Posted on 08/28/2017 7:11:30 AM PDT by Steven Tyler
Well it's not over. That said, what do Big City Freepers recommend??? 1) Bug out and head for high ground and get stuck in traffic 2) Get cases of water/chlorine tablets and pull that inflatable fishing boat out of storage 3) something else?
By the time your life is in imminent peril it is too late.
I was in Houston during Alicia. I was lucky to live in a second story apartment because the first floor units were all flooded. I wish I had evacuated, but by the time I decided I needed to get out it was too late to go anywhere. I was stuck there for days.
I helped some friends pack up and evacuate from Bolivar Peninsula several days before Ike hit. Fortunately they did not wait until their lives were in imminent peril because if we had they would now be dead. There was no trace of either of their houses after the storm.
I have also lived through several flash floods during my lifetime (one of the joys of living on the Brazos and Colorado Rivers). Again, if you wait until your life is in imminent peril it is too late to evacuate.
Then feel free to evacuate, but see my post #59 above, illustrating that evacuation is not a risk-free decision and comes with its own costs and dangers. For the record, I evacuated the day before Katrina, but otherwise have remained in place all my life, for more direct hits and near misses than I can remember.
One of these days a storm is going to take an unexpected swerve and catch hundreds of thousands of compliant goobers out on the roads.
One of them should be your flight bag. Because everybody should have a bag packed ready to go if they have to flee something.
Which reminds me my bag is probably getting old enough that I should go through and replace all the freeze-dried meals, although technically they’d last 20 years. At least I should check if anything is getting close to expiration. Also I bought some really good water filter systems, and I should put at least one of them in this bag because I might otherwise forget one. The other is in my camping gear.
Frankly, my preparation started with researching so I bought a home in a location that almost never gets any hurricanes or tornados, no real chance of a major earthquake, and well above the 500-year flood plain.
If I was really paranoid, I’d now buy my natural gas whole-house generator with propane support, put a 500-gallon propane tank in the ground and fill it, and then buy a good solar power system, along with a decent 1-HP well pump and 500 feet of piping (enough to reach down to a local stream).
Then, if the whole world collapsed, I could use solar when it worked, have natural gas generation until the gas lines stop working (gas lines will often work without any power in a local area). And if they stop, I’ve got the propane which should last a year with the solar.
And I’ll have a steady supply of really crappy water, which will allow me to flush my toilets. I can collect rain water and use my filters for drinking.
Of course, I’m not doing all of this, because at the moment I am not feeling all that threatened.
They are not telling people to evacuate because they are mean, or have some ulterior motive. They want you to evacuate because there is a good chance that they will have to come back in and pull your ass off of your roof.
If the roads are clogged up, put on your boots, grab a bag and go.
If you want to stay, there should be no help for you if things go belly up.
The original stories of the Superdome problems were way, way overblown.
It was not a rape fest.
Well, actors and rock stars also tend to be pretty knowledgeable. Who you gonna believe, some no-name meteorologist or Sean Penn?
On a more serious note, at this point the options have dwindled down to "can I call somebody to get me out?" Keep the phone charged. It's now your lifeline.
Next time, though, have a plan. Have a Go bag and figure out a reasonable destination - just hitting the freeway with a quarter tank of gas and driving her until she stops is suicide. A relative a couple states away with a spare room might just be enough for a while. No matter how far you go there will be people next to you who are contending for safe harbor.
In fact, though, it'd take a crystal ball to get it right every time. Most years, Harvey would be dissipating over land by now. Prayers up.
Now much of the Ninth Ward is vacant, patiently waiting on the next storm so Uncle Sugar can buy all of that property all over again.
In Houston, I would hope that someone would decide that homes, apartments and businesses now destroyed would not be allowed to rebuild but get a check. Maybe push back the “No Go” flood plain back a half mile or so.
Will never happen, since politicians would milk the fake (and some real) tears for all they could.
Ee call it “prepping” for a good reason. Thinking ahead is part of prepping, I hope everyone understands.
“”Chlorine tablets?””
I’ve read that a drop of bleach in water gathered will make it safe for drinking and pool water may be safe? I’ve stored water and probably should recycle it on plants and add a drop of bleach in each bottle as I refill...I dated the bottles and almost afraid to check to see how old those are now...
Those things work, but rainwater is about as pure as it gets. Just stick a pot outside here in Houston, and you get all the distilled water you could want for free ;-)
This thread is a little odd. Many don’t seem to understand that Houston hasn’t been hit by a hurricane. It’s just a big rainstorm that is a remnant of a hurricane. The winds have ranged from 5 to about 25 mph. Perhaps there have been some higher gusts, but the problem is just rain on a flat coastal plain, much of which has adobe clay for soil. There will be property damage, but most of the handful of fatalities have resulted from idiocy, e.g. driving into an underpass with 8-10 feet of water (must be drugs or booze). The number of people who are affected by flooding is a small percentage of those in the Houston area. Katrina was far worse. Grocery stores, fast food places, and other businesses are open in most of Houston. For the vast majority of us the storm is just a nuisance. The media dramatics are ridiculous.
I have two nephews in Houston. They are high and dry and well provisioned. Being from NOLA they know what to do. I did suspect that this is a localized, not Katrina event.
Many areas flooded that had never flooded before. We had no problems at all with last years tax day flood, or the Memorial Day flood - even though we are not far from the Brazos. But we had water about 6-8 feet from our front door before it began to recede. Parts of Cinco Ranch are still under water almost a week after the rain stopped. It may not seem like a big deal to you but it stunned a lot of us. We had prepared as much as possible - had bags ready with meds, clothes, and food - in case we needed to dash. But by Sunday our roads were flooded so we would only have been going a few doors down to a friend who has a two story home. Every neighborhood surrounding us had water too deep to drive through, and none of this area has flooded in the 13 years we have lived here. Maybe it was localized - I’m not an expert on Houston - sure seemed to be more widespread than what you are assuming.
I didn’t mean to minimize the loss of those who were affected. In Katrina, the pain was widely distributed and hit a greater percentage. In Houston, the numbers are large because Houston is large, and while widespread did not strike the same percentage. Of course if you’re the one who was flooded, statistics mean nothing to you. I understand what you’re saying about this flood striking places that never flooded before. Believe me when I say I understand and offer my sincere condolences. I have been praying for you, and we’ve made financial donations as well. It is not enough, and I thank God I am not in your shoes.
thank you - I’m near (but not affected/flooded by) the two reservoirs that are still flooding homes and roads, so for us it isn’t over yet. Because they continue to release water from those reservoirs, they are not letting those homeowners back into their homes - even though some left animals there. I can’t imagine that, but some were roused from sleep with immediately orders to evacuate and I guess didn’t realize what was really going on. We have a huge population of people from other countries so maybe some language barriers also were in play. Either way, there are roads I use daily that are blocked, many businesses still flooded......and none of these areas had any issues other than mild street flooding after a big rain. So while the huge population of the greater Houston area doesn’t work out to a great number affected, when you see neighborhoods from west of Houston to east of Houston - north to south - it seems like everyone was involved in some way.
Thanks again for caring enough to reply and for the donation
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