This is pretty much an annual event at this point. I'm deeply concerned about the future of property values in this city.
Not that it should make you feel better, but... in many cities. Our fire season just started early again out here -- going to be brutal. Maybe sea level rise can put out some fires. *cry out loud*
your fire season probably won't get close to threatening your residence in the city of San Francisco. These floods are a b**** constantly here in Houston. I bought a new home last year at this time against my better judgment. I'd rather be a renter, honestly, after being flooded in the Memorial Day flood. Between the oil industry being in its last throes...being unable to keep the ****ing power on for my business for a full week because it got as cold as it gets in other parts of the country routinely...and annual flooding, this is getting ridiculous. And, no, this isn't the way it always ways.
hey, god bless. I was not competing or try to minimize. My best pal in Houston got flooded three times and gave up on home-owning. He rents now, and it does seem to be getting worse. PS -- all that said, having 400 ppm smoke particulate matter is no joke. It's worse than, like... Baytown air.
I didn't take it as that at all..sorry if it came off that way. It's just frustrating. yeah, it rained a lot in Houston when i was growing up. It rained nearly every day for an hour or so in the summer...I knew if I was off on my bike, I'd probably need to find a place to be between around 2 and 3 in the afternoon. Now we trend from drought to flood...drought to flood...drought to flood. Repeatedly. We've had roughly 4 rain events in the last 6 years that are billed as 100 - 500 year floods. It's ridiculous.
My sister from CA had a flight here to IAH. But they diverted her plane to Hobby (argh!) and now we get to drive to Hobby to pick her up.
Wasn't there a recent report that the West Coast has a high degree of fire risk this year because of dry conditions and a buildup of potential fuel?
It’s more concerning that no real effort or progress to try and mitigate these events seems to happen. A lot of talk around the time of them... but then just chalked up to “100 year event... unprecedented!... nothing could have prevented this!” It’s either two possibilities... it rains more now, or Houston simply can’t handle rain without flooding (due to current infrastructure). I don’t think its both.
It was like that for decades. From time to time, we would have an event that would flood large areas of the city, but after several hours the water would go down and those were unusual. Since I can't pass up an anecdote, during the mid-'70's, I lived upstairs at the corner of Hazard and Sul Ross in a big house that was turned into a 4-plex during the 1940's. In June of 1976, parts of the city got 12 inches of rain and I was caught in it trying to get home from seeing friends in the southeast side of town. My car flooded out trying to get to 59 from the Gulf Freeway, so I locked it and started wading. A guy came paddling by in a canoe when I was about waist deep, I waved, and damn if he didn't offer me a ride. Truly a good Samaritan. I ended up only 6 blocks from my place (NYTimes story below). That was an adventure, but floods like that were rare. No longer. Houston's weather has undergone a shocking change, in my opinion. I moved to Austin in 1980, and Austin has undergone it's own shocking changes, but I don't have to worry about my house flooding. Not where I live. I have lots of friends and relatives in Houston, and when I see them, invariably the topic of weather and floods will come up. For the Houston's sake, I hope this big infrastructure bill the President hopes to get passed brings a huge amount of money to the area that can make some major flood control improvements. I worry about what things will be like in Greater Houston 25-50 years down the road, not that I'm likely to be around to witness it. Frankly, I don't see how large areas are going to remain habitable. Maybe the Gulf Coast cities and counties, with the state and federal aid, should hire some first class Dutch engineering. They know flood control better than anyone. The area is going to need it. Heck, it needs it now. Spoiler HOUSTON, June 16—Unusually heavy rains, up to 12 inches in some areas, flooded vast sections of Houston yesterday, causing at least four deaths and sending thousands of residents fleeing their inundated homes and businesses. Rescue operations by helicopters and boats went on through the night as the police attempted to account for several missing persons and transfer flood victims to higher ground. Hundreds of others were stranded at offices, at friends’ homes and at ad hoc “flood parties.” This morning, some of them made their way home to find heavy damage. A few reported finding that poisonous copperhead snakes had taken refuge in their outlying apartments. Damage was estimated in the tens of millions of dollars today as the flood waters, six feet deep and more in some low‐lying areas, receded. More rain was forecast, but by late this afternoon storm clouds had spared most of the metropolitan area from fresh downpours. Hospital Basements Flooded For seven hours, beginning yesterday at noon, the city was drenched with seven to 12 inches of rainfall. Bayous and watersheds flooded their banks. For the first time in its 11year history, the Astrodome was forced to cancel a sports event because of bad weather. Officials said a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Houston Astros was “rained in.” Although the domed stadium was dry inside, where players were warming up before a dozen diehard fans, flooded streets prevented four umpires from getting there. Houston is in the low, swampy region of southeast Texas, averaging only a foot or two above sea level. Its flooding problem had been exacerbated by land subsidence caused by the pumping of water from underground wells • by industries and towns. In severe areas, the ground has subsided, or sunk, eight feet in the last three decades. Even abnormally high tides have caused flooding in some areas adjacent to Houston. Last night, the Warwick Hotel was surrounded by several feet of water. Guests were stranded and electrical power was cut off. At the nearby Contemporary Arts Museum, dozens of paintings, sculptures and artifacts were reportedly ruined when the basement filled with nine feet of water. Included was part of a collection of artifacts and photographs of General Custer on loan from the West Point museum. Several hospitals in the Texas Medical Center remained closed to new patient admissions as workers pumped water and cleared debris out of flooded basements. The flooding knocked out electrical power at three of the hospitals. The basement at the Methodist Hospital, where the body of Howard R. Hughes rested temporarily before burial two months ago, was six feet under water this morning. For seven hours, beginning yesterday at noon, the city was drenched with seven to 12 inches of rainfall. Bayous and watersheds flooded their banks. For the first time in its 11year history, the Astrodome was forced to cancel a sports event because of bad weather. Officials said a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Houston Astros was “rained in.” Although the domed stadium was dry inside, where players were warming up before a dozen diehard fans, flooded streets prevented four umpires from getting there. Houston is in the low, swampy region of southeast Texas, averaging only a foot or two above sea level. Its flooding problem had been exascerbated by land subsidence caused by the pumping of water from underground wells • by industries and towns. In severe areas, the ground has subsided, or sunk, eight feet in the last three decades. Even abnormally high tides have caused flooding in some areas adjacent to Houston. Last night, the Warwick Hotel was surrounded by several feet of water. Guests were stranded and electrical power was cut off. At the nearby Contemporary Arts Museum, dozens of paintings, sculptures and artifacts were reportedly ruined when the basement filled with nine feet of water. Included was part of a collection of artifacts and photographs of General Custer on loan from the West Point museum. https://www.nytimes.com/1976/06/17/archives/4-dead-thousands-routed-by-12inch-rain-in-houston.html
As you know, and I know I've said this a dozen times, there's also a whole lot, I mean a whole lot, more asphalt and concrete on that side of town (and everywhere in Houston) than there was when we were kids. ? to the bbs: what's a good site to get updates on the flooding in Houston? I like maps, so somewhere with a map showing "it's flooding here, here, here, etc..." would be up my alley.
Yeah, i have no doubt that's part of the flooding. But I also don't feel like 100+ year flood events were nearly this common. We've had repeated events that would cause flooding in most major cities.
