I'm taking a moment to get on here just to try and raise a little bit of awareness about the situation with Hurricane Harvey going on along the Texas coast. Things are pretty bad here right now, so I'm writing this for four reasons. First, as a person who is religious, to ask you for your thoughts and prayers on this situation, because right now we need all the help we can get. Secondly, so that anyone else from this area who may be on can share their experiences. Thirdly, consider this a little lesson on the anatomy of a hurricane, for anyone who isn't familiar with how they work. And fourthly, as a warning, so that should anything like this happen again, those of you who have read this and who may be in a hurricane-prone area know what to expect. Because let me tell you, this area is hurricane-prone, and even we weren't prepared for this.
I know Harvey has been making the national news, but many are not aware of a lot of the details. So, I'll start with a little background information. How did this whole thing start? Well, we knew about Harvey quite a while ago. He was hanging out in the gulf. I don't remember whether he was a hurricane then, or just a tropical storm, because we didn't pay much attention to him. Why? Because he was heading for Mexico. Matter of fact, he did hit Mexico. We thought Harvey was over and done with. But then he got pushed back out into the gulf, and started regaining strength. And he made a bee-line straight for the Texas coast. We only had a few days' warning that we were going to get hit. Even then, it was supposed to be a tropical storm, or maybe a category one hurricane. No big deal. We've handled plenty of tropical storms and weak hurricanes before. People stocked up on canned food and bottled water, filled up their gas tanks, and prepared for a little rain.
That all changed Thursday morning, which is when the newscasters began using the one word that has now become permanently associated with Harvey- unprecedented. See, Harvey started getting really strong, really fast. That's when they started saying Harvey would probably become a category 3 by the time it made landfall. As it is, it got all the way to category 4. And for anyone who may not be familiar with the way hurricanes are rated, the severity is ranked on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the weakest and 5 being the strongest. To give you a little perspective, Hurricane Katrina is notorious for the amount of damage it did to New Orleans. It was at one point a category 5 hurricane, but at the time it made landfall in Louisiana, it had weakened to a category 3. In other words, it wasn't as strong when it hit as Harvey was when it made landfall. Yeah, that says a lot, doesn't it?
Anyway, Harvey made landfall late Friday night just to the east of Corpus Christi, Texas. Although I think here I ought to explain what making landfall means. Landfall is the time that the eye of the hurricane comes ashore. The worst part of a hurricane is the eye wall, which hits before landfall actually occurs. And with how big a hurricane is, the outer edge hits hours before landfall actually occurs. So this has been a problem since Friday afternoon. Many people didn't have time to evacuate.
But the initial landfall of Harvey isn't the most dangerous part. See, as I just said, Harvey showed up Friday afternoon. And guess what? He's still hanging around. We have a high pressure system just to the north right now, and that's preventing Harvey from moving north, so he's just chilling, hanging around over this area and dumping rain on us. And because he's still very close to the Gulf of Mexico, his rotation is dragging in moisture from the gulf and bringing it onto land. If you look at the large-scale radar images, it's pulling rain all the way from the Mexican coastline up into our area. That's how strong this rotation is.
So where exactly am I in all of this? Well, I'm in the Houston area. So what's the big deal, then? After all, Harvey is near Corpus Christi, right? Yes, but take a look at this radar image of Harvey:
See that line of red and yellow going right over Houston and Galveston? That right there is the moisture that Harvey is dragging in from the gulf. As he pulls it in, it's all passing right over Houston, and it's dumping tons of rain as it comes through. The east side of the storm is called the dirty side, for that exact reason. Because that's where the worst of the rain is. The areas to the east of Harvey are actually relatively dry. Now keep in mind, Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States! These are some pictures of the current situation in the city:
We're having historic flooding. There have been thousands of high water rescues, most of them between last night and this morning. It's supposed to continue raining through at least Wednesday, possibly Thursday. We're estimated to get up to 30-40 inches of rain total by the time this is done. 30-40 inches! Almost all of the creeks and bayous have jumped their banks into major flood stage and are overflowing, and they're still rising. Some of the evacuation centers where they bring the people they've rescued have started to flood. In a lot of places they've been rescuing people in boats. Not high-water trucks, but boats! On streets. That's how deep the water is. The emergency departments don't have enough boats to rescue people. And all of their boats are running out of fuel. They're begging people who may have gas cans with fuel in them to bring them down to the stations if they can get there safely. A lot of private citizen who own boats are rescuing people, and the police are asking anyone that owns a boat to bring it to the nearest police station so that they can use it for high-water rescues. Right now, there's a five hour wait time between when people call in saying they need a high-water rescue and when that rescue actually arrives. 5 hours! That's how much of a backlog they have. They literally cannot rescue people fast enough.
And the flooding isn't even the only danger. For the last 24 hours we've had almost constant tornado warnings. There is already rotation in the weather because of the hurricane, so there are plenty of areas of circulation that could easily spawn tornadoes. At least 5 or 6 tornadoes in the area that have done damage. Actually, I have the news on while I'm writing this, and just as I was writing this section they had a police deputy call in that they spotted a tornado touching down. Unfortunately, not surprising at this moment. There are pictures of a lot of them. Not strong tornadoes. They haven't been classified yet, but the damage is about that of an f2 tornado (again, on a scale out of 5). But even that can rip off large portions of roofs. There was a story from one tornado in this area that picked up a board from a fence and hurled it through someone's roof like a bullet. The homeowners were home at the time. If anyone had been standing where it landed they would probably have died. And a lot of these tornado warnings are happening in areas where there are already flooding issues. Where people cannot go to the first floor of their house because it is flooded. There are people stranded on their roof waiting to be rescued. People in high-water vehicles and boats trying to get out of the flooding. They have nowhere to go should a tornado touch down in the area.
In case anyone is wondering at this point, I am far enough north that I am not actually dealing with any flooding myself. We do have a creek right near my house, though, so we're watching it very carefully. They're predicting that a lot of the creeks and bayous in this area could rise at least 20 feet in the next 24 hours. So for the moment I am okay, but there is always worry that things could change in an instant. So as I said in the beginning, thoughts and prayers are definitely appreciated right now. Please keep the situation in mind, and for anyone else who may be in this area, please stay safe, and I wish you the best of luck as the situation continues to progress. If you know someone who lives along the Texas coast, call them. Make sure they're okay. I'll try and keep this thread updated if there are any major changes in the situation, but this is what is going on as of this moment.
I know Harvey has been making the national news, but many are not aware of a lot of the details. So, I'll start with a little background information. How did this whole thing start? Well, we knew about Harvey quite a while ago. He was hanging out in the gulf. I don't remember whether he was a hurricane then, or just a tropical storm, because we didn't pay much attention to him. Why? Because he was heading for Mexico. Matter of fact, he did hit Mexico. We thought Harvey was over and done with. But then he got pushed back out into the gulf, and started regaining strength. And he made a bee-line straight for the Texas coast. We only had a few days' warning that we were going to get hit. Even then, it was supposed to be a tropical storm, or maybe a category one hurricane. No big deal. We've handled plenty of tropical storms and weak hurricanes before. People stocked up on canned food and bottled water, filled up their gas tanks, and prepared for a little rain.
That all changed Thursday morning, which is when the newscasters began using the one word that has now become permanently associated with Harvey- unprecedented. See, Harvey started getting really strong, really fast. That's when they started saying Harvey would probably become a category 3 by the time it made landfall. As it is, it got all the way to category 4. And for anyone who may not be familiar with the way hurricanes are rated, the severity is ranked on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the weakest and 5 being the strongest. To give you a little perspective, Hurricane Katrina is notorious for the amount of damage it did to New Orleans. It was at one point a category 5 hurricane, but at the time it made landfall in Louisiana, it had weakened to a category 3. In other words, it wasn't as strong when it hit as Harvey was when it made landfall. Yeah, that says a lot, doesn't it?
Anyway, Harvey made landfall late Friday night just to the east of Corpus Christi, Texas. Although I think here I ought to explain what making landfall means. Landfall is the time that the eye of the hurricane comes ashore. The worst part of a hurricane is the eye wall, which hits before landfall actually occurs. And with how big a hurricane is, the outer edge hits hours before landfall actually occurs. So this has been a problem since Friday afternoon. Many people didn't have time to evacuate.
But the initial landfall of Harvey isn't the most dangerous part. See, as I just said, Harvey showed up Friday afternoon. And guess what? He's still hanging around. We have a high pressure system just to the north right now, and that's preventing Harvey from moving north, so he's just chilling, hanging around over this area and dumping rain on us. And because he's still very close to the Gulf of Mexico, his rotation is dragging in moisture from the gulf and bringing it onto land. If you look at the large-scale radar images, it's pulling rain all the way from the Mexican coastline up into our area. That's how strong this rotation is.
So where exactly am I in all of this? Well, I'm in the Houston area. So what's the big deal, then? After all, Harvey is near Corpus Christi, right? Yes, but take a look at this radar image of Harvey:
See that line of red and yellow going right over Houston and Galveston? That right there is the moisture that Harvey is dragging in from the gulf. As he pulls it in, it's all passing right over Houston, and it's dumping tons of rain as it comes through. The east side of the storm is called the dirty side, for that exact reason. Because that's where the worst of the rain is. The areas to the east of Harvey are actually relatively dry. Now keep in mind, Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States! These are some pictures of the current situation in the city:
Pictures
We're having historic flooding. There have been thousands of high water rescues, most of them between last night and this morning. It's supposed to continue raining through at least Wednesday, possibly Thursday. We're estimated to get up to 30-40 inches of rain total by the time this is done. 30-40 inches! Almost all of the creeks and bayous have jumped their banks into major flood stage and are overflowing, and they're still rising. Some of the evacuation centers where they bring the people they've rescued have started to flood. In a lot of places they've been rescuing people in boats. Not high-water trucks, but boats! On streets. That's how deep the water is. The emergency departments don't have enough boats to rescue people. And all of their boats are running out of fuel. They're begging people who may have gas cans with fuel in them to bring them down to the stations if they can get there safely. A lot of private citizen who own boats are rescuing people, and the police are asking anyone that owns a boat to bring it to the nearest police station so that they can use it for high-water rescues. Right now, there's a five hour wait time between when people call in saying they need a high-water rescue and when that rescue actually arrives. 5 hours! That's how much of a backlog they have. They literally cannot rescue people fast enough.
And the flooding isn't even the only danger. For the last 24 hours we've had almost constant tornado warnings. There is already rotation in the weather because of the hurricane, so there are plenty of areas of circulation that could easily spawn tornadoes. At least 5 or 6 tornadoes in the area that have done damage. Actually, I have the news on while I'm writing this, and just as I was writing this section they had a police deputy call in that they spotted a tornado touching down. Unfortunately, not surprising at this moment. There are pictures of a lot of them. Not strong tornadoes. They haven't been classified yet, but the damage is about that of an f2 tornado (again, on a scale out of 5). But even that can rip off large portions of roofs. There was a story from one tornado in this area that picked up a board from a fence and hurled it through someone's roof like a bullet. The homeowners were home at the time. If anyone had been standing where it landed they would probably have died. And a lot of these tornado warnings are happening in areas where there are already flooding issues. Where people cannot go to the first floor of their house because it is flooded. There are people stranded on their roof waiting to be rescued. People in high-water vehicles and boats trying to get out of the flooding. They have nowhere to go should a tornado touch down in the area.
In case anyone is wondering at this point, I am far enough north that I am not actually dealing with any flooding myself. We do have a creek right near my house, though, so we're watching it very carefully. They're predicting that a lot of the creeks and bayous in this area could rise at least 20 feet in the next 24 hours. So for the moment I am okay, but there is always worry that things could change in an instant. So as I said in the beginning, thoughts and prayers are definitely appreciated right now. Please keep the situation in mind, and for anyone else who may be in this area, please stay safe, and I wish you the best of luck as the situation continues to progress. If you know someone who lives along the Texas coast, call them. Make sure they're okay. I'll try and keep this thread updated if there are any major changes in the situation, but this is what is going on as of this moment.
Thank you for that very thorough and detailed topic!!
I've been digging online for resources for people who want to help and need help, I hope you don't mind me sharing them here.
- Texting REDCROSS to 90999 will donate $10 to relief efforts
- http://kxan.com/2017/08/26/how-to-help-hurricane-harvey-survivors/
- HH Megathread with phone number information and more: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=233229050534354&id=100015417815025&hc_location=ufi
- If you know any diabetics who have spare supplies such as insulin vials, syringes, insulin pens etc. please consider donating them to a local diabetes education center. Find a center near you here.
- If you have no medical supplies to donate, you can donate money that will provide medical supplies to people through Americares (donation button is at the top right): http://www.americares.org/
OTHER EMERGENCY NUMBERS:
USCG Emergency lines for Harvey response:
281-464-4851
281-464-4852
281-464-4853
281-464-4854
281-464-4855
To volunteer to assist with a boat or high-water vehicle, call the OEM:
713-881-3100
Houston PD non-emergency: 713-884-3131
Houston city switchboard: 713-837-0311 or 3-1-1
The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies has set up a hotline for People w/ Disabilities during Harvey. The number is 800-626-4959
I've been digging online for resources for people who want to help and need help, I hope you don't mind me sharing them here.
- Texting REDCROSS to 90999 will donate $10 to relief efforts
- http://kxan.com/2017/08/26/how-to-help-hurricane-harvey-survivors/
- HH Megathread with phone number information and more: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=233229050534354&id=100015417815025&hc_location=ufi
- If you know any diabetics who have spare supplies such as insulin vials, syringes, insulin pens etc. please consider donating them to a local diabetes education center. Find a center near you here.
- If you have no medical supplies to donate, you can donate money that will provide medical supplies to people through Americares (donation button is at the top right): http://www.americares.org/
https://www.patreon.com/posts/14076152 wrote:
- Texas Diaper Bank is creating relief kits
- Houston Coalition for the Homeless is coordinating shelter
- SPCA of Texas coordinating animal rescue and rehoming
- Houston DSA coordinating volunteers for rescue and assistance
- Houston Food Bank
- Direct Relief connects safety net providers with medical supplies
- Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi
- Portlight prioritizes disaster relief for people with disabilities
- Austin Pets Alive is taking in strays from Harvey zones
- Corpus Christi food bank
- Galveston food bank
- AirB&B for places to stay
- Global Giving's Hurricane Harvey relief fund
- GoFundMe pages related to Hurricane Harvey (I haven't vetted these)
- Dallas shelters prep for evacuees, how to help here
- HEB: mobile kitchens, aid + find out which stores are open
- Austin folks: Sign up to help!
- Houston Emergency Aid Coalition
- Target Hunger - local neighborhood food bank in Houston
- Houston Area Women's Shelter - domestic violence aid w/hotlines open during storm
- Forgotten Dogs of the 5th Ward coordinating animal rescue in neighborhood, need assistance and repairs for kennels, etc
- Team Rubicon: Deploys veterans to respond in crises
- If you have a boat in Houston, here's how to help!
- Help supply period products to Texans in need! This org is working to donate tampons, pads etc to Houstonians.
- SPREAD THE WORD: Texans should try to file insurance claims before September 1st, when a new law making payouts harder to enforce goes into effect. More here.
- SPREAD THE WORD: "Mattress Mack" is opening his furniture stores to people who need shelter. Pets welcome!
- SPREAD THE WORD: List of shelters in Houston
MORE FOOD BANK INFO via Houston Press:
Houston Food Bank
832-369-9390
[url=http://houstonfoodbank.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]houstonfoodbank.org[/url]
Galveston Food Bank
409-945-4232
[url=http://galvestoncountyfoodbank.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]galvestoncountyfoodbank.org[/url]
Food Bank of the Golden Crescent (Victoria)
361-578-0591
[url=http://victoriafoodbank.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]victoriafoodbank.org[/url]
Closed Friday
Corpus Christi Food Bank
361-887-6291
[url=http://foodbankcc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]foodbankcc.com[/url]
Southeast Texas Food Bank (Beaumont)
409-839-8777
[url=http://setxfoodbank.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]setxfoodbank.org[/url]
Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley (Pharr)
956-682-8101
[url=http://foodbankrgv.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]foodbankrgv.com[/url]
Brazos Valley Food Bank (Bryan)
979-779-3663
[url=http://bvfb.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]bvfb.org[/url]
Central Texas Food Bank (Austin)
512-282-2111
[url=http://centraltexasfoodbank.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]centraltexasfoodbank.org[/url]
San Antonio Food Bank
210-337-3663
[url=http://safoodbank.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]safoodbank.org[/url]
- Houston Coalition for the Homeless is coordinating shelter
- SPCA of Texas coordinating animal rescue and rehoming
- Houston DSA coordinating volunteers for rescue and assistance
- Houston Food Bank
- Direct Relief connects safety net providers with medical supplies
- Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi
- Portlight prioritizes disaster relief for people with disabilities
- Austin Pets Alive is taking in strays from Harvey zones
- Corpus Christi food bank
- Galveston food bank
- AirB&B for places to stay
- Global Giving's Hurricane Harvey relief fund
- GoFundMe pages related to Hurricane Harvey (I haven't vetted these)
- Dallas shelters prep for evacuees, how to help here
- HEB: mobile kitchens, aid + find out which stores are open
- Austin folks: Sign up to help!
- Houston Emergency Aid Coalition
- Target Hunger - local neighborhood food bank in Houston
- Houston Area Women's Shelter - domestic violence aid w/hotlines open during storm
- Forgotten Dogs of the 5th Ward coordinating animal rescue in neighborhood, need assistance and repairs for kennels, etc
- Team Rubicon: Deploys veterans to respond in crises
- If you have a boat in Houston, here's how to help!
- Help supply period products to Texans in need! This org is working to donate tampons, pads etc to Houstonians.
- SPREAD THE WORD: Texans should try to file insurance claims before September 1st, when a new law making payouts harder to enforce goes into effect. More here.
- SPREAD THE WORD: "Mattress Mack" is opening his furniture stores to people who need shelter. Pets welcome!
- SPREAD THE WORD: List of shelters in Houston
MORE FOOD BANK INFO via Houston Press:
Houston Food Bank
832-369-9390
[url=http://houstonfoodbank.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]houstonfoodbank.org[/url]
Galveston Food Bank
409-945-4232
[url=http://galvestoncountyfoodbank.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]galvestoncountyfoodbank.org[/url]
Food Bank of the Golden Crescent (Victoria)
361-578-0591
[url=http://victoriafoodbank.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]victoriafoodbank.org[/url]
Closed Friday
Corpus Christi Food Bank
361-887-6291
[url=http://foodbankcc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]foodbankcc.com[/url]
Southeast Texas Food Bank (Beaumont)
409-839-8777
[url=http://setxfoodbank.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]setxfoodbank.org[/url]
Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley (Pharr)
956-682-8101
[url=http://foodbankrgv.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]foodbankrgv.com[/url]
Brazos Valley Food Bank (Bryan)
979-779-3663
[url=http://bvfb.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]bvfb.org[/url]
Central Texas Food Bank (Austin)
512-282-2111
[url=http://centraltexasfoodbank.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]centraltexasfoodbank.org[/url]
San Antonio Food Bank
210-337-3663
[url=http://safoodbank.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer]safoodbank.org[/url]
OTHER EMERGENCY NUMBERS:
USCG Emergency lines for Harvey response:
281-464-4851
281-464-4852
281-464-4853
281-464-4854
281-464-4855
To volunteer to assist with a boat or high-water vehicle, call the OEM:
713-881-3100
Houston PD non-emergency: 713-884-3131
Houston city switchboard: 713-837-0311 or 3-1-1
The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies has set up a hotline for People w/ Disabilities during Harvey. The number is 800-626-4959
Paypal is matching donations: http://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/107650864193216482
I am a fellow Texan. Although I don't live on the coast, I have friends who do.
You are on: Forums » Smalltalk » Hurricane Harvey
Moderators: Mina, Keke, Cass, Claine, Sanne, Dragonfire, Ilmarinen, Darth_Angelus