Hurricane Harvey

#152
#152
Slydell said:
That's a lot of water but it doesn't reflect the major differences between the two. So far, Katrina was far more devastating. And, I certainly am not trying to down play what Texas is going through right now. I can't imagine being in such a situation.
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Because of??
 
#154
#154
I have an aunt in Houston also, gonna call to see how she is.
 
#156
#156
Big Orange Jeff said:
Same situation for me. Still safe and dry, but this storm cannot get east fast enough. Some surrounding areas are starting to evacuate, including some very close friends. Considering myself very fortunate.

Oh, and there's this from downtown Houston:
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That is insane. Stay safe BOJ.
 
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#157
#157
Orange_Vol1321 said:
Because of??
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And because New Orleans is below sea level, while Houston is (on average) 35 feet above. On top of that, the flood retention systems have largely maintained integrity. During Katrina, NOLA survived the initial onslaught until the levees breached.

Yes, it's more water, but the Houston geography and infrastructure is better able to handle it.
 
#158
#158
Slydell said:
Oh, I don't know, I'm just reaching here. We could start with deaths caused by Katrina, I guess. Over 1800.
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Big Orange Jeff said:
And because New Orleans is below sea level, while Houston is (on average) 35 feet above. On top of that, the flood retention systems have largely maintained integrity. During Katrina, NOLA survived the initial onslaught until the levees breached.

Yes, it's more water, but the Houston geography and infrastructure is better able to handle it.
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While I agree with both Orleans had a mandatory evacuation in place. All those that lost their life didn't have to happen. It was handled poorly from the beginning to the end.
 
#159
#159
Orange_Vol1321 said:
While I agree with both Orleans had a mandatory evacuation in place. All those that lost their life didn't have to happen. It was handled poorly from the beginning to the end.
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Everyone who wanted to evacuate didn't have the means. Everyone didn't have a vehicle. And, some that did couldn't afford gas. I'm sure there may have been some die hards that just didn't want to go, but everyone didn't have a means.
 
#160
#160
Orange_Vol1321 said:
While I agree with both Orleans had a mandatory evacuation in place. All those that lost their life didn't have to happen. It was handled poorly from the beginning to the end.
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Without a doubt, it wasn't handled well, and the human devastation could have been greatly mitigated. But also keep in mind that not everyone had the means to evacuate.
 
#161
#161
Slydell said:
Everyone who wanted to evacuate didn't have the means. Everyone didn't have a vehicle. And, some that did couldn't afford gas. I'm sure there may have been some die hards that just didn't want to go, but everyone didn't have a means.
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Sly, you remember all those buses that was under water that could have took people out. The ones without the means of transportation should have been evacuated by the city.

Like I said it was handled poorly.


Anyways, don't want to turn this thread away from Houston and surrounding areas that are in dire need of help.
 
#162
#162
Orange_Vol1321 said:
Sly, you remember all those buses that was under water that could have took people out. The ones without the means of transportation should have been evacuated by the city.

Like I said it was handled poorly.


Anyways, don't want to turn this thread away from Houston and surrounding areas that are in dire need of help.
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I can agree that it was handled poorly. Most events like this are to some extent. We just don't expect these things to happen.
 
#164
#164
On Wednesday this was a tropical storm capable of average Houston flooding. On Friday it hit land as a cat 4 hurricane. You don't move 7 million people safely in 2 days. Traffic in Houston on its best day is dangerous. Authorities did the best they could.
 
#166
#166
Coug said:
What is making it worse is they are still having to release water from the reservoirs so it is further flooding homes and neighborhoods.
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Good news is that they think Buffalo bayou will hold at this level, at least upstream of Dairy Ashford. They do expect some rise, maybe as much as a foot, doe steam of Dairy Ashford. Brazos is still rising as well though it could be near cresting by now.
 
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#167
#167
txbo said:
On Wednesday this was a tropical storm capable of average Houston flooding. On Friday it hit land as a cat 4 hurricane. You don't move 7 million people safely in 2 days. Traffic in Houston on its best day is dangerous. Authorities did the best they could.
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I will say I think a voluntary or suggested evacuation might have been reasonable. Of course, hindsight is 20/20...
 
#168
#168
Grand Vol said:
I will say I think a voluntary or suggested evacuation might have been reasonable. Of course, hindsight is 20/20...
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Hurricane Rita hit Houston shortly after Katrina hit NOLA. Thousands of Houstonians panicked and tried to flee, which clogged the freeways and trapped people on the roads. As a result, hundreds died unnecessarily.

I give the powers-that-be high marks this time.
 
#169
#169
txbo said:
On Wednesday this was a tropical storm capable of average Houston flooding. On Friday it hit land as a cat 4 hurricane. You don't move 7 million people safely in 2 days. Traffic in Houston on its best day is dangerous. Authorities did the best they could.
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No I understand. Real hard to know it would get trapped by two High pressures and by the time they could see that, like you said, it was to late. I think they did great with it but all the citizens rescuing people are the real heros here.
 
#170
#170
Orange_Vol1321 said:
No I understand. Real hard to know it would get trapped by two High pressures and by the time they could see that, like you said, it was to late. I think they did great with it but all the citizens rescuing people are the real heros here.
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What isn't really being spoken about is the difference in technology between when Katrina hit and Harvey. In 12 years social media sites have had time to develop, grow, and improve. Cell phone technology and battery life has greatly improved. The cellular network improvements and upgrades in the last 12 years have been significant for communication. The ability to reach out for emergency help on any other platform besides 911 has been crucial.
 
#171
#171
txbo said:
On Wednesday this was a tropical storm capable of average Houston flooding. On Friday it hit land as a cat 4 hurricane. You don't move 7 million people safely in 2 days. Traffic in Houston on its best day is dangerous. Authorities did the best they could.
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Not in agreement with you on this one. Granted, on any given day traffic in Houston can be absolute gridlock. Keep in mind that Tuesday, the local forecasts called for 20"+ of rainfall in our area and by Wednesday, that number jumped to 30". That's something we haven't seen since 2001 when Allison hit. At that point, the city leaders could have begun voluntary evacuations from low lying areas, especially since the heavy rainfall accumulations didn't begin until Saturday.

It's not about moving 7 million people because that's nearly impossible. Locations south of I-10 would've been my primary focus and advising them to seek high ground. Turner and his administration dropped the ball a few times during this event.
 
#172
#172
Apparently there are over 150 helicopters doing rescues right now. The USAF is sending down AWACS to that area to help with the air traffic control since the guys on the ground are swamped.
 
#173
#173
Grand Vol said:
Apparently there are over 150 helicopters doing rescues right now. The USAF is sending down AWACS to that area to help with the air traffic control since the guys on the ground are swamped.
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I just heard one fly over a few minutes ago. They haven't been constantly overhead here today but I've seen about 3 or 4.
 
#174
#174
TennTradition said:
I just heard one fly over a few minutes ago. They haven't been constantly overhead here today but I've seen about 3 or 4.
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Apparently with everything going on, they needed additional eyes in the sky so to speak and that kind of mission is suited for that platform. The AWACS guys and gals speak "tangled aircraft mess" the best and can help take some of the load off the guys on the ground.

I'm not sure how they are getting communications for where to send the individual birds for rescue missions, but I'll ask tonight when I see him.
 
#175
#175
[twitter]https://twitter.com/mjventrice/status/903386408869560320[/twitter]

Still extremely early. Composite track has it making landfall near Charleston.

Almost all models have it as a category 5

Factors are making it look more like a Pacific-strength super-typhoon
 
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