigantic sinkholes are appearing now, things will get much worse.
- Markoff 9y agoyeah very dramatic, let's all pray /s
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- enraged_camel 9y ago>>Haven't seen any reports of major roads collapsing. https://twitter.com/RosenbergPolice/status/901833657891119104 https://twitter.com/RosenbergPolice/status/90183365789111910... You gotta realize Houston is basically built on clay. Once the clay is washed away, like what is happening now, many buildings and lots of infrastructure will collapse.
- cylinder 9y agoSure. But I thought everyone living in Houston was aware of this risk? How do you live there without knowing this? Most of these outer areas are full of people constantly harping on about the government staying the hell out of their business, but will now beg for federal help and financial bailouts for the uninsured. And before anyone calls me a Yankee snob... Born and raised in Houston and our house flooded many times in the last decade. It gets worse because they keep allowing massive paving and megablock development with no regard for environmental planning. Most of the residents love this as the city hates zoning, regulations, and people love the growth from development and population growth. It's one of the most environmentally disrespectful places in the world and then they freak out when they remember Nature exists. You should see the massive parking lots they created on what was just green fields, for so called "power centers" (HEB, Costco, etc). Instead of requiring garages to be built instead on a smaller footprint and reserving the rest for a reservoir, they allow any development because they can only compete by being as cheap as possible for everything, and that would increase development costs! So now we get more flooding in residential areas. And I haven't even started on the massive cooling costs of these ridiculously oversized buildings, the carbon from the SUVs being driven everywhere, the heat island effect of the massive concrete parking lots (which are not required to have covers or trees planted over them ...),the quarter mile wide I10. But Texans love this lifestyle! They reap what they sow. "pray for Texas y'all!" Yeah that'll do it! Unfortunately, in the classic American tradition, the east side of Houston (poorest) will get hardest by the rest of this, while the wealthier west side appears to be okay.
- rhizome 9y agoThis isn't the time for that.
- moyix 9y agoFEMA is saying they'll be there for years, not months: http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/27/politics/fema-harvey-brock-long-cnntv/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/27/politics/fema-harvey-brock-lon...
- mlinksva 9y ago> Before the hurricane of 1900, Galveston, TX was the largest metropolitan area west of the Mississippi. What? It was a bit smaller than the 100th largest city in the U.S. both 1890 and 1900, with StL and SF >10x its size, and many other west of the Mississippi cities smaller multiples of Gavelston. The 1900 hurricane was devastating but it devastated a minor city. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1890_United_States_Census#City_rankings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1890_United_States_Census#City... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900_United_States_Census#City_rankings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900_United_States_Census#City... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston,_Texas#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston,_Texas#Demographics
- fuzzfactor 9y agoThe 1900 Hurricane devastated Galveston when it was the largest port west of the Mississippi, likely second in North America only to NY at the time.
- aaron-lebo 9y agoThey're saying this could be the worst disaster in state history. It already looks like New Orleans after Katrina: https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/901818498908905472 https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/901818498908905472 What's worse is it's forecast to head back out into the gulf and drop rain on the region until it makes landfall at Houston (possibly as a cat 1) on Thursday. Several of the major dams/reservoirs are already at capacity and we've got another 20-30 inches of rain. It's like worst case scenario. It is estimated an additional 24 to 30 inches of rain can fall in Houston metro area, on top of what has already fallen by next Thursday. I cannot overstate enough how much I hope that model is wrong, on that value. https://www.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/6wbo8t/live_hurricane_harvey_live_megathread_day_4/dm794al/?context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/6wbo8t/live_hurric... Get ready, because the next few decades are gonna look like this.
- spookyuser 9y ago> Get ready, because the next few decades are gonna look like this. And this https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/901797906046439426 https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/90179790604643942...
- Symbiote 9y ago> 20-30 inches of rain 500-750mm, for anyone else with my familiarity with inches. Wow!
- baq 9y agoAnd that's extra to what already fell. incomprehensible.
- angersock 9y agoWorst disaster in state history would probably be when Texas City blew itself up in the 40s.
- rurban 9y agoNope, when STP will blew up, not being able to cool its reactors. The whole area will be flooded, dirting their cooling water. https://www.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/6wepsx/please_keep_an_eye_on_the_colorado_levels_stp/ https://www.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/6wepsx/please_keep...
- blondie9x 9y agoPlease please please help fight climate change. Stand up get mad. Fight the system. Do everything you can to fight the fossil fuel industry and save Earth for our posterity.
- kobeya 9y ago... you do know that hurricanes happen every year? And always have?
- blondie9x 9y agoThey are worsening because of climate change. You know it and I know it.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- blondie9x 9y agohttp://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/the-problems-with-100-year-floods/ http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/the-problems-with...
- FullMtlAlcoholc 9y agoAnd the hurricanes are fueled by the amount of available water, which is increasing
- cropsieboss 9y agoThe biggest chuck of CO2 footprint is heating and cooling. I'm pretty sure people don't want to stop using their AC. Second biggest is cars and animal agriculture. So, three most convenient things in the modern world, cooling, transportation and abundance of umami luxurious products and yet what, one industry to blame? Climate change is happening because of the way society works, individuals works. It is a social problem. What you need to fight is the ingrained greedy human nature. You need to fight the desire for convenience. Desire for luxury. Many people will never inconvenience themselves by not eating animal products or by not driving a car, or by not cooling their rooms. It's not the fault of the industry. It's a collective guilt shared by all and given that no one teaches you anywhere to fight against your greedy nature (well, maybe some religions somewhere do it right) I do not see how this will stop.
- Markoff 9y agoTIL Washington Post is tabloid and not publication with certain relation and standards.
- Stratoscope 9y agoJust a friendly word of advice... You can probably expect some downvotes for that comment. (I didn't downvote it, figured I would reply instead.) If that happens, don't assume that it's because people disagree with you. Maybe they do, maybe they don't. But any downvotes are more likely to be because the comment just doesn't add any value to the conversation. If it were something more substantive, you'd be more likely to get upvotes instead of down.
- Markoff 9y agohow is this hacker news? can we report on any flood or natural disaster event outside US as well, some people really are self-centered convinced about their importance...
- aaron-lebo 9y agoYou are welcome to do that, you are not welcome to mock the people who are losing their houses, possessions, and lives right now. Jerk.
- Stratoscope 9y agoI sympathize with how you feel about that (and with the people in Texas, of course). But the personal insult really isn't helpful.
- sctb 9y agoCould you please stop spamming the thread with off-topic complaints? If you aren't going to comment civilly and substantively just don't.
- labrador 9y ago> can we report on any flood or natural disaster event outside US as well Yes and it can be up voted or down voted like any other comment or link
- superqd 9y agoI live in Houston, well, just outside of it, and it's very not fun. Some friends of mine have reported flooding in their homes, and lost power. I live in a new area and the neighborhood is built up several feet higher than the surrounding plain - just enough that I've been lucky so far (no flooding in my neighborhood and still have power). I've seen pics posted by friends of the area where our office is downtown, and everything is underwater.
- random_comment 9y agoTurns out simply wishing people good luck and asserting everything is going to be fine [1] is a poor substitute for extreme weather monitoring / defence / preparation / response [2]. Who knew? [1] http://www.chron.com/news/houston-weather/hurricaneharvey/article/Trump-Texans-Hurricane-Harvey-good-luck-11961112.php http://www.chron.com/news/houston-weather/hurricaneharvey/ar... Trump: "Good luck to everybody. They're gonna be safe. Good luck to everybody. Good luck." [2] https://newrepublic.com/minutes/144555/trump-says-good-luckbut-heres-policies-hurt-hurricane-readiness https://newrepublic.com/minutes/144555/trump-says-good-luckb...) "Over the last seven months, the president has both proposed and implemented numerous policies that surround hurricane preparedness, readiness, and response. Here are some of them:..."
- aaron-lebo 9y agoThis really doesn't have anything to do with him. This is a once in a lifetime event. Could we wait to make it political until after it is over?
- chrisper 9y agoHurricanes (or natural disasters) are one in a lifetime event?
- r721 9y ago>During the peak of the flooding on Saturday night, the National Weather Service in Houston issued an apocalyptically worded “Flash Flood Emergency for Life-Threatening Catastrophic Flooding.” That kind of warning wasn’t a thing before Harvey, which just adds emphasis to the unique risk this storm poses. >The event is so rare, that even the NWS is unsure of what will happen next. In a chilling follow-up tweet on Sunday, the NWS said “this event is unprecedented & all impacts are unknown & beyond anything experienced.” http://grist.org/briefly/harvey-dealt-houston-catastrophic-flooding-and-its-not-over-yet/ http://grist.org/briefly/harvey-dealt-houston-catastrophic-f...
- 9y ago
- lightcatcher 9y agoQuestion: How much impact would Harvey levels of rainfall have had on 2013-2016 California drought?
- chrisper 9y agoToo much rain at once is bad. Even in a drought. Actually, it's pretty bad. Dried out grounds cannot absorb water very fast (in that quantity), so it usually results in a lot of issues and mud slides.
- banned1 9y agoGov. Abbot encouraged folks to leave two days before the hurricane hit. Probably good advice then but not today. Mayor Turner is saying to stay put. Probably best advice now since it is too late to move. Remember: follow no politician's recommendation, it's best to assume and prepare as if YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN because YOU ARE. As usual, the people who get hurt are the most disadvantaged ones, and those who trust the government will come to save you and fix your problems. So look out for the elderly and your neighbors and do the best you think to keep you and your families safe.
- thecodefoundry 9y agoGov. Abbott contradicted local officials with his off-the-cuff suggestion people in Houston should flee. Metro Houston is 6.5M+ people. Where would they evac to? San Antonio and Austin were already swamped with people from Victoria, Corpus Christi and further south evacuating there under mandatory evac notifications. I45 to Dallas in no feasible way could handle 6.5M people fleeing. I was here when hurricane Rita came through and everyone evac'd. More people died on highways evacuating days before the hurricane made landfall than those died because of the hurricane. Majority of people in metro Houston have power and while the flooding is catastrophic (exceeding 500 and 1000yr flood levels), the fatalities have been less than a handful (at the moment). Houstonians and Texans are coming to each other's aid, helping with rescues, etc. Even the Cajun Navy is coming in to help. Edited: I completely agree with your sentiment about not waiting for the govt. Resources are already strained and even if they were willing, many roads/highways are completely impassable at the moment.
- banned1 9y agoSee other comment
- Digory 9y agoI understand that resources are limited. In my city, you'd just evacuate certain areas, rather than the whole metro area, but I'll assume Houston made its decision in good faith based on data. Hopefully, the death toll stays low. If I were a citizen, though, I would have liked to know last week or month that Houston is too big to evacuate. No matter how bad it gets, that call won't come, apparently. We're used to evac orders in dangerous storms, and calibrate our plans accordingly. I want a government that admits "its on you," rather than knowing the government will choose to misinform me when it hits the fan. I am seeing people with a day or two of medicine, not a week or month, etc. A warning that no warning will come might have made a difference there.
- fuzzfactor 9y agoHurricane hits Corpus on Friday. Starts raining in Houston about 10 pm Saturday night. Devastated by midnight: https://www.harriscountyfws.org/GageDetail/Index/920?span=24%20Hours&v=rainfall https://www.harriscountyfws.org/GageDetail/Index/920?span=24... Not just historic but nearly prehistoric since it already exceeds the 500-year level. First 24 hours not yet elapsed. Still raining. Overall conditions in Houston & Pasadena already worse than the direct hit by Ike. Or Alicia or Alison.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- lyndonjohnsonbe 9y agoFor the gulf coast, because of the way hurricanes rotate, the northern eastern side (or right side) always comes out worst. They get the most amount of fresh clouds coming from the warm water, while the south western end gets the clouds that had already expended a lot of energy overland. It is crazy that this storm is putting the 1900 storm to shame.
- 21 9y agoIt seems to me that this Houston flooding was a bit unexpected. Is that an accurate statement? Were there warnings before? Were the models particularly bad at predicting rainfall?
- r721 9y agoThis tweet was posted just before landfall: https://twitter.com/NWSHouston/status/901243650532945921 https://twitter.com/NWSHouston/status/901243650532945921
- banned1 9y agoHelp a family: https://www.gofundme.com/a54hv-renteria-family https://www.gofundme.com/a54hv-renteria-family Started here: https://twitter.com/abc13houston/status/901798264474927104 https://twitter.com/abc13houston/status/901798264474927104
- altotrees 9y agoMy girlfriend's sister lives there and works at an oil refinery as an engineer. All production has been halted and plant shut down. She hasn't been able to leave the house in a few days, but says people are still trying to drive. If I'm correct, they only predicted a smaller amount of rain and now have this. I hope everyone stays safe.
- fuzzfactor 9y agoA large portion of the labor engine of one of the most significant industrial cities has been halted indefinitely. Naturally, there are almost no employers operating and no way for employees to get to work anyway. Once the water recedes there will still be an unprecedented number of formerly-paying jobs that can not be returned to for an unexpectedly long time if ever. At the exact time that there will be an unprecedented number of people who have lost everything, including their homes, and a lot of these are the same people. So many that could not afford to miss a paycheck under ordinary conditions. Until further notice the city will not only be running on stored resources, but primarily the availability of stored resources. What amounts to the wealth of a rural nation will need to effectively stream into Houston merely to sustain it until industrial recovery can establish momentum. Shortages relative to the amount of wealth ordinarily generated by Houston on a daily basis will only exacerbate the difficulty.