Hurricane Harvey Public Advisory

[Smokin Joe]

Indeed it is and this area is going to be in recovery mode for guite some time. Thankfully we suffered no real damage here.

I am glad you are safe, too.

[Bigun]

I am glad you are safe, too.

Thank you!  I'm hoping to be able to get off my hill today and see what I can do to help my neighbors.

[Smokin Joe]

Thank you!  I'm hoping to be able to get off my hill today and see what I can do to help my neighbors.

[txradioguy]

@txradioguy
@mystery-ak

IF YOU LIVE IN TEXAS:

Bob, the geologist who retired from Exxon/Mobil, says since all the oil refinery plants along the Texas coast that process gasoline are shut down, the gasoline being used now is our reserves. Bob knows where all the reserves are in Texas and Louisiana.

In Texas, trucks deliver gasoline to gas stations.  Refineries are shut down so no trucks can get gasoline from there to your area; they are having to get it from our reserves.  As of yesterday, a gallon of gasoline was 30 cents higher than it was the day before yesterday.  in other words, gasoline is less available than it was before this disaster.  You might as well fill up now before the prices go any higher, which could be today.  Bob got gasoline yesterday because he said it will get scarce due to refineries not able to function.

This disaster affects all of us in Texas.

It's already affecting us here in Kentucky too...gas has jumped .30 cents a gallon since Sunday.

[Bigun]

Bit of humor out of the flood zone this morning.  Watching tv this morning and saw the replay of a rescue that happened somewhere last night.  There is a female reporter riding along in the boat and the rescue includes an 80 year old man and several companions frm a nursing home.   When the old guy gets seated in the boat he pulls out his flask, pours a shot and passes it to one of his buds.  This repeats several times and the female reporter comments about how touching it is to see him sharing his water with the others.  The salty coon ass skipper politly tells her that he doesn't think that it's water they are drinking.

[libertybele]

It's already affecting us here in Kentucky too...gas has jumped .30 cents a gallon since Sunday.

The rise in gas is pennies ... the rise that we're going to see in insurance premiums is dollars; like hundreds of dollars and I anticipate that you will start to see insurance companies pull out of TX like they have done in FL.  Premiums for flood insurance will rise dramatically.

So...we were thinking of selling our home before all this happened and  I hate to give up our property on the water ... but we're certainly not getting any younger and after Harvey pummeling TX and it appears that another storm is on its way; I now know we're making the right decision. 

[libertybele]

Bit of humor out of the flood zone this morning.  Watching tv this morning and saw the replay of a rescue that happened somewhere last night.  There is a female reporter riding along in the boat and the rescue includes an 80 year old man and several companions frm a nursing home.   When the old guy gets seated in the boat he pulls out his flask, pours a shot and passes it to one of his buds.  This repeats several times and the female reporter comments about how touching it is to see him sharing his water with the others.  The salty coon ass skipper politly tells her that he doesn't think that it's water they are drinking.

   Way too funny!  God Bless him!  If anybody deserves a drink it's those that are enduring the hell that Harvey doled out.

[txradioguy]

The rise in gas is pennies ... the rise that we're going to see in insurance premiums is dollars; like hundreds of dollars and I anticipate that you will start to see insurance companies pull out of TX like they have done in FL.  Premiums for flood insurance will rise dramatically.

So...we were thinking of selling our home before all this happened and  I hate to give up our property on the water ... but we're certainly not getting any younger and after Harvey pummeling TX and it appears that another storm is on its way; I now know we're making the right decision.

I seriously doubt you'll see insurance companies pull out of Texas.  If they haven't after some of the hurricane's and tornadoes we've had hit the state in the past...I don't see them doing it now.

[Bigun]

So much for getting off my hill.  River between me and town is still far out of banks  and DPS on scene to make sure no one is dumb enough to try.

[Bigun]

  Way too funny!  God Bless him!  If anybody deserves a drink it's those that are enduring the hell that Harvey doled out.

   if I'd been there I would have joined them!

[Smokin Joe]

I seriously doubt you'll see insurance companies pull out of Texas.  If they haven't after some of the hurricane's and tornadoes we've had hit the state in the past...I don't see them doing it now.

Why would they?
They will reassess the low lying area risks and raise rates some, but Harvey will be salesman of the year when this is over.
People well above 500 year flood plains will be seeking insurance after having been bit this time, and that will mean a far larger pool of insureds, some of which will be low risk in an actuarial sense.

It was an unprecedented set of circumstances (blocked by two high pressure systems) that stalled the storm on the coast where it could gather moisture and energy and dump that on land, without moving through.

Those who got hit hard this time will be seeking policies as well, so I expect that when things are more normal, there will be a bigger market for insurance than ever. 

[austingirl]

This is so far from over and I mean just the flooding. Water continues to rise and more mandatory evacuations north of Houston.

Also evacuations in Beaumont and Port Arthur. Watching footage of flooded shelter in Port Arthur.

Good to see @thackney @Bigun @LadyLiberty @Elderberry checking in. Prayers for you and everyone affected.

[txradioguy]

It's a real shame this has to be put out but...

Houston: Brace yourselves for scam artists. Use reputable, verifiable sources with references. Check the Better Business Bureau. Take pictures of the people you hire. Document everything. Hide your valuables. I'm sure some of y'all have more suggestions to add. Bottom line: be skeptical!! Be thorough!!

And if you leave stuff in your car, hide it in the trunk or under the seats. If people see a gym bag or anything remotely valuable, they will bust your window to grab it. Be smart.

[Smokin Joe]

It's a real shame this has to be put out but...

Bears repeating.

The area will be inundated by fly by night contractors who do crappy work, too. (Building materials will be at a premium as well).

Houston: Brace yourselves for scam artists. Use reputable, verifiable sources with references. Check the Better Business Bureau. Take pictures of the people you hire. Document everything. Hide your valuables. I'm sure some of y'all have more suggestions to add. Bottom line: be skeptical!! Be thorough!!

And if you leave stuff in your car, hide it in the trunk or under the seats. If people see a gym bag or anything remotely valuable, they will bust your window to grab it. Be smart.

[Elderberry]

Getting back to semi?-normal. My wife and son-in-law have made it back to work. Where my daughter works, they are having network problems, so they haven't put the call out to come in if you can. Where my son-in-law works, they wanted everyone to come in yesterday. Only the supervisor and one other came in. My daughter cringes every time she opens her work email.
She works in insurance, the commercial side. Only 2 claims so far for her.

[libertybele]

Praise the Lord!  Texas gospel singer's powerful voice lifts spirits in Houston hurricane shelter.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuBQLiuGQvY

[Sanguine]

Praise be!

[AllThatJazzZ]

Because it's Texas, baby!

[attachment deleted by admin]

[austingirl]

Because it's Texas, baby!

Amazing!

[Victoria33]

@libertybele

You said, "The rise in gas is pennies ..."

The point of my post was there WON'T BE MUCH GASOLINE, and getting it to your gas station is "iffy", not that the price is going up.  If you can fill your car now while the station still has gasoline, do it.

[Smokin Joe]

@libertybele

You said, "The rise in gas is pennies ..."

The point of my post was there WON'T BE MUCH GASOLINE, and getting it to your gas station is "iffy", not that the price is going up.  If you can fill your car now while the station still has gasoline, do it.

It isn't unusual for the price to spike to unusually high levels in situations like this in the affected area ($5/gallon) which discourages people from purchasing gas they don't really need. This has been seen before, and while there was howling about price gouging, there remained some gas supply for running pumps and generators and the like.

[Victoria33]

Overall, it will take a couple weeks of longer for the refineries which have shut down to re start, possibly longer depending on damage and how long it takes for the water to go down.

@Smokin Joe

Joe, you are wrong on this one.  I lived 15/20 miles from Texas City for 20 years and that is where the refineries are on the Galveston Bay.

The refineries are flooded out AND there are NO employees to go to work there.  The employees are in shelters with no home to go to.  There is no food in any store in that area as the food stores are flooded out and no one knows how long it will take to open even one store when it is rebuilt. There is no drinkable water in that area since water sources are contaminated. 

No gasoline is coming out of Texas for a long time.

[Ghost Bear]

@libertybele

You said, "The rise in gas is pennies ..."

The point of my post was there WON'T BE MUCH GASOLINE, and getting it to your gas station is "iffy", not that the price is going up.  If you can fill your car now while the station still has gasoline, do it.

Heard on the radio this morning, there are reports of gas stations in San Antonio that are completely out of gas.  Also reports of gas stations around Austin that have some grades of gas but are out of other grades (premium grade, mostly.)

[Bigun]

@Smokin Joe

@Victoria33

Joe, you are wrong on this one.  I lived 15/20 miles from Texas City for 20 years and that is where the refineries are on the Galveston Bay.

The refineries are flooded out AND there are NO employees to go to work there.  The employees are in shelters with no home to go to.  There is no food in any store in that area as the food stores are flooded out and no one knows how long it will take to open even one store when it is rebuilt. There is no drinkable water in that area since water sources are contaminated. 

No gasoline is coming out of Texas for a long time.

I'm sorry to have to inform you that it is you who is wrong here.  There are many refineries in Texas other than the ONE (BP)at Texas city.  Gasoline is flowing out of Texas in copious quantities as we speak and more production capacity will be back on line very quickly.

[Smokin Joe]

@Smokin Joe

Joe, you are wrong on this one.  I lived 15/20 miles from Texas City for 20 years and that is where the refineries are on the Galveston Bay.

The refineries are flooded out AND there are NO employees to go to work there.  The employees are in shelters with no home to go to.  There is no food in any store in that area as the food stores are flooded out and no one knows how long it will take to open even one store when it is rebuilt. There is no drinkable water in that area since water sources are contaminated. 

No gasoline is coming out of Texas for a long time.

Thank you for correcting my time frame. I guess "or longer" was more accurate, but that is longer than I had thought. I figured the refiners would be pumping out and getting things back on line as soon as possible, but as you have pointed out there are serious complications for the workforce, too.  From the time they are ready to start up, it will take a week to get things up and running again, and that is after all is repaired and cleaned up and the crews are back on the job.