In most construction in Houston for the last 20 years or so, builders have used Hurricane Straps...they are metal straps that bolt into the slab, connect to the bottom of the plate (the wall) and then others connect to the second story and then the roof line. Allegedly it'll stop catastrophic failure of a house up to 160 MPH or something. You might lose your shingles and some decking on the roof ,but the roof itself remains attached and the walls don't fall down. I know that in most new developments, they run underground power, and its been like that for the last couple of decades. The problem is the transmission lines TO those underground neighborhoods. I know the cost of going completely underground is something outrageous and its just more efficient to keep the existing infrastructure and throw up new poles and transformers. Its also WAY easier to maintain. So I don't think you'll ever see a major project to bury transmission lines in Texas. As far as storm surge, I know there were legitimate recommendations after Ike to build and Ike Dike, basically an expansion of a series of sea walls for Galveston and into the bay and ship channel. The cost is something enormous again. The biggest thing Houston could do is invest in flood prevention. Re-engineer existing floodways, etc. Maybe even expand or create new reservoirs.
By the way, we should have checks and balances in our government that make it impossible for a president to nuke a hurricane on a whim. That’s not the case now.
Even something expensive like a coastal spine or Ike Dike essentially pays off in one major hurricane. The Rice proposal would include a tax on businesses on the Ship Channel. Considering it would be in the interests of a lot of these capital-intensive businesses to have protection, this feels like a no-brainer.
Up here in the DFW area, in my part of town, they were doing this until some ruling said power companies didn't have to do it. I think it saves power companies money not to have to dig things up. Not sure about long-term what the costs are if they keep blowing down every few years. Also looks a lot better not seeing power lines dangling from poles down the road.
So glad I moved last month and don't have Entergy anymore. My old subdivision has been without power for almost 24 hours now. Meanwhile, in our new house about 5 miles away, our power didn't even so much as blink last night. I think it has something to do with Entergy's transmission lines being in Texas and Louisiana?
I think it’s because the lines run all the way to Beaumont. I’m right off 99 and in the same position you are. My parents on the other hand are in Conroe and haven’t had power since 2. People are pissed. Apparently it was planned and they didn’t notify their customers. They’re saying it could be out up to 3 days.
some of the entergy stuff are rolling black outs while others are just plain out. Allegedly they have to conserve power because they were sending too much down the lines and it was overloading sub stations. Also, major transmission high tension stuff is down along the state border so some stuff has to be brought down to repair things further down the line.
Atlantic Daily Briefing Issued: 04:49 AM CDT Friday August 28, 2020 Laura Tropical Depression Laura is located over northeastern Arkansas and moving to the northeast at 14 mph. Laura will turn to the east-northeast and move across Kentucky this afternoon and begin to interact with a frontal system. It will produce gusty winds, heavy rainfall, and isolated tornadoes across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys later today. Laura will dissipate over Virginia by Saturday. Other Disturbances / Areas to Watch Disturbance 37 has been identified north of the Yucatan Peninsula over the southern Gulf of Mexico. This is a weak tropical wave that is moving to the north-northwest at 15 mph. Thunderstorm activity with the wave has diminished overnight. However, this weak disturbance may enhance showers and thunderstorms across the northern Gulf coast later today into Saturday as it moves into the northern Gulf. It is not expected to develop as it moves into the northern Gulf coast later Saturday into Sunday. Disturbance 36 has formed along 48W, or about 785 miles ESE of Barbados. It is moving to the west near 12 mph. This will take the system into the Windward Islands by Sunday into Monday. The disturbance consists of a large area of disorganized showers and storms. Environmental conditions are marginal for development as it moves across the Atlantic and Caribbean. There is a 30 percent chance of development within the next seven days. Disturbance 35 is located along 21W, or about 230 miles east of the Cabo Verde Islands. The system is moving to the west near 5 mph. The disturbance may stall to the west of the Cabo Verde Islands Sunday into early next week, then begin moving to the west-northwest across the Atlantic later next week. Conditions may become more favorable for development as the system moves across the eastern and central Atlantic next week. It may approach the northern Leeward Islands next Sunday. There is a 40 percent chance of tropical development.
That’s what I read on twitter when I was trying to help my mom find information. Hers turned back on at like 9 last night.
Satellite before/after pics https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/28/us/satellite-images-hurricane-laura-before-after-trnd/index.html
Even though the worst of the storm has passed there is still are people struggling to deal with the aftermath. https://weather.com/news/news/2020-...iana-texas-damage-wind-flooding-power-outages With Areas Still Cut Off, Louisianans Fear Hurricane Laura May Have Left Them Nothing It could be days before the full extent of the devastation across Louisiana is known as crews work to get into inaccessible areas of the state's low-lying wetlands. After coming ashore as a strong Category 4 hurricane at 1 a.m. CDT Thursday, Laura ravaged southern Louisiana and caused damage in east Texas. Late Thursday and early Friday, a downgraded Laura left pockets of damage as it moved inland across Arkansas into the Lower Ohio Valley. In Louisiana, the worst damage appeared to be in Calcasieu and Cameron parishes, but it extended far from the coast. In many areas, assessment teams have been unable to survey the damage from the ground. The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office listed more than 60 stretches of roadway that are impassable. Things aren't much better in Cameron Parish. “I have not been able to get any update on my house yet,” Gladys Smith, who was staying with her son in Baton Rouge, told WAFB. She said her husband had stayed in Lake Charles for work. When he tried to check on their home, he didn't get far. “They did try to go out to see how far they can get from work, and he said all the roads around there are blocked. Everybody’s concerned not knowing what we’re going to go back to because we can’t really get back to into town,” Smith said. Four people were killed by falling trees in Louisiana, according to Gov. John Bel Edwards. Two deaths, also in Louisiana, were a man who died of carbon monoxide while running a generator inside his residence and another who drowned when a boat sank during the storm, the Associated Press reported. Laura also killed 23 people in the Caribbean. More than half a million Louisiana homes and businesses remained without electricity Thursday morning, according to poweroutage.us. Another 240,000 customers in Texas and Arkansas had no power. Louisiana "Pretty much devastating," is how Tim Dupont, fire chief in the town of Cameron, Louisiana, described the scene during a phone call with weather.com. "Basically there’s not much left and they’re just waiting for an opportunity to go back down there and see what they can collect." Also in Cameron Parish, Laura's strong winds pushed a train off the tracks in Grand Lake, leaving a mile-long stretch of freight cars lying on their sides. Lake Charles, in Calcasieu Parish, saw extensive damage. Windows blew out of skyscrapers, a TV tower collapsed, dozens and dozens of homes and businesses lost roofs and walls. Trees were down everywhere. After losing electricity and water, Lake Charles Memorial Hospital had to evacuate patients to facilities across the state, KPLC reported. The lack of water was causing many problems Matt Felder, the hospital's director of communications, told the TV station. “You don’t have a supply to the air conditioning units. What that has done is compromise our OR, you know, made it to where we can’t really sterilize equipment, there’s a lot of condensation and humidity all over the building,” he said. Nineteen babies in the neonatal intensive care unit were among the patients moved first, Felder said. Lonnie LaGrange and his 75-year-old mother sought shelter in a Lake Charles church as Hurricane Laura cut a 40-mile-wide path of destruction through the parish. He was stunned by what he saw when he returned to his neighborhood. “We knew when we left there was a chance of coming back to nothing,” LaGrange told nolaa.com. “But nothing like this.” Walls were shredded off houses, including LaGrange's. Some homes were stacked on top of others. Personal belongings and debris was scattered for miles. Meanwhile, across Lake Charles, a large fire at a chemical plant forced residents to shelter inside with windows and doors closed and air conditioners turned off. The fire was still smoldering Friday morning, according to the Monroe News Star, and residents living within 1 mile of the Biolab plant were still being told to remain indoors. The deaths from falling trees in Louisiana occurred in Vernon, Jackson and Acadia parishes, all well inland from the coast, the governor said in a news conference. Jackson Parish is more than 200 miles from where Laura came ashore. Arkansas Laura was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it reached Arkansas, but it still caused flooding, knocked down trees and spawned possible tornadoes. Homes were damaged in Bradley, Calhoun and Ouachita counties, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. Trees were down in many Arkansas counties and some structures were damaged, said Melody Daniel, a spokeswoman for the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management. She said three homes were damaged in Bradley County and one home was damaged in both Calhoun and Ouachita counties. A tree fell through the roof of a home in Little Rock in Pulaski County, KARK reported. A falling tree also damaged a home in Woodruff County, and another in Cleveland County caused significant damage to a home there. Trees were down in Hot Spring, Grant, Clark and Drew counties, according to KARK. A possible tornado tore a section of roof off the Refuge Baptist Church in Lake City, 15 miles east of Jonesboro. The storm also ruptured a gas line, Jonesboro E-911 Director Jeff Presley told The Associated Press. No injuries were reported. In Jonesboro, rescue crews had to free a woman trapped when a tree limb fell on her mobile home, Presley said. He said major roof damage also was reported in Goobertown, northeast of Jonesboro. Texas Texas appeared to have escaped widespread damage, Gov. Greg Abbott said in a news release. "While we are grateful that the damage of Hurricane Laura was far less severe than expected, many communities in Southeast Texas have experienced significant damage from this storm," Abbott said. The governor surveyed the damage in Orange, Texas, along the Sabine River on the border with Louisiana, which was one of the hardest-hit areas. Mayor Larry Spears told KTRK trees were down, streets were littered with debris and some businesses lost roofs, but he expected much worse.
