Houston

[JDNSW]

"Houston, we have a problem", or more accurately, Houston has a problem.

I have a brother has lived in Houston for the last forty years, hence I take a bit of an interest. His home is (so far) OK, the last time I talked to him, the water had been over the sidewalk in front of the house, but had gone down now until the kerb was showing. But it is still raining - there have been a few breaks in the rain, but none for more than half an hour or so.

The worry he has of course is that before it was a builtup area, his housing subdivision was used for growing rice, which may give some idea of the terrain. There is no realistic prospect of being able to safely go anywhere - you only have to travel no more than a few blocks at most in any direction before coming to a location where the water over the road is too deep. So far his power and phone remain working, and he expects this to continue - last hurricane they lost power for a couple of days, but this time they missed most of the winds, so there are no powerlines down in his area - and most of the local network is underground.

Yesterday he had a tornado warning for his area, but saw nothing, and the rain was so heavy that they could not hear even any thunder - tornadoes are associated with thunderstorms.

[bsperka]

"Houston, we have a problem", or more accurately, Houston has a problem.

I have a brother has lived in Houston for the last forty years, hence I take a bit of an interest. His home is (so far) OK, the last time I talked to him, the water had been over the sidewalk in front of the house, but had gone down now until the kerb was showing. But it is still raining - there have been a few breaks in the rain, but none for more than half an hour or so.

The worry he has of course is that before it was a builtup area, his housing subdivision was used for growing rice, which may give some idea of the terrain. There is no realistic prospect of being able to safely go anywhere - you only have to travel no more than a few blocks at most in any direction before coming to a location where the water over the road is too deep. So far his power and phone remain working, and he expects this to continue - last hurricane they lost power for a couple of days, but this time they missed most of the winds, so there are no powerlines down in his area - and most of the local network is underground.

Yesterday he had a tornado warning for his area, but saw nothing, and the rain was so heavy that they could not hear even any thunder - tornadoes are associated with thunderstorms.The director of Apollo 13, Ron Howard, changed it to "Houston we have a problem". At 02 07 55 35 into the journey Swigert actually said "Houston, we've had a problem". He was stating a fact, not an opinion, as he had a career as a test pilot. Hollywood rewrote history again.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

so, did swigert **** up?

[bob10]

The rain is the problem. The storm has moved offshore, and is expected to move back onto the coast.

Flooded Houston Braces for More Rain as Harvey Rescues Continue - NBC News (https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/hurricane-harvey/flooded-houston-braces-more-rain-rescues-continue-n796476?cid=eml_nbn_20170828)

[JDNSW]

The rain is the problem. The storm has moved offshore, and is expected to move back onto the coast.

Flooded Houston Braces for More Rain as Harvey Rescues Continue - NBC News (https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/hurricane-harvey/flooded-houston-braces-more-rain-rescues-continue-n796476?cid=eml_nbn_20170828)

Yes. My brother said this morning they have had around thirty inches (760mm) since Friday night (Saturday morning our time). And it is still raining, although not heavily. They are expecting somewhere near the same amount on top of this over the next few days. They have just started to release water from the flood control dam near his house to stop the water overtopping the dam. And this water will go into the already flooded bayou (creek) that runs through downtown.

[weeds]

Thanks for the update John.....

I'm assuming your brother has evacuated??

[JDNSW]

No - he is not expecting to get flooded, as he lives on what passes for a hill in Houston - probably about a metre above the general terrain over about a kilometre, and the general area is the highest point in the local drainage pattern. The worst was the very heavy rain, where the rate of rainfall meant that the water was above the footpath, but it has now dropped to below kerb level, and unless there is very heavy rain again, which is not expected, it should not get that high again. His area is not going to be flooded by water from anywhere else.

However, he now has his sister in law and her cat, as they had a compulsory evacuation from her house a few miles away. The sister in law's husband is in hospital recovering from pneumonia, and his hospital has been evacuated to another facility.

[JDNSW]

Got an email this morning - still not flooded, and still raining, but it is lighter. Alief, just west of him has had 34 inches or 864mm since Friday. League City, on the seaward side of Houston, where his other sister in law lives, has had 42 inches or 1067mm.

[87County]

they're certainly big quantities of rain JD, at least he's still OK :)

[VladTepes]

hehe I was going to say "There are hills in Houston?" but I see you've clarified it.

[DiscoMick]

Glad he is OK. Certainly serious flooding.

Meanwhile in other flood news 500 plus people have died in India and numerous more in other countries in the annual monsoon flooding, which seems to be getting more extreme each year. Bet that's not on American TV.

[JDNSW]

I think that the reasons for the difference in news coverage are twofold - firstly language, cultural, historical, political and business connections, and secondly the difference that as you say, the monsoon is annual, where in Houston, hurricanes, although a common event, are certainly nothing like annual, and, moreover, the rainfall from Harvey is not only unprecedented locally, but sets new records for rainfall in a single event for all of the USA. In other words, Harvey is a 'one off', where the monsoon floods are regular.

But undoubtedly, we see more news about those places that as Australians we have connections with, for a variety of reasons, although I suspect that SBS may have more to say about the monsoon flooding than is seen on the mainstream channels.

[Zeros]

Glad he's ok too.

While comparisons certainly don't value any one life over another, it is very sobering to note that the India, Nepal and Bangladesh death toll is now more than 1200! Tropical storm Harvey in US, death toll 26.

The Guardian does s fairly good job:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/30/mumbai-paralysed-by-floods-as-india-and-region-hit-by-worst-monsoon-rains-in-years

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2017/aug/30/tropical-storm-harvey-news-live-louisiana-texas

[DiscoMick]

Yes, good points above.
I hadn't heard the 1200 figure, but I'm not surprised.
Our son is off to Sri Lanka on Friday so he may get his feet wet.
I did actually see the Indian floods on the ABC, so it and SBS are giving time to our region. The commercials are another story.
I guess although monsoons are annual, they do seem to be getting worse. I remember from our time in Bangkok that parts of the city, where the poor people lived, would flood every year. There are gates on the foreshore on the south side of Bangkok holding back the rising water of the bay from flooding the city.
Houston is an oil city of course and vehicle emissions are contributing to global warming so it is coming back to bite them.

[JDNSW]

I talked to my brother on the phone a few minutes ago. He is doing fine, still got his sister in law with them. His daughter went to work yesterday - freeways are out of action, but using other streets worked - for a meeting of managers to assess what to do. His wife is planning to go to work tomorrow (actually they are a day behind us) for a similar meeting - but as far as she can find out the office building has no power, and one of her key staff, sent a text about the meeting, responded with a text showing the road just away from the house on the way to the office, that looks like a river.

Another interesting issue - as a geophysicist, I follow the industry activities. The Society of Exploration Geophysicists is scheduled to hold their annual meeting in Houston in three weeks time. One of the largest regular conferences in the USA, it is impossible to move at this short notice, and the only alternative would be to cancel it - but up to about ten thousand delegates are expected, and most of these would have already paid for attendance, booked airline flights from all over the world, and made hotel bookings. But right now, the conference centre is home to about ten thousand evacuees! Glad it is not my problem.

[DiscoMick]

Hopefully the water will have gone down in three weeks and people will have left to go home. Otherwise, I guess the conference sessions might have larger crowds than normal!

[bob10]

A consequence of the floods , far reaching, and not really thought about.

World's most crucial chemical suddenly in short supply on Harvey (http://www.msn.com/en-au/money/markets/worlds-most-crucial-chemical-suddenly-in-short-supply-on-harvey/ar-AAr6B7m?li=AA54Gb&ocid=spartandhp)

[bob10]

Another unexpected consequence.

Raft of floating FIRE ANTS in Hurricane Harvey flood waters is mesmerising - but terrifyingly dangerous (http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/techandscience/raft-of-floating-fire-ants-in-hurricane-harvey-flood-waters-is-mesmerising-but-terrifyingly-dangerous/ar-AAqXHGd?ocid=spartandhp)

[bob10]

More news, and it is not good.

Two new tropical threats are taking shape in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean (http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/two-new-tropical-threats-are-taking-shape-in-the-gulf-of-mexico-and-atlantic-ocean/ar-AAr53Sb?li=AA5249&ocid=spartandhp)

[ramblingboy42]

My bro in law is right in the path of this one.

Havent heard from him yet.

[bob10]

There are now 3 hurricanes swirling around in the Atlantic Ocean (http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/there-are-now-3-hurricanes-swirling-around-in-the-atlantic-ocean/ar-AArpqdz?li=AA4RE4&ocid=spartandhp)

[trout1105]

Maybe its "Karma" because of Trumps pull out of the Paris accord [bigwhistle]

[bob10]

Maybe its "Karma" because of Trumps pull out of the Paris accord [bigwhistle]

Climate change? what climate change? Famous last words.

25 Most Famous Last Words Ever Uttered (http://list25.com/25-most-famous-last-words-ever-uttered/)

[JDNSW]

The conference I mentioned in #15 has been confirmed as definitely going ahead.

[bob10]

And then there were three.

Jose now Category 2 hurricane, seen a major storm on Friday: NHC (http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/jose-now-category-2-hurricane-seen-a-major-storm-on-friday-nhc/ar-AArtdtu?li=AA4RE4&ocid=spartandhp)

[bob10]

As Irma approaches, hurricane Katia is threatening Veracruz, Mexico. Irma is a worry. EDIT. Amazing footage of fire fighters fighting a house fire up to their waists in water, and not enough water pressure to the hydrant.

Hurricane Irma ravages Caribbean islands as Florida nervously awaits historic storm’s wrath (http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/hurricane-irma-ravages-caribbean-islands-as-florida-nervously-awaits-historic-storm%E2%80%99s-wrath/ar-AArtn4f?li=AA4RE4&ocid=spartandhp)

[DiscoMick]

Certainly a serious situation.
In other weather news, one-third of Bangladesh is under water ...

[NavyDiver]

Bangladesh and other places in real strife (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-07/disease-fears-as-floods-destroy-100000-houses-in-bangladesh/8881510)

One wild boys RIP (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-08/barbados-surfer-zander-venezia-dies-hurricane-irma/8884548) (Barbados surfer Zander Venezia dies in massive swell)

It is interesting that Huston is now fake news (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2017/08/28/no-the-shark-picture-isnt-real-a-running-list-of-harveys-viral-hoaxes/?utm_term=.b226f01bdfe1) AKA cow poo as well as past real news/

[V8Ian]

The conference I mentioned in #15 has been confirmed as definitely going ahead.
Better take your gummies John, and a couple of bottles of drinking water. [wink11]

[bob10]

In a few months it will be our turn. Hope the trend for bigger better storms doesn't continue.[bigsad]

[NavyDiver]

In a few months it will be our turn. Hope the trend for bigger better storms doesn't continue.[bigsad]

In a Warming World, the Storms May Be Fewer But Stronger : Feature Articles (https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/ClimateStorms/page2.php) NASA data and explanation on temperature changes and storm strength
Then look at 1910 to 2016 sea surface temps in QLD (http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/change/timeseries.cgi?graph=tmean&area=qld&season=0112&ave_yr=0) [bigsad][bigsad]

PS I just checked every other Australian map. That was very depressing!

[bob10]

In a Warming World, the Storms May Be Fewer But Stronger : Feature Articles (https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/ClimateStorms/page2.php) NASA data and explanation on temperature changes and storm strength
Then look at 1910 to 2016 sea surface temps in QLD (http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/change/timeseries.cgi?graph=tmean&area=qld&season=0112&ave_yr=0) [bigsad][bigsad]

PS I just checked every other Australian map. That was very depressing!

Yeah, the seasons are changing. We didn't have a winter, as such, my mango tree blossomed about two months earlier than normal, the box jelly fish are seen further south than usual, you don't have to be a scientist to see things are changing. Brisbane may be in the cyclone zone permanently , some say. Oh well, I love the tropics, looks like they are coming to me, other than me to them. A good generator is on the list, along with getting the cyclone kit up & running. Haven't had to do that since Darwin. Be Prepared.

[bob10]

An answer to a question, could be argued against, but stubborn bull headed arguments against are perhaps ill advised.

Tropical Cyclone Trends (http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/climatology/trends.shtml)

[trog]

Yeah, the seasons are changing. We didn't have a winter, as such, my mango tree blossomed about two months earlier than normal, the box jelly fish are seen further south than usual, you don't have to be a scientist to see things are changing. Brisbane may be in the cyclone zone permanently , some say. Oh well, I love the tropics, looks like they are coming to me, other than me to them. A good generator is on the list, along with getting the cyclone kit up & running. Haven't had to do that since Darwin. Be Prepared.

But I don't like mangos, will avos get cheaper ?

[bob10]

But I don't like mangos, will avos get cheaper ?

Don't worry, I have an AVO tree, only another 6 years and I'll corner the market.

[DiscoMick]

We have a big ago tree too. Bears prolifically - the dogs eat the fallen ones.
We just had to do a major pick because the tree is stressed from lack of rain plus it is trying to flower while also supporting too many avos.
So it is smashed avos at our chateau.

[trog]

I wish there were some up my way like that. Went to the farmers market on Sunday , and most avo s were small and very ripe , not to mention a bit pricey.