The place flooded when it was the Compaq Center and the Rockets played there. It probably flooded from underneath. Those pictures are fodder for the Osteen haters, but they prove nothing.
He had offered the second floor, which was not flooded, as shelter, but was told it wasn’t needed — especially since it doesn’t have showers. However, they were using it as a distribution center.
When the shelters filled up and Lakewood was needed, it was used as shelter.
Which will only make the Osteen haters hate him even more.
I wouldn’t blame anyone for being hesitant about opening their facilities to evacuees. Just look at what happened to the Superdome during Katrina. People trashed the place, defecating and urinating wherever they wanted to and then getting angry because nobody made arrangements for food and bedding for all the people who refused to evacuate and who ended up camping in the SD. There were fights, shootings, assaults, robberies, etc. It took a very long time to clean it up and repair all the damage.
My Mom managed a hotel in the French Quarter and the owner allowed employees and their families to stay there if they had to vacate their homes. The hotel bar was raided, TVs were stolen, the place was trashed and it took over a year to repair all the damage they caused and reopen for business. A LOT of people were out of work because of it. It’s sad but some people just want to take advantage of other’s kindness and do not respect nor care at all how they leave other people’s property.
Not to say Osteen should have turned down a formal request to house evacuees, but there had to be some planning to accommodate people who were going to be there. I’m not going to judge him for that.