One of the article comments stated "It's fine if you want to flood 10,000 homes to save 100,000 homes but like it states, government needs to be ready to pay for the consequences." I was under the impression that the release was flooding homes that weren't already flooded, but it was in order to save those same homes from consequentially worse damage (& loss of life) if they hadn't done so & the dams failed. So my question is, were any homes saved from flooding, that otherwise might have had they not released the water? Even if just by coincidence? Not interested in whether the govt is liable debate, just curious.
This is only true if the government can show that the dam would have failed and those same homes would have flooded. Linder actually said the release was designed to stop an uncontrolled release down the emergency spillway that would have caused massive flooding between Eldridge and the beltway that would then rush to the bayou. I'm not a city planner nor an engineer responsible for this stuff so I can't say for certain, but my understanding from someone familiar with the case is that they have some stuff to back up the idea that the releases did "target" their homes in lieu of a greater number that would be impacted by the emergency spillway. The Corps would have to have some data to backup the claim that the dam itself would have breached and these same homes would have been inundated anyway.
Yes. The release through the dam prevented massive amounts of water rushing over the emergency spillway. Linder said this repeatedly on tv and twitter. An uncontrolled release over the spillway and then ultimately the water going over the top of the damn on that side would have sent a disastrous amount of water out into the area between Eldridge and the beltway. All of that would have been inundated and then they had no models for what the water would have done, other than that it would have rushed downstream in an uncontrolled manner. They decided that sending it downstream in a controlled manner through the bayou was the better solution. At no point did Linder or the Corps spokesman say the dam's integrity was in danger. So this becomes an engineering facts argument. Without the releases would the dam have just failed and the levees broken? If so, that water would probably have just hit those same homes anyway. If instead the water would have just gone over the other way, then yes in fact the Corps did make a determination to "take" these homes instead.
But there is a dam and city planners did allow construction along the path of the release. it creates a liability situation if the corps/county/etc. made a choice to release water and condemn those homes, even if they made the right choice.
Difference between JJ and Red Cross is difference between a foundation and a charity. Foundations distribute money to charities of their choosing, charities do the actual charitable work. So the only onus on JJ is to ensure that he gives the money to worthy charities.
No, HPD may not be perfect, but at least they seem to not be pure and total evil. This is ridiculous.
Lol they're scrambling now. Have turned it into a "WONT SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN" narrative.
Is that a joke, photoshop, error? Please, a bigger map, that shows the other planes turning around midflight, and that one going for it. Hard to believe that can be real. Speaking of did this guy make it out? I think they just had something on the news about airports in florida, but I had the tv mooted.
Why are you both saying it's ridiculous? Do you all really want criminals and people with warrants to take up space of lawful people? Y'all defend criminals and violators? LOLs. You should have paid your dues. Don't look for shelter now.
The BVI are getting absolutely destroyed. Unbearable to think about what the locals are going through.
The bulk of warrants are out for people who have not paid for their traffic violations or have missed a court date. The majority of those people are not hardcore criminals. For example, there are 1.2 million outstanding warrants in Houston alone according to chron. By making the announcement, the Polk PD are encourages a huge number of people to ride out the storm rather than chance getting arrested and sent to jail at a time when you and your family should be priority. This is a major storm and there is a very good chance that people will die if they try to ride it out. This not only affects the person with the warrant, but their family as well if they all decide to ride out the storm. In my mind, this is akin to a PD saying that they will check for a person's legal status before allowing them to take shelter. I think protecting human lives, regardless of their criminality or legal status should be paramount in a situation like this. EDIT: If you were being facetious, then never mind lol. It's hard to tell with all the smileys!
