Houston, Texas, Hit by Unprecedented Flooding; Seven States At Risk
Source: NBC News
BY ALEXANDER SMITH, SHAMAR WALTERS AND HENRY AUSTIN
Flash-flood watches and warnings were issued across seven states early Tuesday as an unprecedented downpour of torrential rain triggered "extremely dangerous and potentially life-threatening" conditions in Houston.
More than 30 million Americans were told to brace for dangerous thunderstorms including flooding, hail and possible tornadoes as meteorologists warned the weather that has centered on Texas and Oklahoma since Saturday could expand to other areas.
At least 12 people were still missing, eight people have been killed, and countless more evacuated amid the deluge that has inundated Texas and Oklahoma with record-breaking floods since Saturday.
In Houston, more than 80,000 people were without power and the flood waters closed roads including Interstate 10 and Interstate 45. Houston was among 24 counties where Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster on Monday.
FULL story at link. Video: http://on.today.com/1GAfnFQ
Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/houston-texas-hit-unprecedented-flooding-seven-states-risk-n364456
KatyMan
(4,190 posts)on the far west side of Houston. Constant thunder, strobe lightning, heavy heavy rain....sat on the back patio watching it for an hour or two, it was pretty amazing.
LittleGirl
(8,287 posts)more rain than the earth can contain. Sad. Climate change is real.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)fast that it did not have time to soak in. From the pictures I have seen this is holding true.
B2G
(9,766 posts)Just because it runs off your lawn doesn't or there is flooding mean the water is lost.
http://kxan.com/2015/05/14/experts-recent-rains-end-worst-of-years-old-texas-drought/
jwirr
(39,215 posts)B2G
(9,766 posts)I thought you meant the drought in TX wasn't ending due to the rapid volume of water...because it is.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)ScreamingMeemie
(68,918 posts)Igel
(35,300 posts)The offspring loved it. He said he couldn't hear the thunder. Then I pointed out that there was a constant low rumble that had gone on for so long he'd tuned it out.
The cats just hid under the bed.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)B2G
(9,766 posts)yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)If he said it two weeks from now it would have been better.
TexasMommaWithAHat
(3,212 posts)Apocalyptic is the right word.
And I didn't get any sleep because one of my dogs is afraid of bad weather. sigh I'm wiped!
We were without electricity for fifteen hours.
SusanCalvin
(6,592 posts)He's getting better, though. Started by stomping our heads. After a few years progressed to cowering between us, pinning me between him and another dog. Last night he settled for between me and another dog. Much better for everyone.
TexasMommaWithAHat
(3,212 posts)but is getting old and cranky. It was worse because we lost electricity and she was making me hot as she clung to my neck. LOL
SusanCalvin
(6,592 posts)They don't know what's going on, they just know they don't like it.
Gothmog
(145,195 posts)TexasMommaWithAHat
(3,212 posts)I'll look into that.
Gothmog
(145,195 posts)Do you go to Fort Bend Democratic Party functions?
TexasMommaWithAHat
(3,212 posts)I'm home again and should get more involved. Do you?
It's already raining here, and started pouring about thirty seconds before the kids got out of the car when I brought them to school.
Gothmog
(145,195 posts)Currently Don Bankston and I are working on the adoption of countywide voting for Fort Bend County where we will move from precinct voting on election days to voting centers that allows one to vote on election day at any location (just like you can for early voting)
TexasMommaWithAHat
(3,212 posts)many years, that I don't know who's who. That, and most of my friends are republicans, although most of the women are quite liberal on social issues, thankfully.
Hayduke Bomgarte
(1,965 posts)Good thing climate change is a myth. Just think how much worse it could be.
olddad56
(5,732 posts)kimbutgar
(21,139 posts)Change and that government is bad. Government not's so bad when that government helicopter picks you off your roof after your community been flooded or sends out aid to those in distress.
samsingh
(17,596 posts)jwirr
(39,215 posts)FrodosPet
(5,169 posts)Where are they all hiding?
jwirr
(39,215 posts)SusanCalvin
(6,592 posts)FrodosPet
(5,169 posts)cannabis_flower
(3,764 posts)They call a neighborhood in Houston, "The Houston Heights". And it seems like anytime it floods in an area, the news makes it look like it flooded everywhere in the city. My neighborhood in Spring Branch didn't flood either. I would venture to say that less than half of Houston flooded.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)TexasBushwhacker
(20,186 posts)Central Texas is hilly, but the water goes downhill and adds to the local rainfall. For example, the Blanco River that flooded Wimberly rose over 40 feet in a few hours. 40 feet!
jwirr
(39,215 posts)TexasBushwhacker
(20,186 posts)taking everything in its path. I had relatives that went through a flood like this. They had 1 hour warning to get out. When they went back to the house after the water had subsidded, they found their refrigerator in the living room!
jwirr
(39,215 posts)kentauros
(29,414 posts)and turn on the "topography" layer. Then take a look at the area of Houston known as The Heights (as others have pointed out.) It's just north of I-10, and around Heights Blvd. You'll have to check off one of the contours choices to the left ("2001 Contours (2ft)" or "2008 NUSA Contours (1ft)" .
http://www.gims.houstontx.gov/gims/default.aspx?app_id=gims&app=GIMS&AppID=-1&app=GIMS
DamnYankeeInHouston
(1,365 posts)Constant booming. The water came halfway up my current yard in Willowbend. I'm waiting to find out if the townhouse I'm about to buy on South Braeswood and Kirby is dry. Doubtful.
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)they will sell you flood insurance(and how much), also get FEMA flood insurance. If they will not insure you, don't buy.
DamnYankeeInHouston
(1,365 posts)I have flood insurance in my current location even though it's not even in the 500 year flood plain. I know regular insurance won't cover any water damage and the policy only cost $300 a year.
The new townhouse is across the street from Brays Bayou so I assumed it flooded, but a friend said his employee lives in the complex and that it's fine. They've done a lot of work on Brays Bayou and upstream at Willow Waterhole. I'll venture out in awhile to see for myself. I know the danger. It's in the 100 year flood plain. It's just light years better than my second choice. The condo fees include insurance, but I plan to take out an additional policy. I'm sure flood insurance there will cost more than $300 a year. Luckily, I haven't closed yet. I'll make my decision after I check it out.
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)a short amount of time Houston will have in future, Brays Bayou will flood out all the homes on both banks some day soon.
DamnYankeeInHouston
(1,365 posts)KatyMan
(4,190 posts)$430.
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)regular agent is State Farm, they get a couple k more and we have never had a claim.
ananda
(28,859 posts)... but for what I have no idea since the
teabaggers got all their wetdream wishes
in making war on women and gays.
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)could hear it outside...and then after the game said that there was an announcement, suggesting that people stay inside the arena for a while because of the weather.
Could we have just a tiny bit of that rain here in California?
DamnYankeeInHouston
(1,365 posts)SoapBox
(18,791 posts)Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)as they say a super El Nino is coming.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/04/30/1380954/-Super-El-Nino-Likely-as-Huge-Warm-Water-Wave-Hits-West-Coast-Extreme-Marine-Die-Off-Developing
passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)California drought may end this winter too. And hopefully Oregon as well.
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)You will probably have a very bad fire season, followed by massive flooding and mud slides of historical proportions.
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)El Niño will be impressive. We had very little snow last winter, an early spring and now daily temperature records are being broken in interior and northern AK.
tblue37
(65,340 posts)The darker the color, the worse the drought. Yellow = abnormally dry; red = extreme drought; dark red = exceptional drought.
?w=300&h=300
?w=300&h=300
tblue37
(65,340 posts)important points:
Glynis Wentzel
Slightly misleading this article is - our agricultural drought may have improved and TX as a state is almost totally out of that. But our water supply (reservoirs) are still critically low - esp here in central TX. He mentioned Lake Arrowhead & Lake Kickapoo as being 50% full (combined) - well at this time of the year they should be around 80% full. If we have a normal TX summer - that is going to rapidly go down. Ditto with Lake Travis & Buchanan. We are almost headed for stage 4 drought restrictions if we have a normal summer and we do not get heaps more rain in our catchment areas. We still need to conserve BIG time. I feel an article like this can send the wrong message <emphasis added>.
Civil Right of Self-Defense
They didn't cover true long-term drought impacts to the aquifers, either. Between the 7+ years since the last wet year, plus population growth, it seems reasonable to conclude that we're in a permanent 'drought' in terms of how we use water.
B2G
(9,766 posts)LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)One wonders how long they may remain at capacity with the summer season about to begin...
B2G
(9,766 posts)TexasMommaWithAHat
(3,212 posts)I'm in one of the lighter colored areas, and we still went over 2 years without a drop of rain.
tblue37
(65,340 posts)and especially in the ground--both in aquifers and in terms of the amount of moisture found in the soil itself--than to the amount of rain, though the lack of rain, if it goes on too long, certainly does cause drought and, eventually, desertification.
Gothmog
(145,195 posts)There are a couple of side roads and entrance ramps on my route to the office which are still underwater
kentauros
(29,414 posts)Even the submerged section of Westpark Tollway at 59 was empty. Not the same story for the inbound exit to 59 from the tollway, though. Like the feeder road that goes under 59 at 610, it was a lake, with emergency vehicles blocking it off.
People were slowing down on the overpass from S Post Oak getting on to 610, and rightly so. I looked, too, at how it was all flooded underneath on both sides, even though Brays Bayou is no longer out of its banks.
Gothmog
(145,195 posts)My problem was getting to the tollway and there were some flooded side street and access roads. One of the flooded areas was right before the entrance ramp that I normally take to get on and so I went made a detour. I saw some cars going through the flooded area with water up to their doors
kentauros
(29,414 posts)I wouldn't do it again, mainly because of any drivers in front. If they slow down, that's when the engine compartment floods.
I've been looking at the flood stages of the various creeks and bayous in town from the NWS Hydrology page. It's worth bookmarking for future use, or for getting home tonight, as some of these bayous aren't finished peaking yet...
http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=hgx
KatyMan
(4,190 posts)saying stay home, which was great I don't know how anyone made it in on 45 given the pics of the 45/North Main area.
I'm sad for the loss of life and property, but boy that was a crackin' storm last night. An amazing amount of rain fell; I swear if you would have stuck your arm out of a window it would have come back bruised the rain was falling so hard. And it sounded like huge lengths of rain, not just little drops but "drops" that were a few feet long...!
ChairmanAgnostic
(28,017 posts)I guess their god has a seriously backed up in-tray of prayer for relief.
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)I'm really glad not to be there now - and not just because of the flooding.
PDittie
(8,322 posts)I'm in Willowbend as well. We fared very well; the hardest thing I had to suffer was loss of satellite signal (lights never even flickered). A blue kiddie pool was stranded in the middle of the street near my house; it looked as if a couple of raccoons had tried to make a break for it, but like some Alcatraz inmates, didn't quite make it. Even the limbs I had to pick up were small ones.
kentauros
(29,414 posts)Yes, I'm in the neighborhood as well. Our front road flood with a heavy downpour, but I've never seen it get high enough to get into any of the houses, and I have seen it higher than last night. We're further away from that little tributary bayou, and so on higher ground (topo maps peg it at around 65' from a nearby benchmark.)
I did briefly watch someone's bag of leaves float down the road...
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)When is Pat Robinson gonna get on the air and pronounce that this was God's wrath on all those Texas heathens?
Or does that only work in majority black cities or cities with large gay populations?
That might impact brother Pat's bank account to much, so...yeah.
PDittie
(8,322 posts)Ireland and missed?