Houston - And Florida

[rcarlberg]

What a mess. Any residents down there (who have electricity and connectivity) who can give us a personal view?

[SteveSly]

My wife’s sister and husband live in the Houston area. They lost power at some point in the last 48 hours, and their residence was deemed to be in a mandatory evacuation zone this morning. They were going to go to their son’s house in a different part of town that is on higher ground.

[progeezer]

My son-in law has family in the Houston area and my daughter told me that they can see 2 feet of standing water looking down the street but so far their house is ok.

Like any hurricane, it's a geographical and topographical crapshoot.

[Supersonic Scientist]

I know Yodelgoat lives "somewhere" in Texas...I sent him a PM the other day but have not heard back yet.

[interbellum]

Although the song has nothing to do with the current situation, everytime I hear "Houston" in the news I have to think of UKZ:



All the best luck for all involved.

[rcarlberg]

Like any hurricane, it's a geographical and topographical crapshoot.

From the pictures on the news, it looks like the land is so flat down there that flooding is widespread but not particularly deep, a foot or two in most areas. That's enough to ruin houses and businesses, but maybe not life threatening.

And of course flood damage is specifically excluded in almost all insurance policies, so unless FEMA gets a ton of federal money (unlikely), everybody will be responsible for their own carpeting and Sheetrock.

[Zeuhlmate]

Houston Televangelist Joel Osteen Refuses To Open His Megachurch For Flood Survivors

http://www.nova-magazine.net/houston...ood-survivors/

[ronmac]

From the pictures on the news, it looks like the land is so flat down there that flooding is widespread but not particularly deep, a foot or two in most areas. That's enough to ruin houses and businesses, but maybe not life threatening.

Yep, very flat. I think the elevation slopes like 1 foot per mile. Something ridiculous like that.

Add to the fact that they have little to no zoning and building regulations and you have a recipe for epic disaster.

[ronmac]

Houston Televangelist Joel Osteen Refuses To Open His Megachurch For Flood Survivors

http://www.nova-magazine.net/houston...ood-survivors/

I don't think that story is 100% accurate. He is taking a lot of heat, though.

[Jerjo]

They opened the church but only after extreme pressure and ridicule on social media. Definitely a black eye for that pompous jerk.

[ronmac]

They opened the church but only after extreme pressure and ridicule on social media. Definitely a black eye for that pompous jerk.

Apparently, his excuse was, "Nobody asked."

[rcarlberg]

Ann Coulter's response is even more horrific. So terrible I won't even repeat it.

[Zeuhlmate]

They opened the church but only after extreme pressure and ridicule on social media. Definitely a black eye for that pompous jerk.

I can't imagine much worse marketing for the business he is in.

[ronmac]

Ann Coulter's response is even more horrific. So terrible I won't even repeat it.

I can only imagine. He must be promoting a new book, huh?

[SteveSly]

My wife’s sister and husband live in the Houston area. They lost power at some point in the last 48 hours, and their residence was deemed to be in a mandatory evacuation zone this morning. They were going to go to their son’s house in a different part of town that is on higher ground.

Apparently the river near my wife's sister has crested and they are now in the clear. They went back to their home today.

[Lou]

houston flood.jpg

The above photo shows Highway 10 in Houston yesterday. A little more than a bit of water! White caps in the water on a freaking highway!

[rcarlberg]

The cost of recovery will be catastrophic. Over 100,000 homes uninhabitable, and 80% of Texans do not have flood insurance. Homeowners policies do not cover flood without a special rider.

It'll be interesting to see what Congress does this month in the way of a special FEMA funding bill. I've seen damage estimates as high as $108 billion dollars (with a 'B'!) This will be a moment of clarity.

[ronmac]

The cost of recovery will be catastrophic. Over 950,000 homes uninhabitable, and 80% of Texans do not have flood insurance. Homeowners policies do not cover flood without a special rider.

It'll be interesting to see what Congress does this month in the way of a special FEMA funding bill. I've seen damage estimates as high as $108 billion dollars (with a 'B'!) This will be a moment of clarity.

That number seems inflated. I just heard on NPR that about 100,000 homes have been damaged, although that might have been Houston alone.

[Jerjo]

This article says 185,149 but given how many neighborhoods and towns are inaccessible I would think that this number will skyrocket.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/hurricane-h...ry?id=49529063 [warning, self-loading video)

There's also the problem of Texas' love of deregulation. Chemical plants have no regulations regarding reporting what's on the premises or what firefighters might be battling.

I gotta say, out of all those brave souls taking to boats to rescue people, those Cajun Navy dudes in their air-boats flying down flooded streets look just badass.

[tom unbound]

I've been trying to call friends outside Houston, recording says number is 'disconnected or out of service'. (But-it's a new number !)
This might take a while.....

[rcarlberg]

That number seems inflated. I just heard on NPR that about 100,000 homes have been damaged, although that might have been Houston alone.

I just amended it to 100,000 -- the 950,000 figure was my mistake. I read something on a screen crawl about 950,000 homes being uninhabitable and just assumed it was Texas, since I was watching news about Harvey. Apparently it's a different disaster in India and /Pakistan....

So the official figure stands at 100,000.

However, I just saw a news report that said the total will be revised when the waters recede, and they're expecting "upwards of 450,000." So maybe not that far off afterall?

[Vic2012]

Eeesh. This is Katrina all over again. One day it'll happen down here.

[ronmac]

And there's another one on the way. Maybe two.

[Steve F.]

Eeesh. This is Katrina all over again. One day it'll happen down here.

I see you are in Florida?

It already DID just happen in FL, this week!

In Fort Myers. No bad wind, but PUNISHING rainfall. He has been there 35 some years and this NEVER happened before.

This is my brother in law's front yard BEFORE it got really bad and he could no longer photograph, and the water started poring in....

Not seen in in this photo: the otters swimming in the yard right next to the house!

IMG_0139.jpg

[Duncan Glenday]

So disappointing that after a natural disaster that has cost so many lives and left hundreds of thousands homeless ... the discussion about the event turns political.

Jesus, people!