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>>Haven't seen any reports of major roads collapsing. https://twitter.com/RosenbergPolice/status/901833657891119104 https://twitter.com/RosenbergPolice/status/

>>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 ago
Sure. 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 ago
  This isn't the time for that.
  - cylinder 9y ago
    This is the best time for it. We are online and not in Houston so not like I can help them anyways. People need to live in tune with nature, not ignore it for short term monetary gain. Eventually places like Phoenix, Vegas, Miami, etc will face reckoning too.
    - rhizome 9y ago
      So, "whaddya expect?" is the best response? People need to live in tune with nature, not ignore it for short term monetary gain. Amazing, I wonder why nobody thought of this before. UPDATE: "There will inevitably be extreme hottakes regarding flood planning and monday-morning QB-ing of officials. This is for context": https://twitter.com/CorbettMatt/status/901959336850804737 https://twitter.com/CorbettMatt/status/901959336850804737
  - StavrosK 9y ago
    If now is not the time to remark that failure to plan and disrespecting the environment has consequences, then when? In a month, when this has been forgotten?
    - rhizome 9y ago
      That's begging the question in a couple different ways, but who doesn't know these things? In what way isn't it apparent? What can be done about it now, while shit like this[1] is going on? I'm sure people are trying, but if "hurf durf shoulda built stuf. DUH" comes to mind, maybe keep it to oneself. And to take your point, "disrespecting the environment," what do you suggest we do to counteract that in a way that would have changed the outcome in Houston? Who are the best people working in that space? 1. https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/6wd3mn/nursing_home_in_houston/ https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/6wd3mn/nursing_home_in...
- andrewem 9y ago
  Your mention of grocery stores and the environment reminds me of the first time I went to Houston, in the mid-'90s. I went to a Fiesta grocery store and was amazed to discover the front entrance had huge doors wide open, just dumping cold air out.
angersock 9y ago
That's not how this works, that's not how any of this works. Stop being alarmist. That's one little road in bumfuck rosenburg outside of Highway 8. That's not a sign of real collapse. All of our bayous and drainage is functioning as intended, and it is so much better than it would be without. (I'm a Houstonian.)
- enraged_camel 9y ago
  I'm not being alarmist at all. Just repeating what the experts are saying. Regardless of whether your bayous and drainage are working as intended, they weren't designed for this magnitude of disaster. Downtown Houston is underwater as I type this. edit: Just to hammer this point home, the Buffalo Bayou is above 14' above record: https://twitter.com/TTrogdon/status/901824532440342534 https://twitter.com/TTrogdon/status/901824532440342534
  - jhayward 9y ago
    > I'm not being alarmist at all. Just repeating what the experts are saying. Regardless of whether your bayous and drainage are working as intended, they weren't designed for this magnitude of disaster. Downtown Houston is underwater as I type this. You are being alarmist, and this kind of armchair disaster cheerleading is infuriating. Stop it. There are no "experts" saying buildings are going to start collapsing, or bridges, or major roadways. Downtown Houston has flooded many, many, many times. It always has. It is built to flood. Almost no one, aside from actual civil engineers who work there, has an accurate understanding of how floodwaters in Houston arrive, accumulate, and leave. Long-time residents have an intuitive understanding of how things behave. They've seen all this before, just not everywhere it is happening today and all at once. You, and everyone else, should STOP REPEATING INTERNET "facts". It is misinformation, and misinformation can kill people. Thanks for your attention.
    - enraged_camel 9y ago
      >>Downtown Houston has flooded many, many, many times. It always has. It is built to flood. Please stop trying to normalize the situation, thanks. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/fema-director-says-harvey-is-probably-the-worst-disaster-in-texas-history/2017/08/27/ef01600a-8b3f-11e7-8df5-c2e5cf46c1e2_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/fema-director-says-h... Yes, Houston is built to handle lots of rain, but nowhere near this much.

cylinder 9y ago

Sure. 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 ago
This isn't the time for that.
- cylinder 9y ago
  This is the best time for it. We are online and not in Houston so not like I can help them anyways. People need to live in tune with nature, not ignore it for short term monetary gain. Eventually places like Phoenix, Vegas, Miami, etc will face reckoning too.
  - rhizome 9y ago
    So, "whaddya expect?" is the best response? People need to live in tune with nature, not ignore it for short term monetary gain. Amazing, I wonder why nobody thought of this before. UPDATE: "There will inevitably be extreme hottakes regarding flood planning and monday-morning QB-ing of officials. This is for context": https://twitter.com/CorbettMatt/status/901959336850804737 https://twitter.com/CorbettMatt/status/901959336850804737
- StavrosK 9y ago
  If now is not the time to remark that failure to plan and disrespecting the environment has consequences, then when? In a month, when this has been forgotten?
  - rhizome 9y ago
    That's begging the question in a couple different ways, but who doesn't know these things? In what way isn't it apparent? What can be done about it now, while shit like this[1] is going on? I'm sure people are trying, but if "hurf durf shoulda built stuf. DUH" comes to mind, maybe keep it to oneself. And to take your point, "disrespecting the environment," what do you suggest we do to counteract that in a way that would have changed the outcome in Houston? Who are the best people working in that space? 1. https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/6wd3mn/nursing_home_in_houston/ https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/6wd3mn/nursing_home_in...
andrewem 9y ago
Your mention of grocery stores and the environment reminds me of the first time I went to Houston, in the mid-'90s. I went to a Fiesta grocery store and was amazed to discover the front entrance had huge doors wide open, just dumping cold air out.

angersock 9y ago

That's not how this works, that's not how any of this works. Stop being alarmist. That's one little road in bumfuck rosenburg outside of Highway 8. That's not a sign of real collapse. All of our bayous and drainage is functioning as intended, and it is so much better than it would be without. (I'm a Houstonian.)

enraged_camel 9y ago
I'm not being alarmist at all. Just repeating what the experts are saying. Regardless of whether your bayous and drainage are working as intended, they weren't designed for this magnitude of disaster. Downtown Houston is underwater as I type this. edit: Just to hammer this point home, the Buffalo Bayou is above 14' above record: https://twitter.com/TTrogdon/status/901824532440342534 https://twitter.com/TTrogdon/status/901824532440342534
- jhayward 9y ago
  > I'm not being alarmist at all. Just repeating what the experts are saying. Regardless of whether your bayous and drainage are working as intended, they weren't designed for this magnitude of disaster. Downtown Houston is underwater as I type this. You are being alarmist, and this kind of armchair disaster cheerleading is infuriating. Stop it. There are no "experts" saying buildings are going to start collapsing, or bridges, or major roadways. Downtown Houston has flooded many, many, many times. It always has. It is built to flood. Almost no one, aside from actual civil engineers who work there, has an accurate understanding of how floodwaters in Houston arrive, accumulate, and leave. Long-time residents have an intuitive understanding of how things behave. They've seen all this before, just not everywhere it is happening today and all at once. You, and everyone else, should STOP REPEATING INTERNET "facts". It is misinformation, and misinformation can kill people. Thanks for your attention.
  - enraged_camel 9y ago
    >>Downtown Houston has flooded many, many, many times. It always has. It is built to flood. Please stop trying to normalize the situation, thanks. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/fema-director-says-harvey-is-probably-the-worst-disaster-in-texas-history/2017/08/27/ef01600a-8b3f-11e7-8df5-c2e5cf46c1e2_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/fema-director-says-h... Yes, Houston is built to handle lots of rain, but nowhere near this much.