Posted on 08/26/2017 4:39:50 AM PDT by NautiNurse
Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport TX about 10:00PM CDT Friday night. Top sustained winds were 130mph. Rockport High School sustained heavy damage when a portion of the roof collapsed. A senior housing complex collapsed. The Rockport courthouse sustained major damage with “a cargo trailer halfway in the building.” Multiple tornadoes reported in the Houston/Galveston areas. There are reports of scattered structural fires and a shooting was reported in Corpus Christi. Residents along the San Bernard River were advised to evacuate and most TX Gulf coast counties are under flash flood watches.
Many locations are under a boil-water notice. Power outages are widespread. President Donald Trump promptly granted a Disaster Declaration to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s request. More than 700 members of the Texas Army and Air National Guards, Texas State Guard and the Texas Military Department have been activated and are positioning themselves throughout the state ahead of Hurricane Harvey and its anticipated landfall later this week. Ahead of the storm, FEMA sent supplies from its warehouse in Fort Worth to a staging point at Randolph Air Force Base near San Antonio.
Mash image to find lots of satellite imagery links
Public Advisories
Severe Weather Watches and Warnings TX
NHC Discussions
NHC Local Hurricane Statements Corpus Christi
NHC Local Hurricane Statements Galveston
Buoy Data near Harvey
Thread I: Potentially Catastrophic Hurricane Harvey Approaches Texas Gulf Coast
Reports of bridge collapse at Woodforest Blvd and normandy per abc13
My son and his BIL are out doing rescue in The Commons on Lake Houston this morning.All civilian rescue, no one else there to help. They are in need of additional boats.
I have no disagreement with any of that - my question is why the designations are not kept reasonably current & accurate. ?
I’m sure the hydrologists & engineers know the score, but of course they rarely make final decisions.
Perhaps I should add to my suggestions of incompetence or graft, “fear of political blowback”?
Harvey moving NNE at 5mph
Max sustained winds 45mph
....”Louisiana and nearby areas should take note”....
They should, especially since they’ve known for two weeks this was coming...but I don’t put a lot of confidence in them preparing.....the population waits rather than acts...from History.
True.
Thanks. That shows Harvey’s eye almost at the Sabine River line. Lake Charles is already in it. Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and NO need to get ready.
The 500 year designation is inherently difficult. It’s a good idea for what it’s intended for like siting dams and nuke plants and the like because the ‘very best guess’ is what you want.
The 100-year designation is good for what it’s intended: siting of homes and business. The insurance costs naturally deter building in the areas.
I think an intermediate (say 200-year) designation would be useful for zoning and roads in flood-prone areas. It would be reasonably accurate.
It could be useful for interstate “ring roads”. If those were above 200 tear flood levels they would greatly reduce evacuation costs. Though I haven’t the expertise to say they’d be economically beneficial, it’s possible.
Anyway, it could be very beneficial to plan in the intemediate areas for disasters.
A lot of it can be taxpayer push-back. At central Missouri, on the Lake of the Ozarks, the feds recalculated the 100 year flood plain map. It added about 1000 to 1500 a year in insurance cost to every small cabin that had its lowest inhabitable floor below that flood plain regardless that the dam on the lake would be long overtopped to reach that elevation.
Map has be revised and revised and still serves no good purpose as most people on low lots already knew their risks.
Levees good today are not good a decade from now due to channelization. In many cities the rivers trapped in levee channels drop their silt and the river bottom rises. The river is now flowing HIGHER than the surrounding bottom land because the levees channelized it not allowing floods. On some rivers this is so bad the bottom of the river is higher than the land outside the levees.
River bottom land is good for farming as it is furtile, it is also good for shipping and running low grade railroads, hence it was protected and utilized as cities were born and grew.
In reality, it all should be allowed to flood.
Great pics.
Something I began to pick up on overnight is also shown in that sat photo and that is Beaumont and east Texas has been hammered much like Houston but with less press due to the population difference and the TV hype of available “footage.”
Heartbreaking.....A Houston police officer drowned in his patrol car in Harvey floodwaters, according to three department officials.
The officer, an HPD veteran who has been with the department for more than 30 years, was in his patrol car driving to work Sunday morning when he got trapped in high water at I-45 and the Hardy Toll Road.
He was trying different routes and took a wrong route turn..got caught in high water and could not get out.
Name not yet released.....
Fox Business has a crew at Kingwood. All civilian rescuers there too, dozens of boats. One boat lost power or had prop problem and started drifting into the trees. A half dozen men jumped forward and swam to catch it in water up to their necks and pulled it to shore. Men, women, children, old, young: A mix of ethnicities being brought to shore and pets too. Very moving and heartwarming to watch.
Air Force One landing in Corpus Christi. Many members of cabinet with POTUS and FLOTUS to tour area.
Thanks—— I NEVER turn TV on this early,now I will.
.
Of my 30+ years of living on Lake Houston I have been through many floods. We use to cruise the lake during some of these floods and it is amazing what you find floating downstream. propane tanks, coolers, refrigerators,Ice machines, lawn chairs, picnic tables, boats and any number of things.Some we would collect and bring home.Lots of coolers and ice chest.
love it, looks like steel toe boots.
img src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIaPTnhUIAEkYzz.jpg"width=350"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
