Hurricane Harvey

[bindian]

Here's a link to rainfall totals. Preliminary rainfall totals, county by county
As far cattle, I've been seeing video of cattle drives thru outlaying towns. It's Texas.
As for planning, since Harvey hit hurricane status, the rainfall forecasts have doubled. Twice as much rain on a city built on a swamp with bayous (that are full now) draining it all into Galveston Bay. That's why I live an hour from work!
hugs, Brandi

 

[RedNeckGeek]

The flooding in Houston has been predicted for the last 5 days. Why weren't the low lying areas evacuated. I guess the mayor made the wrong call. This flood was not unexpected.

The elephant in the room is why those low lying areas were allowed to be developed to begin with. Developers knew right from the start that they would flood, but zoning agencies let them put neighborhoods and businesses there anyway without showing that adequate drainage could be provided. Now, the insurance companies and the US taxpayers are gonna take a big hit to clean up the mess, and thousands of lives will be ruined. I'm not a big fan of insurance companies, but maybe they'll raise rates in those areas so that policy costs for rebuilt structures will be prohibitive. Nah, they'll just use Harvey as an excuse to raise everyone's rates, peanut buttering their losses over everyone.

 

[bindian]

The elephant in the room is why those low lying areas were allowed to be developed to begin with. Developers knew right from the start that they would flood, but zoning agencies let them put neighborhoods and businesses there anyway without showing that adequate drainage could be provided. Now, the insurance companies and the US taxpayers are gonna take a big hit to clean up the mess, and thousands of lives will be ruined. I'm not a big fan of insurance companies, but maybe they'll raise rates in those areas so that policy costs for rebuilt structures will be prohibitive. Nah, they'll just use Harvey as an excuse to raise everyone's rates, peanut buttering their losses over everyone.

Agreed. Back in 1973, I lived in a house that had lot frontage on Cypress Creek. We flooded twice. The creek front lots next to us were condemned for new construction. To this day, those 10 or 12 lots have no houses on them. Yet down stream about 7 miles, they put up levees to keep the subdivisions dry. Now those levees are failing. Why were they allowed to build there in the first place????????????????
hugs, Brandi

 

[Gator6x4]

The elephant in the room is why those low lying areas were allowed to be developed to begin with. Developers knew right from the start that they would flood, but zoning agencies let them put neighborhoods and businesses there anyway without showing that adequate drainage could be provided. Now, the insurance companies and the US taxpayers are gonna take a big hit to clean up the mess, and thousands of lives will be ruined. I'm not a big fan of insurance companies, but maybe they'll raise rates in those areas so that policy costs for rebuilt structures will be prohibitive. Nah, they'll just use Harvey as an excuse to raise everyone's rates, peanut buttering their losses over everyone.

The number they are bantering around, 40-50 billion will probably raise everyone's taxes and insurance cost.

 

[houstonscott]

The number they are bantering around, 40-50 billion will probably raise everyone's taxes and insurance cost.

Sandy people got 57billion, I figured Houston is worth ten times that, since NY and NJ don't contribute to economy, don't produce much...

 

[RedNeckGeek]

The developers aren't the only ones to blame. Don't people bother to look at the flood maps before deciding to purchase a property or house? In '10 I moved to Butte County, California, home to Lake Oroville. You may have heard about a few problems they had with the dam in February of this year. The area below the dam had lots of property for sale when I went looking, and I was considering one spot in particular until I saw the position of the dam and looked at the flood maps. Now they call the areas that would be flooded due to a dam break "inundation zones". That wasn't the case back then, but you could see from the topo contours and elevation marks where the water would go. And after that revelation there was no way I was gonna buy any of those properties. Just common sense. But you know what they say about common sense, right? Common sense isn't so common these days.

Oh, the place I ended up with is on Lake Oroville, but it sits about a hundred feet above the elevation of the top of that dam.

 

[houstonscott]

There is no one to blame. It's an act of nature.

 

[sseelhoff]

The developers aren't the only ones to blame. Don't people bother to look at the flood maps before deciding to purchase a property or house? In '10 I moved to Butte County, California, home to Lake Oroville. You may have heard about a few problems they had with the dam in February of this year. The area below the dam had lots of property for sale when I went looking, and I was considering one spot in particular until I saw the position of the dam and looked at the flood maps. Now they call the areas that would be flooded due to a dam break "inundation zones". That wasn't the case back then, but you could see from the topo contours and elevation marks where the water would go. And after that revelation there was no way I was gonna buy any of those properties. Just common sense. But you know what they say about common sense, right? Common sense isn't so common these days.

Oh, the place I ended up with is on Lake Oroville, but it sits about a hundred feet above the elevation of the top of that dam.

Your are comparing buying property near a dam (which is visible and carries with it an inherent risk of failure and flood), and a 800 year flood event, which no one could have predicted?

You don't see why one may not be like the other?

I really don't see the impetus behind this blame the victim mentality these days. Perhaps someone can explain it to me.

 

[ruffdog]

Why don't many people have flood insurance?

Is it not common for hurricanes to hit the gulf coast?

 

[houstonscott]

Why don't many people have flood insurance? Is it not common for hurricanes to hit the gulf coast?

How come they don't buy health insurance?