GrogHeads Forum

QuoteWords cannot describe the catastrophic situation unfolding in Houston and Southeast Texas. As daylight dawned this morning, the scope of the devastation began to come into clearer focus, and it will probably take months, if not years, to fully recover from damage of this magnitude.

The total rainfall from the storm is likely to tally up to a widespread 15 to 30 inches, with a few localized spots picking up 50 inches or more. Many textbooks have the 60-inch mark as a once-in-a-million-year recurrence interval, meaning that if any spots had that amount of rainfall, they would essentially be dealing with a once-in-a-million-year event.

Regardless of whether we reach that 60-inch benchmark, "it's fair to say it will produce more rain than we have ever seen before in the U.S. from a tropical system and over the fourth-largest city in the country," said Eric Fisher, chief meteorologist at WBZ-TV in Boston. "Looking at those two factors, it will likely be an unprecedented flooding disaster affecting a massive number of people. It's hard, if not impossible, to compare this to any other storm. It may stand alone when all is said and done in terms of rainfall."

Putting this much rainfall into perspective is challenging; after all, the sheer volume of water is incredibly tough to visualize. Fortunately, we crunched the numbers — here's how they stack up.
So far, just the rain that has already fallen across the greater Houston area and Southeast Texas tallies to 9 trillion gallons. That's only what has already come down, and keep in mind that 5 trillion to 10 trillion additional gallons could fall before things wrap up midweek.

The 9 trillion gallons of water dispensed so far is enough to fill the entire Great Salt Lake in Salt Lake City — twice! It would take nine days straight for the Mississippi River to drain into Houston and equal the amount of water already there. If we averaged this amount of water spread equally over the lower 48 states, that's the equivalent of about 0.17 inches of rain — roughly the height of three pennies stacked atop each other — occupying every square inch of the contiguous United States. Imagine one downpour large enough to cover the entire country!
This amount of water could fill 2.3 percent of the volume of the mountain range containing Mount Everest in Nepal and is enough to occupy 33,906 Empire State Buildings, from basement to penthouse.

But here's the kicker: Just how unprecedented is this? Well, remember the flooding that New Orleans experienced with Hurricane Katrina? Most places saw about 10 to 20 feet of water thanks to levee failure, inundating about 80 percent of the city. Now, if we took the amount of rainfall that Texas has seen and spread it over the city limits of New Orleans, it would tower to 128 feet in height — roughly reaching as high as a 12-story office building.

Sometimes, there simply aren't words. This is entirely uncharted territory. For years, many had watched movies like "The Day After Tomorrow" and thought, "Someday ..."
Unfortunately, that day is today. Welcome to the future of weather. Stay safe.

Editor's note: We've corrected the number of Empire State Buildings this volume of water could occupy.

Quote from: Ubercat on August 28, 2017, 10:01:56 AM
If/when my wife and I ever have to move, Houston is our most likely destination.  :o

Quote from: Gusington on August 28, 2017, 10:02:38 AM
Hmm the God angle sounds legit.

Quote from: BanzaiCat on August 28, 2017, 10:04:50 AM
I thought your people killed Jesus, though?

Quote from: BanzaiCat on August 28, 2017, 10:07:26 AM
She kind of looks like Cercei

Quote from: BanzaiCat on August 28, 2017, 10:09:50 AM
Probably less brother-pounding, too.

Quote from: BanzaiCat on August 28, 2017, 10:11:13 AM
Gus, surely you can manipulate that media into something less incestuous?

Quote from: BanzaiCat on August 28, 2017, 10:04:08 AM

Quote from: Ubercat on August 28, 2017, 10:01:56 AM
If/when my wife and I ever have to move, Houston is our most likely destination.  :o

If you/your wife don't know much about the town, let me know and I can give you a general discourse of the area.

Quote from: Ubercat on August 28, 2017, 10:15:50 AM
Thanks, I appreciate that. She knows the town fairly well, though, as she typically has to go there on business at least once a year and I think she lived there for a time as well. I, OTOH, was only there once. I changed planes in '86 and never left the airport.  :P

QuoteThe 9 trillion gallons of water dispensed so far is enough to fill the entire Great Salt Lake in Salt Lake City — twice! It would take nine days straight for the Mississippi River to drain into Houston and equal the amount of water already there.

QuoteWireless and fixed-line ISPs are lending a hand in the wake of the devastation caused over the weekend by Hurricane Harvey. Of the 7,804 cell sites across the impacted region, 320 are out of service, or about 4% notes the FCC. The hardest-hit areas are Aransas County, Refugio County, Calhoun County and San Patricio County, notes the agency. All told, at least 148,565 people in the path of the hurricane were without cable or wireline service as of Sunday, according to the FCC's report.

Many cell towers have battery backups or backup generators to ensure towers remain online, but getting to these towers with the level of devastation is proving unsurprisingly difficult.

"Verizon's network continues to perform well throughout the storm's impacted area," Verizon tells the Wall Street Journal. "As anticipated, commercial power is out in many places throughout Texas, but backup generators are running and refueling vendors are on standby to ensure facilities continue operating."

Sprint also stated "a relatively small number of cell sites are impacted due to commercial power outages but overall the network is holding up well." T-Mobile similarly noted that while there is damage to its network, it's less than the carrier saw during previous storms like Hurricane Matthew.

Verizon says that it's giving consumers in the impacted area free phone and some free data until September 8.

"Sometimes life throws the unexpected at you, and it could mean using extra data that you weren't planning on needing," Verizon said on its website. "Verizon is offering 3GB of bonus data to qualified Texas counties, so you can stay connected when it matters most."

Sprint and T-Mobile say they're providing free access to texting and phone service to users in the impacted area until September 1. Comcast also says the company has opened up its network of WiFi hotspots to provide an additional layer of access to storm victims.

It took a little longer, but AT&T Monday also acknowledged they're also doling out free bill credits.

"Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by Hurricane Harvey and all of those who have friends and family there," AT&T said in a statement. "Through at least Sept. 1, 2017, AT&T will issue credits to AT&T Wireless customers in impacted areas for additional data, voice and text charges, and AT&T PREPAID for additional voice and text charges."

Quote from: BanzaiCat on August 28, 2017, 01:20:36 PM
Verizon texted over the weekend to tell its customers in Texas they'd cover our data to our phones through September 8.

QuoteThe pickups and SUVs with Louisiana license plates started streaming into the flooded areas of Texas almost immediately after Hurricane Harvey hit. They towed with them all sorts of watercraft—airboats, duck boats, fishing skiffs, and even kayaks—and dove right in, rescuing people from stranded cars and houses amid the unprecedented and catastrophic flooding. They were all volunteers, unofficial in capacity and organized mainly through various Facebook pages. Collectively, they have become known as the "Cajun Navy."

Formed in the aftermath of 2005's Hurricane Katrina, and re-formed over and over again through more hurricanes and, most recently before Harvey, during 2016's devastating Louisiana floods, the Cajun Navy are literal life savers, and a reminder that even our darkest tragedies tend to reveal the best in humanity.

Billy Nungesser, the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, has witnessed the Cajun Navy's heroism firsthand. During Katrina, Nungesser's home parish of Plaquemines, 14 miles from the eye of the storm, experienced dangerous flooding. With most of the official response focused on New Orleans, the rescue attempt was taken up by dozens of volunteers with boats. They came to the parish and "plucked people from their roofs," Nungesser says. "They risked their lives to help their neighbors."

Seven years later, Hurricane Isaac flooded the east bank of Plaquemines. "There were many elderly people just stuck on their roofs in the middle of the storm," Nungesser says. "The Coast Guard said it was too dangerous to go out, but a man and his son went from house to house in a boat. One person drowned, but if it had not been for them, they all would have drowned."

And then in 2016, 57 of Louisiana's 64 parishes flooded. "There was no way for anybody to respond to something like that in an organized way," Nungesser says. Instead, the Cajun Navy came to the rescue again.

Nungesser points out that the airboat, the sort of unofficial boat of Louisiana, is a perfect vehicle for these types of rescues—light and able to navigate shallow water. The sportfishing mechanisms on some of them—particularly the bright searching lights used by bow fishermen—also come in handy for rescues. "They can light up a neighborhood at night like it's the daytime," he says.

And now they've headed for Texas. Nungesser estimates that hundreds of members of the Cajun Navy have left Louisiana so far. "They weren't even asked," he says. "They just hooked up their boats and headed out to go help their neighbors. These are unbelievable acts of kindness. The goodwill of American citizens never ceases to amaze me."

Quote from: bayonetbrant on August 28, 2017, 09:07:37 PM
http://gardenandgun.com/articles/the-cajun-navy-hurricane-harvey/

Quote from: mirth on August 28, 2017, 09:11:04 PM

Quote from: bayonetbrant on August 28, 2017, 09:07:37 PM
http://gardenandgun.com/articles/the-cajun-navy-hurricane-harvey/

Modern day Dunkirk.

Quote from: Gusington on August 29, 2017, 09:15:17 AM
Have you been holed up this whole time?

Quote from: Gusington on August 29, 2017, 09:23:30 AM
You'll be GH's Snake Plissken.

Quote from: mirth on August 29, 2017, 09:38:10 AM

Quote from: Gusington on August 29, 2017, 09:23:30 AM
You'll be GH's Snake Plissken.

I thought you already had that job.

Quote from: BanzaiCat on August 29, 2017, 09:48:17 AM
I expect them to handle their share of the rent, then.

Quote from: OJsDad on August 29, 2017, 02:52:01 PM
Thanks Mirth. I didnt think delta left all those planes there.

Quote from: mirth on August 29, 2017, 02:56:25 PM

Quote from: OJsDad on August 29, 2017, 02:52:01 PM
Thanks Mirth. I didnt think delta left all those planes there.

With the passengers on board :P

Quote from: bayonetbrant on August 28, 2017, 01:11:05 PM
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/anheuser-busch-sends-more-than-500k-cans-of-water-to-victims-of-hurricane-harvey/598992674


cue the jokes about "how do you know they didn't just send Budweiser?"

Quote'Cajun Navy' races from Louisiana to Texas, using boats to pay it forward

As soon as Jordy Bloodsworth saw the images of Texans wading through Hurricane Harvey's gushing floodwaters, he borrowed his buddy's brand new Chevy truck, hitched his 18-foot fishing boat to the back and took off from his home in Baton Rouge.

Bloodsworth was just 12 years old when Hurricane Katrina dumped 14 feet of water on his family's home as the storm surged over the levee. They lost every photo, every cent.

What he gained, though, was a deep motivation to help his brethren in Texas during this week's historic deluge.

He's part of a group that's known here as the "Cajun Navy," a volunteer online grassroots effort that, along with the "Cajun Coast Search and Rescue Team," roared into Pasadena, Texas, on Sunday. They came in high-clearance pickup trucks with bass boats and pirogues like the Cajun Cavalry, ready to help search and rescue efforts alongside first responders who were inundated with thousands of calls across the region.

"I was young during Katrina, and I know how it feels to lose everything," Bloodsworth said. "So being able to help others going through this situation that I have experienced, there's no way — no way — I could pass up helping."

On Monday morning in Pasadena, which was nearly inaccessible by road as it sat under deep floodwaters, Bloodsworth said there were "thousands of people in the water stuck." By midday, the flooding had gotten so bad that the rescuers got stuck, too.

"Some guys had boat troubles and had to leave their stuff, and we are saving our own team right now," Bloodsworth said in a text. But they are determined to push on.

Cajun Navy member Benji Terro, 36, and his cousin Todd Gaspard drove for more than four hours through flooded areas of Katy on Monday, helping people who were floating on air mattresses and in canoes, some of them carrying trash bags stuffed with changes of clothes and photo albums. He said they had rescued nearly 40 people so far.

"We're burning a lot of gas trying to get boots on the ground," Terro said. "But when we help people, well, that's the point, the whole thing. This is familiar ground for us. We are from Louisiana, and we know floods."

The Cajun Navy is part of an armada of private boats that have descended on the Houston area after authorities asked for help from those who could potentially navigate the treacherous floodwaters across a massive swath of southeast Texas in search of residents. Many boaters from east Texas and west Louisiana streamed to the outskirts of the disaster until they could drive no more, switching over to boats to go door-to-door seeking out the stranded.

Painful and haunting memories of Hurricane Katrina run deep in what's informally known as the "Cajun corridor," between Texas and Louisiana. During Katrina, hundreds of Texans did just what Bloodsworth did, crossed the border and even the Sabine River to help rescue teams in New Orleans.

Many families in Houston housed relatives and friends who were Katrina's victims, in some cases for months. Thousands have now made Houston home.

There are long-standing ethnic ties, and Cajun families often live across state lines and are connected by fishing and oil refinery jobs in both states. Many say these regions of Texas and Louisiana are mirror images, with the largely flat landscape dotted with oil refineries with their mazes of pipes and tanks and flare stacks burning high above them like giant torches.

"I vividly remember that many Texans came to Louisiana's aid, which was incredible to me," said Taylor Aucoin, who is in Baton Rouge working with an app called Zello that allows her and her husband to radio in rescue requests to volunteers on the ground in Texas. "I can't really describe the heartbreak that I feel now for Texans. It's a very small thing we can do from here to kind of repay the favor for the help we received last year and countless other times."

The most terrifying call they got was from a young mom of an 8-week-old baby with breathing problems. The mother tweeted asking for help for a couple of hours with no luck. She then posted that her newborn was turning blue and was not breathing. Her phone was at 2 percent.

"Someone shared the tweets and I immediately had my husband calling the Coast Guard over and over," Aucoin said. Finally he got on the Texas Search and Rescue channel on Zello, and they were able to send out boats and the Coast Guard. Last she heard, they were rescued and the baby was recovering.

Toney Wade, commander of the volunteer Cajun Coast Search and Rescue Team, stayed up to 3 a.m. and was at it again on Monday morning.

"Tired, but rolling lol," he texted. "It's just what we do for each other."

Dressed in full hunting camouflage slickers, Todd Gaspard, with the Cajun Navy, was racing into floodwaters in the Cinco Ranch neighborhood of Katy, ready to assist. He helped out during Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, at times assisting with the rescue of cows whose noses were just sticking out of the water.

On Monday, he was on his way to save a woman who had water "right at her front door fixing to come in." Gaspard said helping people like her this week is just what he knows.

"Just the way we were brought up," he said. "You help your neighbor."

Quote from: Gusington on August 29, 2017, 09:13:57 PM
Congrats BC, looks like you and your family rode out the worst of it.

Quote from: Gusington on August 30, 2017, 08:02:44 AM
Can you leave your house?

Quote from: bayonetbrant on August 30, 2017, 11:27:36 AM
Yikes!

https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2017/8/27/yes-floating-fire-ant-nests-are-a-real-thing

Quote from: mirth on August 30, 2017, 07:14:09 PM
(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/daily-morning-awesomeness-35-photos-2460.jpg?quality=85&strip=info&w=600)

QuoteA worrisome article on Huffpo by Joe Lauria about the Galveston National Laboratory, a biological research facility affected by Harvey, has been deleted. It is mentioned, cited and excerpted in the attached Esquire article as having gone incommunicado, and the article has since been pulled from HuffPo.

On Galveston Island, there is the Galveston National Laboratory, which is part of the University of Texas Medical Branch. This laboratory contains some of the most deadly biological agents found in the known world, many of them of the airborne variety. It contain several Bio-Safety Level 4 labs, which are basically the places where plagues are studied. And here's the thing, as HuffPost explains—nobody knows what's going on there at the moment:

"There has been almost no news from Galveston as journalists have reported being blocked from reaching the island because of severe flooding. There has been no reporting at all on the condition of the lab. A call to the laboratory on Tuesday immediately went to voicemail.

But the generators run on fuel that would have to be replenished. It is not known if the lab is accessible to emergency crews to refuel the generators, which are stored on the roof, according to the 2008 Times piece. "As I see it the existential problem is this: What happens if and when the fuel for the back-up generators runs out?" asked University of Illinois professor Francis Boyle, an expert in biological weapons. "The negative air pressure that keeps (the) bugs in there ends. And (the) bugs can then escape."

QuoteThe CEO of an industrial chemical company is warning that there is "no way to prevent" a large explosion and fire at their Houston plant which was flooded after Hurricane Harvey.

The Arkema plant, which produces chemicals used in making acrylic-based paints, is currently submerged under floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey which have knocked out its primary and its two backup power generators.

"And as a result, critical refrigeration needed for our materials on site is lost," said Rich Rowe, Arkema's North American operations on Wednesday, according to the Houston Chronicle.

"Materials could now explode and cause subsequent and intense fire. The high water that exists on site, and the lack of power, leave us with no way to prevent it."

The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office, which has jurisdiction over Crosby, Texas, where the plant is located, said Wednesday it is monitoring the situation.

Quote from: bayonetbrant on August 30, 2017, 08:28:25 PM
ruh roh

QuoteA worrisome article on Huffpo by Joe Lauria about the Galveston National Laboratory, a biological research facility affected by Harvey, has been deleted. It is mentioned, cited and excerpted in the attached Esquire article as having gone incommunicado, and the article has since been pulled from HuffPo.

On Galveston Island, there is the Galveston National Laboratory, which is part of the University of Texas Medical Branch. This laboratory contains some of the most deadly biological agents found in the known world, many of them of the airborne variety. It contain several Bio-Safety Level 4 labs, which are basically the places where plagues are studied. And here's the thing, as HuffPost explains—nobody knows what's going on there at the moment:

"There has been almost no news from Galveston as journalists have reported being blocked from reaching the island because of severe flooding. There has been no reporting at all on the condition of the lab. A call to the laboratory on Tuesday immediately went to voicemail.

But the generators run on fuel that would have to be replenished. It is not known if the lab is accessible to emergency crews to refuel the generators, which are stored on the roof, according to the 2008 Times piece. "As I see it the existential problem is this: What happens if and when the fuel for the back-up generators runs out?" asked University of Illinois professor Francis Boyle, an expert in biological weapons. "The negative air pressure that keeps (the) bugs in there ends. And (the) bugs can then escape."

reprint of the deleted article:
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/08/30/worries-about-a-galveston-bio-lab/ (https://consortiumnews.com/2017/08/30/worries-about-a-galveston-bio-lab/)

and

(10 years ago) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/us/29lab.html (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/us/29lab.html)

QuoteOfficials at the laboratory and at the National Institutes of Health, which along with the university is helping to pay for the $174 million building, say it can withstand any storm the Atlantic hurls at it.

Quote from: bayonetbrant on August 30, 2017, 08:11:55 PM
The contrast of the 2 furniture store owners that opened up to displaced families with Joel Osteen's "church" was very telling

Quote from: OJsDad on August 30, 2017, 09:06:59 PM

Quote from: bayonetbrant on August 30, 2017, 08:11:55 PM
The contrast of the 2 furniture store owners that opened up to displaced families with Joel Osteen's "church" was very telling

I had seen where people were upset that the church was opened for those in need of shelter, but I had also seen where there was water in the church.  Once they got that cleaned up, they then opened to those in need.  Has that been proven wrong.

Quote from: OJsDad on August 30, 2017, 09:49:44 PM
Thanks.  I hadn't seen anything about that church since yesterday.

I've seen this Osteen guy on TV a few times in the past.  Never been impressed with him.  In fact, I've never been impressed with mega churches.  We have a couple close to us.  My wife has a cousin that goes to one.  It feels more like a business.  No one knows each other.  If you leave your child in the nursery during service, you need a wristband to get them back, because those working in the nursery don't know anyone.

QuoteAt least one police officer was hospitalized after inhaling fumes following two reported explosions that rocked a flooded chemical plant outside of Houston, officials said. 

Nine deputies, who also inhaled the non-toxic irritant, drove themselves to the hospital after being near the Arkema Inc. plant in Crosby, about 25 miles northeast of Houston, FOX26 reported.

The plant lost power on Sunday amid Harvey's days-long deluge and a "series of chemical reactions" had occurred because of the lack of refrigeration for chemicals, a plant spokeswoman told The Associated Press late Wednesday. 

"The fire will happen. It will resemble a gasoline fire. It will be explosive and intense in nature," spokeswoman Janet Smith told The Associated Press late Wednesday.
There was "no way to prevent" the explosion, CEO Rich Rowe said.

People located in a 1.5-mile radius of the plant was evacuated. 

In its most recently available submission from 2014, Arkema said potentially 1.1 million residents could be affected over an area of 23 miles in a worst case, according to information compiled by a nonprofit group and posted on a website hosted by the Houston Chronicle.

But, Arkema added, it was using "multiple layers of preventative and mitigation measures" at the plant, including steps to reduce the amount of substances released, and that made the worst case "very unlikely."

Rowe told Reuters that the company has no way to prevent the explosion because the plant is swamped by six feet of water. The company did not move the chemicals, but told Reuters that it made extensive preparations.

Arkema manufactures organic peroxides, a family of compounds used for making everything from pharmaceuticals to construction materials.

"As the temperature rises, the natural state of these materials will decompose. A white smoke will result, and that will catch fire," Smith said. "So the fire is imminent. The question is when."

The company shut down the Crosby site before Harvey made landfall Friday, but a crew of 11 had stayed behind. That group was removed and residents within 1.5 miles were told to evacuate Tuesday after the plant lost power.

Harris County Fire Marshal spokeswoman Rachel Moreno said the 1.5-mile radius was developed in consultation with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other subject-matter experts. "It's a concerning situation, yes," Moreno said. "But the facility is surrounded by water right now so we don't anticipate the fire going anywhere."

The plant falls along a stretch near Houston that features one of the largest concentrations of refineries, pipelines and chemical plants in the country.

Arkema's plant is required to develop and submit a risk management plan to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, because it has large amounts of sulfur dioxide, a toxic chemical, and methylpropene, a flammable gas. The plans are supposed to detail the effects of a potential release, evaluate worst-case scenarios and explain a company's response.

Daryl Roberts, the company's vice president of manufacturing, technology and regulatory services in the Americas, did not dispute that worst-case scenario but said that assumed all the controls in place failed and strong winds blew directly toward Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city.

"We have not modeled this exact scenario but we are very comfortable with this 1.5-mile radius," Roberts told the AP. He added that it mostly resembled less serious scenarios that would affect a half-mile radius and a few dozen people.

Roberts said the vessels containing the organic peroxide are equipped with controls to slow the release of chemicals. Because of the water, he said, the chemicals will quickly vaporize, reducing the size and scope of the fire.

Quote from: OJsDad on August 31, 2017, 05:55:59 AM
Explosions at a chemical plant in Houston. 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/08/31/2-explosions-black-smoke-reported-at-chemical-plant-outside-houston.html

QuoteIn its most recently available submission from 2014, Arkema said potentially 1.1 million residents could be affected over an area of 23 miles in a worst-case scenario, according to information compiled by a nonprofit group and posted on a website hosted by The Houston Chronicle.

Quote from: OJsDad on August 31, 2017, 08:22:35 AM
There's also a hurricane forming in the Atlantic now.  Not sure where it'll hit.  As far south as Miami and north into the Carolina's. 

Quote from: BanzaiCat on September 01, 2017, 05:30:30 PM
Fuck that thing. Nasty little critters, opossums.

Quote from: mirth on September 01, 2017, 05:35:47 PM

Quote from: BanzaiCat on September 01, 2017, 05:30:30 PM
Fuck that thing. Nasty little critters, opossums.

I'm sure they're no fan of yours either

QuoteI saw a meme on Facebook today that said, "Someone needs to erect a statue honoring the regular dude with a bass boat." It was meant to be funny, but it's actually spot-on.