Before and after of Houston freeway today

[dixiegrrrrl]

Before storm:



Today:

[Wounded Bear]

1. Those below grade roads make great rivers, don't they...

Gonna be a rough road forward for Texas.

[L. Coyote]

16. Looks like good fishing now.

Link to tweet

[L. Coyote]

19. This is US 59, a major #Houston freeway. 228 is a waterfall.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[trc]

39. these are not below grade, the overpass is built up

Houston is flat, and just slightly above sea level, and has a port to the Gulf. This is just the topography of Houston. There is no where for this amount of water to go, simple as that.

[ananda]

48. Houston has all that fucking concrete too.

I left Houston 10 years ago because I could see how
the flooding kept getting worse.

My thoughts and prayers are with the Houston metro area
but I'm so glad I moved out I can't tell you.

[MineralMan]

2. That was predictable. Uff da!

[USALiberal]

29. .....OK nt

[jeffreyi]

3. O shit o dear

Geez. That's graphic. Was flood drainage part of the design?

[sweetloukillbot]

4. It could be

In Phoenix the freeway underpasses were designed as storm drainage.

[MineralMan]

5. Right. I think that may be the case in Houston, as well.

Turn the freeways into rivers during a flood and move the water out of the city. If that's the case, it's a fairly smart move.

[dixiegrrrrl]

43. Except for....

The red ❗️'s are rivers and streams in Houston that are currently overflowing their banks.
Record or near-record levels everywhere.

Link to tweet

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. Dunno about the design.

I have read that the storm was moving at about 1 mile per hour, and is supposed to be in the area for 4-5 days. NO flood drains can handle that much water. Plus we build cities with a lot of concrete, etc so the soil cannot soak up water.
Tropical storms can dump unbelievable amounts of water, like being in a car wash.

We have gotten 3-4 inches an hour from them, but they were moving on, not sitting in one place like this one, which makes it so very very bad.

[Scarsdale]

12. Are you in a reasonably safe place?

Those photos are horrific. What a disaster for everyone. The first responders have their hands full, they need all available resources.

[dixiegrrrrl]

23. No worries, I am in South Ala. where I live.

Wanted to share what our friends and family are up against in the Hurricane zone.

When you live in the Gulf of Mexico states, everyone understands what it is like to go thru one of these disasters, and our hearts do ache for east Texans this week.

[Adrahil]

6. WOW.

Those folks are gonna need a lot of help.

[The Conductor]

15. WOW

Too bad they have the caring and empathetic DJ Trump and his gang of know-nothing dim bulbs to rely upon, isn't it? Trump just tweeted that all is going well. Not exactly correct for the 30-40 missing in just one small Texas town.

Showing incredible empathy, Donny's off on vacation again, playing golf at Camp David...

[Stonepounder]

22. Well, just hunker down and read a good book, like 'Cop Under Fire'.

That's how to contend with an emergency.

(If needed: )

[NJCher]

46. well, there is this

Showing incredible empathy, Donny's off on vacation again, playing golf at Camp David...

before the storm hit, he wished them a "good luck!"



Cher

[MFM008]

52. Don't worry..be happy!!

Soon BLOTUS will rush down there to hand out much needed playdough!!

[dixiegrrrrl]

54. Actually. no golf course at camp david.

So he is either there for something else
or
he snuck away from there to a golf course.

[bdtrppr6]

7. dayyyuummm

that's a lot of water.

[SonofDonald]

9. Oh my crud!

If you look at the red tractor heading under the sign you'll realize that there's around 8 feet of water on the highway if not more, damn that's a lot of h2o.

[dixiegrrrrl]

44. "This event is unprecedented & all impacts are unknown & beyond anything experienced."

Texas Tribune today.

( same could be said for Pres. Voldemort)

[ornotna]

50. Closer to 10 to 12 feet

Those signs are usually at least 16 feet above grade. That is a lot of water.

[aeromanKC]

10. No Worries!! Trump Tweets All is going Well.

But of course not so much for the 30-40 that are reported being missing and 5 confirmed dead.

[Scarsdale]

13. He means for himself!!

Must have been golfing, I would guess.

[dixiegrrrrl]

24. Had not heard the latest death totals

thanks for the info.
surely that will not be all, tho. Most areas still dangerous to check out.

[yallerdawg]

11. Good samaritans with boats are looking for people to rescue!

Lots and lots of people in flooded homes not getting help or relief.

Houston is a Democratic community, by the way! Not Trump Country!

[ellie]

14. Oh my god!

[MrScorpio]

17. Time for a boat race!

[evemac]

18. so worried for my hometown

That picture is almost unbelievable.

[uponit7771]

20. MY WIFE AND KIDS ARE STUCK IN THIS AREA!! She just called 1 min ago !!! Does anyone know

... how they are evacuating parts of Houston?!

Thx in advance for any input on this matter

[txwhitedove]

25. On news just now they said if you have a 2nd story, go there! Meaning

emergency rescues for ground level now. Try this link for shelters, closed roads, etc. http://google.org/crisismap/2017-harvey

[uponit7771]

27. thx !!!

[dixiegrrrrl]

26. OMG....you must be frantic.

Google "Houston rescue" or "Houston Red Cross" or see if you can call police there for teh info.
Good sign that she called, means there is phone connection, and she is safe.
also check out Houston weather report, might be the storm is not not reaching there now?

[Squinch]

32. Can they get to a higher floor, and do they have food and water? It isn't

looking like evacuation is going to happen any time soon, I'm sorry to say.

Let us know. I know you must be so worried.

[uponit7771]

33. Yes, they're going to second story house now

[Squinch]

34. They should be OK on a second story. If you can communicate with them, tell them not

to go out to flooded streets and if they have to go to the attic, they should bring an axe with them.

Hang in there.

[uponit7771]

41. update, they can't get to second story house ... water too deep

[blaze]

55. Has the been another update uponit? Keep thinking about you

[uponit7771]

56. Yes, thank you so much ... link inside ... they police on boats have come by but they're lower

... priority right now seeing there is some receding of water and there are people LITERALLY sitting on tops of cars waiting to be rescued.

There is literally a list from 911 that is being coordinated with 911

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029521298

[blaze]

57. Oh good!!

Just knowing that the police know that they're there has to be a huge relief for you. Bet you can't wait to get your arms around them.

[Squinch]

58. How is it going? Have they been rescued yet?

[uponit7771]

60. They are 300 on the list, there are litterally people still on their cars

[Squinch]

61. Does it seem like they're safe till the help comes?

[uponit7771]

62. Yes, the water is receding in their area

[Squinch]

63. I'm so glad. I hope you can get some sleep tonight. Hang in there.

[uponit7771]

65. Yeap, they're waiting on the Cajun navy ... we spend how much on our military?!

[Squinch]

66. I know. Thank God those guys are on the way. Let us know when they get out.

[uponit7771]

67. will do

[Squinch]

77. How's the family?

[uponit7771]

78. water receded, they're trying to get the hell out of dodge

[Squinch]

79. Are they on the move?

[uponit7771]

81. Nope, they're not in danger like everyone else so they're searching for a way out with the car

... right now.

If not they're stuck till all recedes

[Squinch]

80. How is your family? Are they out yet?

[Squinch]

37. My cousin is in the west part of the town. She says she is confident that her second floor will

be a good place even with another day or two of rain. She's not on particularly high ground, so hopefully your loved ones are in the same kind of place.

[dgibby]

38. They are urging that everyone

shelter in place. They're also saying that if you have to go into your attic, take an ax with you in case you have to make a hole in the roof. Also, they're recommending that you go to the roof and not the attic-all lessons learned from Katrina. Roads are impassible-only means of transportation is by boat in many areas. If she's trapped and it's a life threatening emergency, she should call 911 and stay on the line. They are being inundated with calls, so they are taking them as they come in. Hoping for all the best for you and your family.

BTW, the weather channel is all over this and is providing lots of helpful info.

[dgibby]

40. Harris Co (Houston) officials

are holding a press conference now (Weather Channel).

[Corvo Bianco]

21. Shit.

[txwhitedove]

28. Thanks, seeing some of those pics on news. I am in Spring, north Harris County,

Our schools were closed Friday, and now closed for Monday and Tuesday. I can get to work in Houston right now, but probably not tomorrow.

[MrPurple]

30. I'm glad climate change is just a Chinese hoax

[BarbD]

31. An unimaginable disaster.

I can't imagine the extreme difficulty of the logistics in dealing first with rescue, then after the rain stops, the clean-up. They will be dealing with unsafe water, mold, mud, disease. Getting back to any kind of normal will be herculean task. This is way beyond any kind of disaster plan.

[George II]

35. I've been in Houston during just a five or six hour heavy rain - half the city goes under water...

I can't imagine how bad it is there today.

[heaven05]

36. whoa

but no real surprise global warming=extreme weather events. Now if a once in the lifetime event starts happening on a regular basis....well that's proof to me. How deep is that water? 12-20 feet?

[nolabels]

42. Are you sure that isn't the Houston River?

[dixiegrrrrl]

53. It is now....n/t

[txwhitedove]

45. UPDATE: Spring schools closed until Tuesday Sept 5th!

[SunSeeker]

47. Wow.

[Mountain Mule]

49. Dang! My prayers go out for the folks in E. Texas!

[vkkv]

51. Nope, Sorry, FAKE NEWS !!!

[TheBlackAdder]

59. Was this intended to act as an emergency water canal, in such an event? LA has dedicated ones.

.

Designing the roadways to be lower than ground level might act to divert as much water away from the city, in the event of major flooding. We all remember the movies Grease and Terminator, where there are races in the Los Angeles ones. For the most part, they are dry, but take up a lot of real estate. By designing roadways to be dual purpose, it addresses both issues.

.

[dixiegrrrrl]

69. Dunno what they intended.

Problem is, Houston, a boom and bust city, has sprawled so much by now, by building on top of land which would have helped soak up a lot of water, and apparently is not big on city planning around all that new growth.
The other problem to add to this as a perfect storm is officials told people they did not have to evacuate, and many long time residents who DID try to evacuate during Hurricane Rita years ago sat in gridlock during the storm, so they were not anxious to do it again.

the part I don't get is that hurricanes do not develop overnight, there is time to do an orderly evacuation, at least for the most fragile of people who would otherwise suffer.

Tis true tho that Harvey picked up a lot of power just before hitting....which proves how damn unpredictable they are.

I had to suddenly flee my house when a hurricane changed direction at 2 am while we all slept.
Very lucky to have the capability to get out. When I turned on the news and saw it was now heading for me, the water in the yard was just starting to puddle. Half an hour later, it was at my ankles when I got into the car. Heavy rain, low area..does not take much time.
the wind dropped 8 trees on the house..it was a rental, could not even get into it for 4 days.

lesson learned..don't mess around wit these things.

[BruceWane]

71. Hurricanes aren't quite that predictable

The population of the Houston metro area is 6.6 million. You don't really get a solid idea of where a hurricane is coming in until 2-3 days out, max.

There ain't no such thing as an orderly evacuation for that many people in that time frame.. The only attempt at such an undertaking occurred here during Rita, and as you hinted, it was an absolute failure. Far more people died in the failed evacuation than from the storm itself.

And hey, just a reminder everybody - the hurricane didn't make landfall here! It came in almost 200 miles down the coast!!

[Delphinus]

64. Oh my!

Speechless.

[R B Garr]

68. That is just unimaginable!

Scary!

[A HERETIC I AM]

70. "There was 126 of us living in shoe box in middle of road"

"And every morning we had to get up and lick road clean w' tongue"

[bluecollar2]

72. you were lucky

We used to dream of licking the road clean with our tongues...

[A HERETIC I AM]

73. Then we got evicted from our shoe box. We had to go live in a lake.

Under an overpass.

[bluecollar2]

74. luxury...

An overpass was for the rich...

[VOX]

75. It's turned that sunken freeway into a canal.

That is a LOT of water.

[Zen Democrat]

76. Trump won't help Houston. Houston is a solid liberal Democratic city.

As is Austin.
As is Dallas.
As is San Antonio.

There's this huge hunk of Texas that's rural. That's the problem.

Houston will survive and thrive because Houston has the friendliest people in the world, from all over the world, and homegrown like me.