Board 8 > ATTN: Texas B8ers [Hurricane]

(+) Yeah! (+)

Any of you gonna get hit by the hurricane?
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I'm not. I've got friends who just moved in to their colleges that are though, and they had to evacuate.
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lots of rain and wind but I'm safe
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Punnyz posted...

lots of rain and wind but I'm safe

Expecting lots of rain and probably flooding, but nothing about evacuation for my area so far.
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should be titled ATTENPUN TEXAS B8ERS
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So I've just heard a bunch of news at once, apparently all of the grocery stores are empty

some gas pumps are out of gas

aaaaand we may or may not get black outs

but no flooding or crazy stuff like that
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Sounds a bit scary over there.

Hope you all remain safe.
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sounds like its gonna be some major flooding here in houston

i didnt prep at all

*shrugs*
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My dad had to cancel his vacation which he was going to leave on today and instead is now flying out to Mexico on Sunday

Not much going on up here though other than some rain
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I arrived in Houston last night. Terrible timing for the cruise I planned to be on tomorrow. So far it's just some rain and wind.
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SmartMuffin posted...

sounds like its gonna be some major flooding here in houston

i didnt prep at all

*shrugs*

rip smartmuffin
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So it just became Category 4


damn I never much liked Texas but I never asked for this
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Stay safe guys
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Day 2 of probably 4-5 and I'm already tired of the rain and anticipation.
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Where I'm at about 45 miles north of Houston, I'm barely getting any rain and like zero wind. It's coming but I've been lucky. Still got power and shit.
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I live about 30 minutes outside San Antonio and we've gotten a good bit, more wind than rain though. Power got knocked out for about three hours tonight. Could certainly be worse.
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I lost power yesterday for a little bit in north Austin. Lots of wind and rain.
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well my car is underwater :(
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Oh damn SMuffin, sorry to hear that.

....pics?
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Okay I was wrong about getting lots of rain. Less than half an inch so far in western San Antonio.

Damn that blows

But it did remind me of a cool song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnQ1iZqfo9E
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Pokalicious posted...

Oh damn SMuffin, sorry to hear that.

....pics?

It was parked in a garage slightly below ground level.

A garage I can't even get into because there is too much water, lulz
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Dallas here

It rained very lightly yesterday
It's raining even lighter right now

Pretty nice, actually.

RIP coastal towns though
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Lots of rain and wind but nothing major

Sorry to hear, Muffin best buddy :(. I've seen a bunch of pictures of houston all water world'd

I hope your insurance covers it
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SmartMuffin posted...

It was parked in a garage slightly below ground level.

I was about to ask why you didn't at least park it at the top of a garage but wow that's dumb
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Muffin why wouldn't you leave?
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Muffin why wouldn't you leave?

Houston wasn't supposed to evacuate. Getting seven million people out of a small area is no easy feat.

I was about to ask why you didn't at least park it at the top of a garage but wow that's dumb

All the higher levels were full. The place claimed they had gates and pumps and stuff and it would only be a few inches. lol.
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Ugh, I'm sorry to hear about your car, I hope that you're safe at least.

I can't believe this is happening, this storm was just a depression a few days ago. Worst case nightmare scenario for Houston.

What's really scary right now is all those tornadoes this thing is spawning while people are being told to go up onto their roofs. They're weak tornadoes but even an F1 is dangerous if you're completely exposed like that.
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SmartMuffin posted...

All the higher levels were full

#fakerich
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Fakerich people are out working when everyone else is moving their cars around.

I mean obvs in hindsight I should have just parked illegally on the street (odds of being towed in a storm are probably pretty low). I went down this morning with that plan but it was already too late!
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League City just got a short break, hopefully this current rain band passes quickly so things can drain a bit.
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Jeeze, hope everyone's okay

I know there are more Texas B8ers, but I can't remember whether or not they're in areas affected by the storm.
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I work in Texas, but in West Texas. We didnt even get any rain over here. Guy I am working with has a house in Houston, and said he has a sinkhole in his yard. Yikes.
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Enjoying the light showers up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area
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What are the chances that my trip to Houston in 2 weeks will be okay and the place won't be in ruin?
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foolm0r0n posted...

What are the chances that my trip to Houston in 2 weeks will be okay and the place won't be in ruin?

itll probably be navigable but look even shittier than it did before
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The latest rain band seems to be heading north of where I am, which is lucky since everything near me seems to be soaked. Might actually be able to get some decent sleep tonight, before the cycle repeats tomorrow.
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two weeks looks like it'll still need boats.

latest update is a horror story one:
they're about to release the floodgates to the reservoirs around Houston onto what's essentially solid land. the bayous are completely flooded, there's nothing left to guide the water, meaning it's going to be an uncontrolled release.

this might be happening 1-2 hours ahead of schedule.
if it happens, a lot of people are about to die.
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Sorry bout your car Muffin

Port Aransas's mayor has said the city is a total loss :(

http://www.wtsp.com/news/mayor-port-aransas-community-is-a-100-percent-loss/467677150

Wanglicious posted...

two weeks looks like it'll still need boats.

latest update is a horror story one:
they're about to release the floodgates to the reservoirs around Houston onto what's essentially solid land. the bayous are completely flooded, there's nothing left to guide the water, meaning it's going to be an uncontrolled release.

this might be happening 1-2 hours ahead of schedule.
if it happens, a lot of people are about to die.

What? Source?
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If releasing the floodgates will kill lots of people, what would not releasing them do?
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Yeah, Houston and a lot of the coast is really getting fucked up bad. I've been watching the live simulcast from KHOU/WFAA online and it looks terrifying. The on-scene casters sound absolutely drained and emotionally distraught from what they're seeing and they're currently showing people shining lights toward the partially-drowned highway trying to get the attention of any boat that may pass. The caster is asking for help to rescue them.

(and as I've been typing they just said that they may be able to get help for those people shining the light)

They've said something like only 3 confirmed deaths, but you know that it's way more than that. A bunch of people are unaccounted for. I've heard stories of they know people who have drowned in cars, but they can't confirm it with a body because they can't reach the car under floodwater.

Jesus... absolutely heartbreaking. And the storm is gonna hang around the coastline a while longer because it's traveling back out to water for a bit before moving inland for a final time, so water is just gonna keep pouring on that area. The hurricane did damage (see: destroyed entire fucking cities, like hurricanes do), but the flooding from the tropical storm and the continued downpour is gonna cause the most loss of life here.
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Oh my God. WFAA/KHOU simulcast is having a man talk about releasing the reservoirs. Bayous are completely flooded. Wang heard right.

Says if they don't release the water, it goes over the spillway where it's less controlled than if they release it themselves.

EDIT: This is the link I'm watching the livestream on.
http://www.wfaa.com/news/live_breaking/tropical-storm-harvey-coverage/32629471
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well, for now they're trying to control it as much as possible. they're also very aware of the uncontrolled state and it's not like they can do much with Buffalo Bayou, that thing's over bank. but they'll do what they can. certain areas are going to have their entire house underwater soon.

but i'm not seeing a lot of updates in here so uh... let's start with the updates of what's going on as of 8 hours ago:

https://twitter.com/USACEGALVESTON/status/901889779935182848

http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/1291256/usace-galveston-district-to-make-intermittent-releases-at-addicks-and-barker-da/


GALVESTON, Texas– Because of the extreme nature of the ongoing weather event in the Houston area, Army Corps of Engineers officials have determined that they will likely have to release intermittent amounts of water from both Addicks and Barker reservoirs to reduce the risk to the Houston metropolitan area.

“These structures continue to perform as they were designed to do, which is to protect against flooding in downtown Houston and the Houston Ship Channel,” said Col. Lars Zetterstrom, Galveston District commander. “However, we do expect to release late this evening into early tomorrow morning.

“It is also likely that water will go over the uncontrolled spillways at the ends of both dams, as designed for large floods. If this happens, it will most likely start around the northern end of Addicks Dam, and both ends of Barker Dam,” he added.

“This flood event will exceed the 2016 tax day flood elevations. Structures will be impacted upstream from both locations; the number of structures affected will depend on weather conditions,” Zetterstrom said.

Zetterstrom explained that all roads within the Addicks and Barker area will be flooded and closed for an extended period of time until the Corps can release sufficient quantities of water and make them passible. The Corps expects to have to retain water for approximately one to three months after the rains subside. Homes upstream will be impacted for an extended period of time while water is released from the reservoirs.

“Public safety is our number one concern as we work closely with our partners - the City of Houston, Fort Bend County, Harris County and the Texas Dept. of Public Safety - to monitor the reservoirs,” said Zetterstrom. “Residents should always listen to and follow instructions of local emergency management officials.”


was an update not too long ago on that as to what they're going to do with releasing the dam. was in video that i saw on a livestream i'm watching. main relevant part:

"At the same time, as the releases are happening water continues to flow into the reservoirs from the upstream creeks. The amount of flow coming in from those creeks is going to be greater than the amount of water being let out of the dams. And so the pool - even the water that is being let out - the pool will continue to rise, and as the pool continues to rise it will back up westward into these areas."
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SmartMuffin posted...

sounds like its gonna be some major flooding here in houston

i didnt prep at all

*shrugs*

I thought you lived in Oregon?

mnkboy907 posted...

If releasing the floodgates will kill lots of people, what would not releasing them do?

risk dam failure and have it overflow without any control at all. if any of the dams fail in that state the entire region - including the city of Houston - is basically gone. they're trying to minimize this overnight because in these situations there's a curfew but it's full on evacuation mode. right now the situation looks more and more like they're going to have to sacrifice as much around the city as they need to. those areas will be flooded for months. this is being done ahead of schedule because they need to.

oh, got the video with that quote, here you go:
http://www.khou.com/weather/hurricanes/hurricane-harvey/controlled-release-of-barker-addicks-reservoirs-to-impact-thousands/468348109
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I know this is serious but

this happened in King of the Hill >___>
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two links to keep track of and keep in mind, all time here is Central (-1 EST).

Barker:
https://www.harriscountyfws.org/GageDetail/Index/2010

Addicks:
https://www.harriscountyfws.org/GageDetail/Index/2110


the initial plan was Addicks tonight at 2-3AM, Barker later. both got released at the same time and when you see those links you can see why: Addicks is almost full. 101 feet right now, house flooding is just a few feet away and it's over the spillway shortly after that. that's the spillage mentioned earlier of it going out westward.

Barker was intended to be later and while the flow is slower into it, it's right at house flooding levels. this gives cause for concern due to the fact that both dams are undergoing work at the moment as they both have old infrastructure. 2015 study gave this report in 2016:

http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Missions/Dam-Safety-Program/


As part of the Corps’ transition to looking at dam safety risk differently, Addicks and Barker dams have undergone a recent evaluation, along with all dams nationwide.

Two structural areas of concern were identified in our evaluation of these two dams. They are:
the structures (or gates) in the dams that allow outflow to Buffalo Bayou, and
the ends of the dams

When we combined the risks associated with these two concerns with the potential consequences to the Houston metropolitan area should there be a failure, Addicks and Barker were designated as “extremely high risk”.

It is important to know that Addicks and Barker dams are not in imminent danger of failing. These two dams form reservoirs that are dry much of the time. They are continuously monitored by a full-time staff to ensure their structural integrity. But, the fact that the Houston metropolitan area is the nation’s fourth largest population center is a primary concern. Any dam safety issues at Addicks and Barker could have a far greater impact due to the magnitude of people and property downstream, as opposed to other dams around the country in rural or low-population density areas.


bold is a huge concern. the two have likely been under construction trying to be repaired until recently and no way it's a 1-2 year resolution. for the next two days both of those are going to be hit ridiculously hard and then they still will be needed at full blast for the next couple weeks after that. that's your worst case scenario and probably why military freaked out to release Barker too. they cannot risk that. where they're at right now very few know so there's no information on that right now. i'd expect in depth info on that over the next few weeks.

all this said, figure a couple important links matter for this topic because there's a very real chance that we're in for Katrina 2.0 or worse.
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Oh God. :( Stay safe, everyone...
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Bay City: mandatory evacuation.
everyone needs to be out by 1PM, basically 8-9 hours for 30,000 people to leave.

https://www.click2houston.com/news/mandatory-voluntary-evacuations-issued-across-houston-area


got those numbers from the bay city emergency management coordinator, he's talking to Fox 26 (Houston local network).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3g2hBJjZ5c
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