Houston
Houston floods: Disaster zone declared after ‘historic’ rainfall
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency in Houston after record rainfall claimed five lives.
Meteorologists said some 17.6in (44.7cm) of rain fell on Houston on Monday alone, levels national officials said were “historic”.
Rivers burst their banks in downtown Houston and 1,200 people were rescued from rising floodwaters.
Close to 70,000 people were left without power in the city, the fourth-largest in the United States.
This is the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, and may be the worst ever. Steve Bates, Yellow Doggerel Something, lives in Houston. He is on a blog break, and may not have power in any case. Sending “good vibes” and dry thoughts to Stella, Steve, Esther, & Lily.
5 comments
I was reading about that. Gives “torrential downpour” (something we are used to) a new meaning!
Best wishes to Steve & family, and all in the affected area!
Steve posted on the event. He and the ladies are in good shape but it is still raining in some areas, so the creeks and bayous may go higher.
Thanks, Bryan and Kryten. We are whole and unharmed; the only damage to our house was a leak under a glass door to the patio, and a handy bath towel took care of that in one swipe.
We are the lucky exception here. Much of north Houston, reaching even as far south as the Heights but especially near Cypress Creek, suffered catastrophic damage to apartment complexes. People had to be evacuated from homes or (especially) apartments via large trucks (one looked like it was stolen from the US Army in 1946; another looked like it was borrowed from a third-world nation’s army) and air boats (all of them looked like they belonged in the Louisiana swamps, but damn, those suckers could make time across floodwaters here!). Rescued people, most of them poor, faced a choice: save their families at the expense of most of their personal property left behind, or ride out the rest of the flood on the 2nd or 3rd floor of an apartment building, which might later lose power, or, if there was power, leave the residents trying to find a safe path to the ground (elevator? would you ride Ol’ Sparky?), where the complex was at best surrounded by water, and at worst had mandatory passages through water deeper than the kids were tall. Yes, most tenants chose to save themselves and their kids, at the cost of their meager possessions and their pride.
About 35 years ago I played a concert at something called the Cypress Creek Christian Community Center. I wonder how many of the well-off audience members who lived to see this storm actually volunteered to help transport those people to safety. (In fairness, there were a LOT of volunteers who helped with that and other tasks.)
The only problem with airboats is that they are not good for towing. If you could get a channel with a foot of water you could tow a string of jon boats and move a lot of people. the airboats would spray anyone they were towing. They will move over wet grass, and if they can find a few inches of water they will fly.
That water is dangerous with fireant balls and snakes trying to get dry.
I was really happy to see that post. I knew the current house is better for flooding, but that much water in that short of time has got to find a way out.
Glad to hear you’re fine, Steve. Keep safe and keep dry :). (Sadly, I have no choice about the latter — even with the El Niño we only got as much rain and snow as we used to get in a normal year).