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The danger mentioned is realistic and should be taken seriously. However, for those who dont live in a hurricane danger zone (I'm in Florida), these doomsday ar

The danger mentioned is realistic and should be taken seriously. However, for those who dont live in a hurricane danger zone (I'm in Florida), these doomsday articles are a normal, everyday thing. Every single year since I was 12 and paid attention/tracked hurricanes (that's 21 years ago), "Experts predict ~3 major hurricanes will make landfall this year..." killing everyone, washing away Florida, flattening civilization, ending life as we know it, yadda yadda. This is the Weather Channel as well. It gets old. What's sad, the 2 or 3 honest concerned studies are drowned out by the millions of fear mongering, wolf criers. Do I think this article is honest? Other than the unneeded slow burn beginning, yea. But at the same time, hurricane zones have different building codes. This isn't as big of a "surprise" problem as people imagine. No one is really surprised that anything is "vulnerable" on the gulf coast. The American Chernobyl is just clickbait.

MisterBastahrd 6y ago
I thought this article was going to be about Houston's hilariously bad drainage infrastructure for a coastal city on a coast prone to hurricanes. IIRC, Houston's drainage system maxes out at a 1/2 inch an hour for an event that lasts a day. Rainfall totals that wouldn't phase New Orleans' drainage system are life threatening in Houston. Covering everything in asphalt and concrete leaves you with a ground that is unable to absorb some rainwater. Green spaces are more useful than just allowing cities to look pretty. They are a necessary part of a flood mitigation strategy.
- ryanmarsh 6y ago
  The bayous (the most significant aspect of Houston's drainage infra) do not max out with 1/2 inch of rain. Maybe you're thinking of something else?
  - NoOneNew 6y ago
    Not the commentor, but I think they're referring to those flood zones that were recently built on that were the worst hit by flooding. To be fair, those parts were disasters waiting to happen because the flood surveys weren't taken seriously when they decided to build on them.
    - ryanmarsh 6y ago
      "those flood zones that were recently built on" Most of the Houston MSA is a flood zone. The areas that were worst hit were not "recently" built on. The areas recently built on will have much better drainage because the codes have changed. I suggest doing more reading of primary sources and perhaps studying the hydrology and history before speaking further on this subject.
- _fullpint 6y ago
  The biggest issue with the Greater Houston Area isn’t just the lack of green spaces for natural absorption but the compaction of the ground from over pumping ground water decades ago. Many of the municipalities that are not Houston proper run their own MUD(Municipal Utility District)and continue to make the same mistakes that COH did decades prior. The other big issue is lack of zoning and coordination of development. Many people buy homes with information about the flood plains in mind, but later on are in the path of another developers flood plan.
graeme 6y ago
You have not addressed the significant difference between the two regions. In Florida, the danger is a hurricane knocks things down. In this specific part of Texas, the danger is toxins being thrown everywhere and causing long term harm.
- NoOneNew 6y ago
  Um... because there are no chemical plants of any sort in Florida...? I dont know what fantasy image of Florida you have, but we have refineries and nuclear plants here too sweetheart. It's not just shacks and gator swamp here. I live nearby NASA too. As much as I love them, we aren't exactly talking about an organization known for working with 100% organic, safe for the environment compounds. Dorian freaked out most of the county when it was originally bee lining for the launch pad. In truth, if you live in a somewhat civilized and populated area, you are in a severe danger zone if a natural disaster strikes. The amount of "toxins" that make the modern work are vulnerable to those types of shocks. No one is actually safe from that, ever.
  - x86_64Ubuntu 6y ago
    No one in their right mind compares the petro industry of Houston to anything in Florida.
    - NoOneNew 6y ago
      https://archive.epa.gov/sectors/web/html/map-3.html https://archive.epa.gov/sectors/web/html/map-3.html Houston and Tampa are pretty similar in number when it comes to ecological disaster potential.
      - code_star 6y ago
        A big difference is the size of the population that lives in the danger area because of Houston zoning. It's the 4 largest city in the US by population with a massive greater city area
xg15 6y ago
> Every single year since I was 12 and paid attention/tracked hurricanes As a non-US resident, I'd like to ask: International news make it appear as if the situation has worsened in the last years (Katrina used to be a once-in-a-lifetime event, now hurricanes of similar size occur every few years) Is this impression correct or overblown? Also, going by news coverage, the US seem to be hit by at least four large-scale destabilizing events simultaneously this year (hurricanes, wildfires, COVID, political tensions). Does this influence the general outlook on the hurricane season?
- jennyyang 6y ago
  Every few years? Katrina was 15 years ago, and has been a relatively lull in hurricanes since then.
  - _fullpint 6y ago
    In Texas alone, Rita, Ike and Harvey were all devastating. I’m not sure what relation you’re referring to in “relatively.”
    - jennyyang 6y ago
      Overall the number of hurricanes is down dramatically. 2 in Texas don't break that trend.
      - _fullpint 6y ago
        There are three listed there and two more on the way.
      - gojomo 6y ago
        Down dramatically from what reference period? Over what region & time period? According to what source? (I grew up in Houston. I'm skeptical of those with short memories, new to the concern, who impressionistically consider every report of a hurricane as "so much bigger & more frequent than before", without actual analysis. But I'd want to see numbers, and a theory of causality, for any claim that they're "down dramatically".)
WealthVsSurvive 6y ago
You sound like all the people whom grew up in New Orleans that I spoke with when I lived there; I moved when Katrina hit. They heard the same thing. Turns out it was true, and the fact that it hadn't happened was in fact: just luck.
simonebrunozzi 6y ago
Hmm, I'd also consider that it seems that the frequency, or magnitude, of these "events" is getting worse over time, because of global warming.
- dcow 6y ago
  A graph demonstrating that this claim is true would be super interesting.
adamsea 6y ago
Disagree. From TFA: “... in 2016, the Texas Tribune and ProPublica published “Hell or High Water,” a data-rich project unpacking how a hurricane directly hitting the Ship Channel would kill thousands and devastate the economy. The project relies heavily on data from Hurricane Ike, the 2008 category 2 storm that narrowly missed the channel but still managed to kill 74 and cause $30 billion in damage. A direct hit, the project concluded, would shutter at least ten major refineries, spiking gasoline and consumer goods prices while crippling the U.S. economy.” Pro Publica does great work. Here’s the link mentioned: https://projects.propublica.org/houston/ https://projects.propublica.org/houston/
js2 6y ago
> No one is really surprised that anything is "vulnerable" on the gulf coast. As someone who lived in Miami during Hurricane Andrew, and later watched Katrina and Harvey unfold, I beg to differ. I know that building codes have changed since Andrew. It will take another big hurricane to see if the changes were adequate and if they've been followed. A personal picture from back then: https://ibb.co/TY4wMd0 https://ibb.co/TY4wMd0 BTW, yesterday was the 23rd anniversary of Andrew and the 29th will be the 15th anniversary of Katrina's landfall in Louisiana.
- soupfordummies 6y ago
  That's a really beautiful photo btw
chaostheory 6y ago
Also from Florida. While I remember some doomsday weather predictions like the Cat 6 hurricane, I don't remember a doomsday article or white paper every year. I also remember that while not every year is a huge disaster, there typically is one every decade. That said, people need to understand that weather prediction is about probability and not inevitability.
onetimemanytime 6y ago
>>It gets old. ...Until it hits you like a ton of bricks.

MisterBastahrd 6y ago

I thought this article was going to be about Houston's hilariously bad drainage infrastructure for a coastal city on a coast prone to hurricanes. IIRC, Houston's drainage system maxes out at a 1/2 inch an hour for an event that lasts a day. Rainfall totals that wouldn't phase New Orleans' drainage system are life threatening in Houston. Covering everything in asphalt and concrete leaves you with a ground that is unable to absorb some rainwater. Green spaces are more useful than just allowing cities to look pretty. They are a necessary part of a flood mitigation strategy.

ryanmarsh 6y ago
The bayous (the most significant aspect of Houston's drainage infra) do not max out with 1/2 inch of rain. Maybe you're thinking of something else?
- NoOneNew 6y ago
  Not the commentor, but I think they're referring to those flood zones that were recently built on that were the worst hit by flooding. To be fair, those parts were disasters waiting to happen because the flood surveys weren't taken seriously when they decided to build on them.
  - ryanmarsh 6y ago
    "those flood zones that were recently built on" Most of the Houston MSA is a flood zone. The areas that were worst hit were not "recently" built on. The areas recently built on will have much better drainage because the codes have changed. I suggest doing more reading of primary sources and perhaps studying the hydrology and history before speaking further on this subject.
_fullpint 6y ago
The biggest issue with the Greater Houston Area isn’t just the lack of green spaces for natural absorption but the compaction of the ground from over pumping ground water decades ago. Many of the municipalities that are not Houston proper run their own MUD(Municipal Utility District)and continue to make the same mistakes that COH did decades prior. The other big issue is lack of zoning and coordination of development. Many people buy homes with information about the flood plains in mind, but later on are in the path of another developers flood plan.

graeme 6y ago

You have not addressed the significant difference between the two regions. In Florida, the danger is a hurricane knocks things down. In this specific part of Texas, the danger is toxins being thrown everywhere and causing long term harm.

NoOneNew 6y ago
Um... because there are no chemical plants of any sort in Florida...? I dont know what fantasy image of Florida you have, but we have refineries and nuclear plants here too sweetheart. It's not just shacks and gator swamp here. I live nearby NASA too. As much as I love them, we aren't exactly talking about an organization known for working with 100% organic, safe for the environment compounds. Dorian freaked out most of the county when it was originally bee lining for the launch pad. In truth, if you live in a somewhat civilized and populated area, you are in a severe danger zone if a natural disaster strikes. The amount of "toxins" that make the modern work are vulnerable to those types of shocks. No one is actually safe from that, ever.
- x86_64Ubuntu 6y ago
  No one in their right mind compares the petro industry of Houston to anything in Florida.
  - NoOneNew 6y ago
    https://archive.epa.gov/sectors/web/html/map-3.html https://archive.epa.gov/sectors/web/html/map-3.html Houston and Tampa are pretty similar in number when it comes to ecological disaster potential.
    - code_star 6y ago
      A big difference is the size of the population that lives in the danger area because of Houston zoning. It's the 4 largest city in the US by population with a massive greater city area

xg15 6y ago

> Every single year since I was 12 and paid attention/tracked hurricanes As a non-US resident, I'd like to ask: International news make it appear as if the situation has worsened in the last years (Katrina used to be a once-in-a-lifetime event, now hurricanes of similar size occur every few years) Is this impression correct or overblown? Also, going by news coverage, the US seem to be hit by at least four large-scale destabilizing events simultaneously this year (hurricanes, wildfires, COVID, political tensions). Does this influence the general outlook on the hurricane season?

jennyyang 6y ago
Every few years? Katrina was 15 years ago, and has been a relatively lull in hurricanes since then.
- _fullpint 6y ago
  In Texas alone, Rita, Ike and Harvey were all devastating. I’m not sure what relation you’re referring to in “relatively.”
  - jennyyang 6y ago
    Overall the number of hurricanes is down dramatically. 2 in Texas don't break that trend.
    - _fullpint 6y ago
      There are three listed there and two more on the way.
    - gojomo 6y ago
      Down dramatically from what reference period? Over what region & time period? According to what source? (I grew up in Houston. I'm skeptical of those with short memories, new to the concern, who impressionistically consider every report of a hurricane as "so much bigger & more frequent than before", without actual analysis. But I'd want to see numbers, and a theory of causality, for any claim that they're "down dramatically".)

WealthVsSurvive 6y ago

You sound like all the people whom grew up in New Orleans that I spoke with when I lived there; I moved when Katrina hit. They heard the same thing. Turns out it was true, and the fact that it hadn't happened was in fact: just luck.

simonebrunozzi 6y ago

Hmm, I'd also consider that it seems that the frequency, or magnitude, of these "events" is getting worse over time, because of global warming.

dcow 6y ago
A graph demonstrating that this claim is true would be super interesting.

adamsea 6y ago

Disagree. From TFA: “... in 2016, the Texas Tribune and ProPublica published “Hell or High Water,” a data-rich project unpacking how a hurricane directly hitting the Ship Channel would kill thousands and devastate the economy. The project relies heavily on data from Hurricane Ike, the 2008 category 2 storm that narrowly missed the channel but still managed to kill 74 and cause $30 billion in damage. A direct hit, the project concluded, would shutter at least ten major refineries, spiking gasoline and consumer goods prices while crippling the U.S. economy.” Pro Publica does great work. Here’s the link mentioned: https://projects.propublica.org/houston/ https://projects.propublica.org/houston/

js2 6y ago

> No one is really surprised that anything is "vulnerable" on the gulf coast. As someone who lived in Miami during Hurricane Andrew, and later watched Katrina and Harvey unfold, I beg to differ. I know that building codes have changed since Andrew. It will take another big hurricane to see if the changes were adequate and if they've been followed. A personal picture from back then: https://ibb.co/TY4wMd0 https://ibb.co/TY4wMd0 BTW, yesterday was the 23rd anniversary of Andrew and the 29th will be the 15th anniversary of Katrina's landfall in Louisiana.

soupfordummies 6y ago
That's a really beautiful photo btw

chaostheory 6y ago

Also from Florida. While I remember some doomsday weather predictions like the Cat 6 hurricane, I don't remember a doomsday article or white paper every year. I also remember that while not every year is a huge disaster, there typically is one every decade. That said, people need to understand that weather prediction is about probability and not inevitability.

onetimemanytime 6y ago

>>It gets old. ...Until it hits you like a ton of bricks.