I can’t even imagine what chaos 42” of rain would cause in New England. My thoughts are with Houston
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Hurricane Harvey
- Thread starter Huntn
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I've heard that Houston is essentially on top of a marsh/swamp, which probably leads to highly irregular and shifting elevations which is why some parts are more prone to flooding than others.
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Feel really bad for all affected by this. Hope everyone can recover from it as soon as possible, and that proper help is given to those who need it.
We got 3 inches of rain in 2 hours a few weeks ago and parts of town started to flood. Never mind 3 feet.
Living in the mountains here if we get just 3" of rain, the flooding potential is humongous by time get down into the flats of the main Susquehanna and Delaware river systems, both of which have their headwaters in this area -- just in my county we have over 300 creeks and streams-- and yet the river valleys are wide just 15 miles away. So "me too" on totally not being able to comprehend what 42" inches of rain would do around here, never mind downstream as those rivers head towards the sea. All those dams and reservoirs along the way... wow.
It seems like Harvey has unleashed the equivalent of an Asian monsoon on poor Texas, just because of a hurricane bumping into a high pressure system that has stalled it out for so long on the outswing. Hoping for a little mercy for Houston!
Due to the weather, Houston Texans vs Dallas Cowboys upcoming Thursday game was moved to Dallas.
Anheuser-Busch has stopped producing water to produce water for flood victims.
And we have dams along parts of the rivers and bayous. They have decided on controlled releasing of water. Mandatory evac of neighbors that might get flooded by opening the dams. I would hate to be the man who had to make that decision.
From an outside perspective, you sacrifice a small piece to save a bigger piece. Easy decision. But at ground zero, you have to look the people you're gonna flood in the face. That decision just got 1000x more difficult.
Flooding is not catastrophic in my neck of the woods (counting my blessing), but a good friend of mine has his entire 1st floor underwater. That was yesterday. It is probably worse now.
Well, my 2002 built house in "protected" areas and 2' higher than road is not going to help me this time.
Slow disaster unfolding, but as Brazos river rises it may just get to my house this time.
When it goes above 55 feet that is when I start worrying.
Worst case guess I get a foot of water.
https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=hgx&gage=rmot2
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And we have dams along parts of the rivers and bayous. They have decided on controlled releasing of water. Mandatory evac of neighbors that might get flooded by opening the dams. I would hate to be the man who had to make that decision.
From an outside perspective, you sacrifice a small piece to save a bigger piece. Easy decision. But at ground zero, you have to look the people you're gonna flood in the face. That decision just got 1000x more difficult.
Flooding is not catastrophic in my neck of the woods (counting my blessing), but a good friend of mine has his entire 1st floor underwater. That was yesterday. It is probably worse now.
Did it ever flood at his house before?
I was lucky for Allison, very minor damage.
50/50 with Harvey.
Tuesday- Still pouring. I found a site (Harris County Flood Control District) that allows you to view your area to see what kind of flood plain you live in or near in Harris County and this National Flood Map Tool, but it's harder to read. Fortunately, I don't live in a flood zone although I live within 5 miles of flood zones.
There were definitely marsh swamp areas in the vicinity, but Houston is huge, 627 square miles and it is criss crossed with bayous and rivers.
Fingers crossed you dodge the bullet. I know the Sienna Plantation which is near the Brazos has gotten a lot of attention in the local news. I've heard a new term lately "levi districts". Post storm, I'd have second and third thoughts about now moving anywhere protected by a levi.
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Great point, virtually no area regardless of how good it's drainage is unless on top of a hill/ mountain could withstand this amount of rain without flood damage. This storm may provide the basis for a global warming discussion.
There were definitely marsh swamp areas in the vicinity, but Houston is huge, 627 square miles and it is criss crossed with bayous and rivers.
Well, my 2002 built house in "protected" areas and 2' higher than road is not going to help me this time.
Slow disaster unfolding, but as Brazos river rises it may just get to my house this time.
When it goes above 55 feet that is when I start worrying.
Worst case guess I get a foot of water.
https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=hgx&gage=rmot2
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Did it ever flood at his house before?
I was lucky for Allison, very minor damage.
50/50 with Harvey.
Fingers crossed you dodge the bullet. I know the Sienna Plantation which is near the Brazos has gotten a lot of attention in the local news. I've heard a new term lately "levi districts". Post storm, I'd have second and third thoughts about now moving anywhere protected by a levi.
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Great point, virtually no area regardless of how good it's drainage is unless on top of a hill/ mountain could withstand this amount of rain without flood damage. This storm may provide the basis for a global warming discussion.
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I just keep reading the devastating news and am watching that Harvey is picking up speed.
I also looks like it's going to make landfall just East of Houston.
I wish there was something I could do to help but driving a semi and heading back to SLC, it's a bit difficult.
My prayers are still with all of southeast Texas and western Louisiana.
I also looks like it's going to make landfall just East of Houston.
I wish there was something I could do to help but driving a semi and heading back to SLC, it's a bit difficult.
My prayers are still with all of southeast Texas and western Louisiana.
Dunno. He moved in well after Ike. Ike moved through quick. Harvey is a jerk who runs you over, park on top of the body, then backs up to make sure you are dead.
It's the Anton Chigurh of storms.
Public service announcement:
If shopping for a used car within the next year or two, get a carfax history report (or similar) and be very wary of any cars with a history of being registered in Texas or the surrounding area, unless they were registered elsewhere prior to August 2017.
It is a pretty common scam to buy flood-damaged cars prior to them being officially declared totalled, clean them up, and try to resell them quickly before the numerous water-damage issues present themselves. Many of these will be presented with a clean title. Mold and rust are just the tip of the iceberg, and can take months if not years to really develop into a big issue. Don't fall for this scam.
If shopping for a used car within the next year or two, get a carfax history report (or similar) and be very wary of any cars with a history of being registered in Texas or the surrounding area, unless they were registered elsewhere prior to August 2017.
It is a pretty common scam to buy flood-damaged cars prior to them being officially declared totalled, clean them up, and try to resell them quickly before the numerous water-damage issues present themselves. Many of these will be presented with a clean title. Mold and rust are just the tip of the iceberg, and can take months if not years to really develop into a big issue. Don't fall for this scam.
The size of the effected area, virtually most of East Central Texas and the number of the neighborhoods effected is breath taking.
I don't think I'll ever chose to live in a place designated as a levee district.
I don't think I'll ever chose to live in a place designated as a levee district.
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It's been reported for the Houston area, the major rain event is over, but rivers and creeks still rising.
I think I will, forecast has river crest gone down, streets are empty, so I estimate any overflow of river will be taken by streets.
Still I know 2 friends have water in house.
Get a generator?
So the question for me, living in Houston, should I have a generator? A friend in the same neighborhood had one, but ironically he did not get to use it. He purchased 30 gallons of gas and 60 gallons of water, which I thought was overkill at the time (for the water, not the gas). You can burn, I want to say 10-15 gal of gas a day. Even though during the storm the highs were only in the 70's it would have been a miserable 4 days if the power had gone out on Friday night. Hmm. I'm thinking I should have one to power the fridge, and cool one room.
We stopped at a local shelter and dropped off 6 large large bags full of towels, clothing, toiletries, soda and hope that makes a difference. And I've donated to Red Cross with another donation this coming month. My wife felt frustrated we could not do more to help at the time, but we are cough "old" and were basically locked into our neighborhood.
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So the question for me, living in Houston, should I have a generator? A friend in the same neighborhood had one, but ironically he did not get to use it. He purchased 30 gallons of gas and 60 gallons of water, which I thought was overkill at the time (for the water, not the gas). You can burn, I want to say 10-15 gal of gas a day. Even though during the storm the highs were only in the 70's it would have been a miserable 4 days if the power had gone out on Friday night. Hmm. I'm thinking I should have one to power the fridge, and cool one room.
So your house stayed dry? That would be good news indeed while still commiserating with those who have a wet house, lost a loved one or everything.
We stopped at a local shelter and dropped off 6 large large bags full of towels, clothing, toiletries, soda and hope that makes a difference. And I've donated to Red Cross with another donation this coming month. My wife felt frustrated we could not do more to help at the time, but we are cough "old" and were basically locked into our neighborhood. [doublepost=1504199199][/doublepost]
During the binge shopping, beer seemed to be high priority with many.
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Get a generator?
So the question for me, living in Houston, should I have a generator? A friend in the same neighborhood had one, but ironically he did not get to use it. He purchased 30 gallons of gas and 60 gallons of water, which I thought was overkill at the time (for the water, not the gas). You can burn, I want to say 10-15 gal of gas a day. Even though during the storm the highs were only in the 70's it would have been a miserable 4 days if the power had gone out on Friday night. Hmm. I'm thinking I should have one to power the fridge, and cool one room.
So your house stayed dry? That would be good news indeed while still commiserating with those who have a wet house, lost a loved one or everything.
[doublepost=1504199199][/doublepost]
During the binge shopping, beer seemed to be high priority with many.
A generator is a great idea. I'm still saving up for one that kicks in automatically when power fails, and hope to have it by winter 2018. But are you talking about gasoline or propane? I only use about 4 gallons a day of the latter even in the dead of winter here, to heat five rooms on the first floor of my place to 62 or so when it's somewhere between -10ºF and +20ºF outside. So... 10-15 gallons propane to keep a fridge on and cool one room seems way high...
I'm speaking of using 10-15 gallons of gasoline for a 24 hour period, although I'm not exactly sure. Some of that depends on the load it's under. One source I read said 1 gallon per hour. Honda engines are credited with burning less. In one link someone said they ran their 2 freezers, 1 fridge, a lamp and fan for 10 hours using 5 gallons.
I admit that stockpiling gas in the face of a hurricane would not be fun. To carry it, I think you'd want 10 gal containers, say 7 of them, unless you get the big container (40gal?), put that in the back of your truck or SUV and then transfer it to smaller containers when you get home.
The best and most expensive option is the permanent generator that is wired into your house to come on automatically with a power loss running on natural gas (which we have in our house). I want to say that option will be $5000-$8000 depending. Unless your house goes underwater, it will be there keeping things comfortable. Obviously in a flood area, this is not a reliable option.
Regarding Hurricane Harvey, I have a new feature to add to my house for when we sell it. It can stand up to 4' of water falling from the heavens and not flood.
My goal is to move North, and for anyone wondering, it's not because of this storm. Both me and the wife have been wanting to move for a while now. It is cheap to live here unless you are in a flood zone and just sustained damage, or lost everything. 
Do you have a battery system to bridge the startup time on the generator?
My parents house has a Kohler diesel unit. It's 18 years old at this point, so maybe technology has improved, but it usually takes about 20-30 seconds to fire up, warm up to operating rpm, and switch over the power. It certainly comes in handy during storms (in CT usually it's snow related). One year the neighborhood lost power for over a week, but as long as you keep feeding it, life is good. The loss of internet can make life quite frustrating, but thankfully cell service has largely filled that void. Not that my parents are in a flood zone, but if there was, a ground level generator would be taken out pretty quickly.
I think the secondary benefit of the standby generator for my parents was to act as the 8am Saturday wake up alarm for the kids. Every Saturday at 8am was test cycle... strategically planned I'm convinced. Man that thing was obnoxious.
My neighbors here in Boston just installed a natural gas standby generator on the roof of their brownstown... lucky people. Surprisingly power outages are not as rare as you'd think being in the city. Maybe 5 years ago there was a massive transformer explosion at the prudential center. I was without power for 3 full days, along with much of the city. They ended up having jerry rig generators to stoplights.
My experiences of Houston are limited to flying in and out of the enormous George Bush airport, but having seen the absolute scale of that city from the air then seeing on TV what the storm has done to it is jaw-dropping. This is going to take a decade to get fully back to normal.
For now I just hope the death count doesn't increase much further. Truly awful.
For now I just hope the death count doesn't increase much further. Truly awful.