A Meter of Rain

[Baz]

Any loss of life?

[wdfifteen]

Just heard on the radio that they are doing a controlled release from two reservoirs into already overflowing Buffalo Bayou. I guess there are no good options for anyone.
Praying harder and faster for you guys it Texistan.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Baz

Any loss of life?

On the news this morning, the official total was "only" 2....but that's sure to rise....I think the total was 47 here in NC last year. On the bright side, I bet Houston's murder totals over the weekend are down.

One other tidbit on the news....Houston area has lost/developed half of their wetlands over the past few decades....just like 'Nawlins....those are Mother Nature's way of absorbing events like this, and when they're gone, the damaged is magnified. I would NOT be putting my life at stake based upon historical flood maps, etc. It just ain't worth it.

Some areas may have seen the worst already as water recedes, others might be worse in a few days....this one will be remembered like Katrina .

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Baz

Any loss of life?

Yesterday the missus heard 5 on TV, but I don't have the details.

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Just heard on the radio that they are doing a controlled release from two reservoirs into already overflowing Buffalo Bayou. I guess there are no good options for anyone.
Praying harder and faster for you guys it Texistan.

Addicks and Barker Cypress Dam Releases | Houston Press

Constructed in the 1940s to prevent a massive flood from ever overtaking downtown Houston (this was done in the wake of the devastating 1935 flood) the dams were dubbed to be in "extremely high risk of catastrophic failure" in 2009, but have not had much in the way of upgrades in the years since then. Because of this, they can only hold so much water safely.

So on Monday morning Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner dug into why water needs to be released from Addicks and Barker, sort of.

Turner announced the Corps has started out by releasing about 2,500 cubic feet per second from Addicks and about 2,000 cubic feet per second from Barker, adding up to about 5,000 cubic feet per second that is now coming down Buffalo Bayou. The plan is to increase the release level to about 8,000 cubic feet per second from both reservoirs, according to Turner.

"When that water is released it is going to come downstream. It is going to add water to Buffalo Bayou," Turner said. "They are releasing the water and it is gradual, and they are indicating that if they don't do it, the water builds up and it will go around the dams and be exponentially worse."

So what happens to the water being released? Well, it flows into Buffalo Bayou, spreading out into the neighborhoods near Addicks and Barker, spreading out into the homes near Addicks and Barker and gradually increasing the levels of Buffalo Bayou as the water flows down into the city.

It will not flood Katy, according to Harris County Flood Control District. Instead the water will move into neighborhoods like Bear Creek Village, which is located right next to Addicks. Authorities expect about a thousand homes to flood due to these gradual releases.

From there the water probably will not subside quickly. It could be anywhere from weeks to months before the water recedes and people are able to get back into their homes, hence why officials are encouraging people in these neighborhoods to leave now, if they can.

That's bad enough, but the releases, which will take about 12 hours to reach downtown Houston in current flow conditions, also mean Buffalo Bayou will not be receding much anytime soon, Turner stated.

And the thing is, the releases have to happen because the other option – to let the dam continue to hold water without any relief – is untenable since there is always a chance that these dam systems will ultimately not be able to handle the water that is coming in.

“If they don’t do it, if they don’t release the water and it goes up and then it goes around Addicks and Barker, that will be incrementally worse,” Turner said, describing a much gentler worst-case scenario that completely avoids even hinting there’s a chance the dams could collapse entirely.

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by red-beard

I'll post a bunch of photos tonight. We have a new issue. We are behind a dam and they are going to let it go full for the first time ever. Trying to get the latest flood maps.

For you or anyone else that wants to look, you punch in your address and it will tell you what map you are one. You can either view it or download it.

I use this everyday to check properties and see if they are in Flood Zones.

https://msc.fema.gov/portal

Edit - Works best if you put in house number, street (direction on street if there is any) City and State, leave off zip code, it tends to trip it up.

[ckelly78z]

Originally Posted by KC911

One other tidbit on the news....Houston area has lost/developed half of their wetlands over the past few decades....just like 'Nawlins....those are Mother Nature's way of absorbing events like this, and when they're gone, the damaged is magnified. I would NOT be putting my life at stake based upon historical flood maps, etc. It just ain't worth it.

.

I live near a town that floods often due to the low speed of the water, flat ground, and building a city in a river basin. What used to stand for the flooded areas in a given rain event, now don't seem as bad, while other areas are inundated with water due to all the new shopping center parking lots, built up wetlands, and more roads/infrastructure. They srtill get 3-4' of water on Main Street, but less buildings getting damaged because of the buyouts from the flood fund.

There is no getting rid of the kind of volume of water that the Texas coast is dealing with right now, and all the new construction makes the problem magnafied even further.

[Jolly Amaranto]

My neighborhood is under voluntary evacuation but because there is now no way out, it is suggested to shelter in place. If the levees hold and the pumps can keep up with the rain we might be OK. The Brazos river will reach record flood stage in the next day. I am on the way to San Antonio to stay with my daughter till the water goes down.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Baz

Any loss of life?

Originally Posted by KC911

On the news this morning, the official total was "only" 2....but that's sure to rise....-snip-

Originally Posted by masraum

Yesterday the missus heard 5 on TV, but I don't have the details.-snip-

Watching World News Tonight and the info box said 4 dead from storm.

30,000 residents in shelters...

Godspeed people....

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Baz

Watching World News Tonight and the info box said 4 dead from storm.

30,000 residents in shelters...

Godspeed people....

I just read an article on the BBC that quoted local station KHOU (who's HQ is <½ mile from here and flooded) said 8 folks with 6 being from one family including 2 kids and 2 grandparents that were drowned when their van was washed away.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by masraum

I just read an article on the BBC that quoted local station KHOU (who's HQ is <½ mile from here and flooded) said 8 folks with 6 being from one family including 2 kids and 2 grandparents that were drowned when their van was washed away.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

Just saw this before and after. Good lord. Be safe.

whaaaat!? That is ALOT of water! All y'all stay safe.

[enzo1]

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Just heard on the radio that they are doing a controlled release from two reservoirs into already overflowing Buffalo Bayou. I guess there are no good options for anyone.
Praying harder and faster for you guys it Texistan.

They finally figured out it is better to do controlled releases than uncontrolled.

The water goes to the same place, just floods places that are not flooded. Using the acre-feet charts, we're adding 3000 acre-feet per hour. The 4000 cubic-feet per second (113 cubic-meters/second) is about 10% of the inflow...

Water level is going to breech the north edge of the dam any minute. Some IDIOT just built a business at the exact north end of the dam.

[Jims5543]

I just put a donation in here. The Chive has raised over 125K in less than 24 hours so hot food can be cooked on location all around Texas for 1st responders and local people in a bad way. There are small towns that have been wiped out and have nothing, not even relief services are showing up.

Time is of the essence, we must answer the call to help (6 Photos) : theCHIVE

Local chapters are organizing food, clothing and essential drives that are being shipped out at the end of the week as well. My family had a talk over dinner we are heading to the stores Wednesday night to get a lot of baby stuff, and then donating a bunch of clothing, toys etc..

They also blocked out a couple of floors of rooms at the Westin in Austin to give out to free to people who had to evacuate.

This is why I am am Chive Green level monthly donor. You cannot fix all the worlds problems, but you can help try to make the place 10% happier.

I am also trying to find out how to help local animal shelters. I am sure they are being overwhelmed.

Hang in there gang. A hurricane sucks as it is, what is happening now is just cruel.

[KFC911]

Any danger of levees or dams failing completely James? That was when the shtf during Katrina. How's it going in your area?

[Jolly Amaranto]

OK, I am now a refugee in San Antonio. May be able to finally get home on Saturday to survey the damage. So far reports from my neighbors say we have some minor wind damage but no rising water. Fingers crossed that the rain continues to move east to give the pumps time to expel all the rain that as accumulated behind the levee system into the flooded Brazos River.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by KC911

Any danger of levees or dams failing completely James? That was when the shtf during Katrina. How's it going in your area?

I don't think we have the same kind of setup they did in NOLA. I suppose there is a danger of the two reservoirs failing catastrophically, but I understand that to be a unlikely and remote danger.

The level of the bayou is dropping despite the controlled release which is great.

[masraum]

This looks pretty good.

[David]

Rain gauge info from the office:

[willtel]

Some of the data in this article is staggering.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/29/upshot/harvey-rainfall-where-you-live.html

• The biggest waterfall at Niagara Falls, Horseshoe Falls, pouring across Texas for about nine months.