Hurricane Harvey Public Advisory

[austingirl]

Some friends and a large group from my church made such a difference this weekend.  They got out all the wet carpet and nearly all the sheetrock. 

We have a large amount of built-in cabinets.  I finally lined up a contractor to finish the tear-out, including a fireplace, extended brick hearth, tub, tile, shower.  They likely will save the kitchen granite but no promises.

Once we get that out, the heavy-duty mold prevention treatment, we can likely start living upstairs as the reconstruction begins.

 

[roamer_1]

Once we get that out, the heavy-duty mold prevention treatment, we can likely start living upstairs as the reconstruction begins.

Sounds like a great gain! So by now you know... Is it 'living upstairs' till Turkey Day, Christmas, or worse?

[thackney]

Sounds like a great gain! So by now you know... Is it 'living upstairs' till Turkey Day, Christmas, or worse?

I would bet worse.  From past experience with friends 9 months for that much rebuild during hundreds of thousands of homes be rebuilt is optimistic.

[catfish1957]

I would bet worse.  From past experience with friends 9 months for that much rebuild during hundreds of thousands of homes be rebuilt is optimistic.

We took on $120K of damage during Rita.  It was about 5 or 6 months before some semblance of normalcy.

The biggest challenge is competing for contractor resources.

[thackney]

We took on $120K of damage during Rita.  It was about 5 or 6 months before some semblance of normalcy.

The biggest challenge is competing for contractor resources.

Initial assessment by the Flood Adjuster was we would max out our $250k policy, and the $50k for contents.

[catfish1957]

Initial assessment by the Flood Adjuster was we would max out our $250k policy, and the $50k for contents.

Sorry to hear that Thackney.  I sure you will be having a little talk with your primary agent

[roamer_1]

I would bet worse.  From past experience with friends 9 months for that much rebuild during hundreds of thousands of homes be rebuilt is optimistic.

I see down thread your estimated costs... And that you will bottom out your insurance. I am very sorry for your losses. Lets hope for a wonderful 4th of July christening, eh?

This too shall pass, brother, it surely will.

[thackney]

I see down thread your estimated costs... And that you will bottom out your insurance. I am very sorry for your losses. Lets hope for a wonderful 4th of July christening, eh?

This too shall pass, brother, it surely will.

It is still early in the process.  Some of the content loss is a bit of hoarder mentality in the garage, extra appliances, duplication of tools, etc.  Receiving value but not replacing will help balance some of that.

On the structure, our house was a nice home when built in the 1970s, filled with built-in cabinets in 8 rooms.  We won't rebuild with all those at this time.  The wrap around desk area continuous with the gun cabinet was cool for my office.  I may have basic furniture and shelves to replace it.

And now as everything is being stripped to the studs, we are looking around and thinking things like:  Do we need that wall? etc...

It will work out.  This isn't a devastation loss for us, just a large change and process to go through.  We will manage.

[roamer_1]

It is still early in the process.  Some of the content loss is a bit of hoarder mentality in the garage, extra appliances, duplication of tools, etc.  Receiving value but not replacing will help balance some of that.

[...]

It will work out.  This isn't a devastation loss for us, just a large change and process to go through.  We will manage.

Oh, I am sure you will... It's just gonna be a giant PIA. That is nothing against your fortitude and management.

A bug in your ear: It might be that you could get with your neighbors and buy truckloads from up north... A handy guy like you might turn your bottom line toward the green. Availability and lower prices... Jussayin.

[thackney]

Oh, I am sure you will... It's just gonna be a giant PIA. That is nothing against your fortitude and management.

A bug in your ear: It might be that you could get with your neighbors and buy truckloads from up north... A handy guy like you might turn your bottom line toward the green. Availability and lower prices... Jussayin.

My wife and I are already in agreement, we will take our time. We can walk on concrete and use a crockpot, we don't have to rush building everything.  Try to get what we want rather than getting something fast.

[RoosGirl]

My wife and I are already in agreement, we will take our time. We can walk on concrete and use a crockpot, we don't have to rush building everything.  Try to get what we want rather than getting something fast.

Definitely!  Try to think back to when you moved in the house and discovered little hassles in design that you worked around and/or have gotten used to over the years.  Maybe you'll have some cash left over for a bigger water dam ;)

[Elderberry]

Air Force planes to spray Harris County for mosquitoes

http://www.kxxv.com/story/36358190/air-force-planes-to-spray-harris-county-for-mosquitoes

Harris County officials say Air Force Reserve cargo planes will be spraying much the county beginning Thursday to combat the mosquito threat left by Harvey's heavy rains and floodwaters.

Modified C-130 planes from Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio are to spray about 600,000 acres in roughly the northern and southern thirds of the county.

The county says the aerial spraying operation supplements similar mosquito-fighting efforts being made on the ground.

The insecticide being used is Dibrom, which officials say is Environmental Protection Agency approved and routinely used to combat mosquito-borne disease.

Harris County Public Health Executive Director Dr. Umair Shah says the goal is to reduce the effects of mosquitoes on recovery efforts and address the possibility of a future increase in mosquito-borne disease.

[thackney]

Air Force planes to spray Harris County for mosquitoes

Brazoria County has been "warning" us that military aircraft are being used for mosquitoes.

I initially thought the mosquitoes had got so bad they were using Puff the Magic Dragon.

[Wingnut]

Brazoria County has been "warning" us that military aircraft are being used for mosquitoes.

I initially thought the mosquitoes had got so bad they were using Puff the Magic Dragon.

Douglas AC-47 Spooky!  lol

[Elderberry]

They said Modified C-130.

[GrouchoTex]

I know that the mosquitoes are pretty brutal at my house, which was to be expected after a storm of this magnitude.

[Wingnut]

They said Modified C-130.

Well since the Original "Puff" has long been retired that would make sense. ")

[Smokin Joe]

I know that the mosquitoes are pretty brutal at my house, which was to be expected after a storm of this magnitude.

The air force has sprayed the environs around the confluence of the Little Muddy River and the Missouri River up here. Mosquitoes vicious enough to be noted in Lewis and Clark's journals are still nasty critters in these parts, and it
is a trip to get buzzed by a C-130 spray plane laying down larvacides. They do a good job, too!

[GtHawk]

Brazoria County has been "warning" us that military aircraft are being used for mosquitoes.

I initially thought the mosquitoes had got so bad they were using Puff the Magic Dragon.

Just want to take a moment to wish you and all the others affected good luck in all the work and remodel, as for the aircraft I had just moved into my new home and no told me I was center of the flight path for Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, the first time a C-130 oh so slowly and so low you could count the rivets drifting overhead it was quite an experience for us and the dogs but became normal very quickly. Once again good luck going forward.

[Elderberry]

I've been in flight paths so much of my life and tuned them out so much that the only time that I notice them is when I'm talking to someone and I can't hear my own voice.

[Wingnut]

Just want to take a moment to wish you and all the others affected good luck in all the work and remodel, as for the aircraft I had just moved into my new home and no told me I was center of the flight path for Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, the first time a C-130 oh so slowly and so low you could count the rivets drifting overhead it was quite an experience for us and the dogs but became normal very quickly.

Ah that's nuttin 'Hawk.  I live a few miles away from the bombing range where the tested the Original MOAB back in ought 2 or 3..  The oldtimes still talk about the day the AF dropped that bad boy! 

 “My dog shook for 15 minutes,” Santa Rosa County resident Stephanie McBride told the Daily News at the time. “The house, a little bit.”



Every WED they still Bomb the heck out of the Area,  Rattles the windows and scares the birds.   The best is when the A-10's play war.   Cool as heck!..  The sounds of freedom!

[GtHawk]

Ah that's nuttin 'Hawk.  I live a few miles away from the bombing range where the tested the Original MOAB back in ought 2 or 3..  The oldtimes still talk about the day the AF dropped that bad boy! 

 “My dog shook for 15 minutes,” Santa Rosa County resident Stephanie McBride told the Daily News at the time. “The house, a little bit.”



Every WED they still Bomb the heck out of the Area,  Rattles the windows and scares the birds.   The best is when the A-10's play war.   Cool as heck!..  The sounds of freedom!

I know but I live in a very urban area, closest I came to what you get was when I worked near El Toro before they shut it down and there were the monthly practices and the fighter pilots had a party hitting the after burners and rattling windows, somehow there were always a few that accidently did that, but no bombs

[Smokin Joe]

Ah that's nuttin 'Hawk.  I live a few miles away from the bombing range where the tested the Original MOAB back in ought 2 or 3..  The oldtimes still talk about the day the AF dropped that bad boy! 

 “My dog shook for 15 minutes,” Santa Rosa County resident Stephanie McBride told the Daily News at the time. “The house, a little bit.”



Every WED they still Bomb the heck out of the Area,  Rattles the windows and scares the birds.   The best is when the A-10's play war.   Cool as heck!..  The sounds of freedom!

I got to see A-10s working out a little when I was in Nevada. AWESOME planes!

[Wingnut]

I know but I live in a very urban area, closest I came to what you get was when I worked near El Toro before they shut it down and there were the monthly practices and the fighter pilots had a party hitting the after burners and rattling windows, somehow there were always a few that accidently did that, but no bombs

Heheheheeh.

I got to see A-10s working out a little when I was in Nevada. AWESOME planes!

I need to find my Video of them playing in the bay by my house.   Low and loud  50-100 feet off the water.  Cool  Very cool!

[Elderberry]

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2017/09/reporters_compare_harvey_and_irma_s_impacts.html

Irma May Have Been the Bigger Storm, but the Damage From Harvey’s Storm Surge Will Last for Years



Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma are the only Category 4 Atlantic storms to ever hit the United States in the same year—let alone the same two weeks. Their landfalls turned the past few weeks into an emotional maelstrom of displacement, property damage, and conversations about climate change. While the full impact of the two storms is still being tallied up, journalists who were on the scene to cover both believe the back-to-back disasters also serve as a testament to the overwhelming damage water can do to our homes, and lives.

Despite a swirl slightly less imposing than Irma’s, Harvey punched above its weight. The storm killed more than 70 people and caused billions of dollars in damage. “It just looked a lot worse, just an ongoing crisis in Houston,” says Jorge Ribas, a video journalist for the Washington Post who covered both Harvey and Irma. “That’s not to diminish what happened here with Irma, but … when we were in Lumberton, Texas, we were driving in boats and the water was at the top of stop signs, you know, covering street signs. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

No one else has, either. Current calculations suggest Hurricane Harvey dumped an unprecedented 27 trillion gallons of water on Texas and Louisiana. Parts of Houston received almost 53 inches of rain, breaking a record for rainfall in the continental United States and forcing the National Weather Service to rewrite its color-coding system. And weeks after the storm, things just keep getting worse: The storm water has been slow to drain and is getting dirtier by the day.

More

[Smokin Joe]

I can see where someone needs to figure out why everything is draining so slowly.

That much stagnant water is going to make for some serious health problems.

[thackney]

I can see where someone needs to figure out why everything is draining so slowly.

That much stagnant water is going to make for some serious health problems.

The concept is wrong.  It isn't draining slowly.  It is draining a massive amount.  Fast flows with massive volumes still take a while.

Houston ship channels flows were so massive and fast flowing it shut down ship traffic.

[Smokin Joe]

The concept is wrong.  It isn't draining slowly.  It is draining a massive amount.  Fast flows with massive volumes still take a while.

Houston ship channels flows were so massive and fast flowing it shut down ship traffic.

Just too much to drain off quickly, not some issue that can be addressed. Well, that 50 inches (plus) in places is an inconceivable amount of water coming down. Most folks couldn't envision that much snow, much less rain.

[catfish1957]

Just too much to drain off quickly, not some issue that can be addressed. Well, that 50 inches (plus) in places is an inconceivable amount of water coming down. Most folks couldn't envision that much snow, much less rain.

Anyone know how most of the plants fared along the HSC?  Hopefully, only tank farms were impacted.

[Elderberry]

Anyone know how most of the plants fared along the HSC?  Hopefully, only tank farms were impacted.

I didn't find a status on just the ship channel plants, but I did find this site that gives an overall plant status.

https://www.petrochemwire.com/Frames/Events/Storm/HarveyUpdate.html

[catfish1957]

I didn't find a status on just the ship channel plants, but I did find this site that gives an overall plant status.

https://www.petrochemwire.com/Frames/Events/Storm/HarveyUpdate.html

Excellent source....  thanks.

Though I am retired......   terribly curious.

[thackney]

I didn't find a status on just the ship channel plants, but I did find this site that gives an overall plant status.

https://www.petrochemwire.com/Frames/Events/Storm/HarveyUpdate.html

Thank you for that, I had not seen it before.  Far more detail the DOE report I have been using.

https://energy.gov/oe/downloads/hurricanes-irma-and-harvey-situation-reports

[thackney]

Anyone know how most of the plants fared along the HSC?  Hopefully, only tank farms were impacted.

We have a storage and terminal in between 610 & Beltway 8, adjacent to the Magellan Tank Spill, 11,000 barrels.  The had a tank float off the foundation with the flood waters.  We had very little damage but a trapped crew inside the facility.  An over-the-top security guard, with past experience in the Italian Army, walked through the Washburn Tunnel with the pumps running then swam the rest of the way with a backpack of food.  Police stopped him, then let him continue.  I was amazed they didn't hold him until a boat could be brought.

http://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Magellan-leak-spills-into-Houston-Ship-Channel-12189833.php

Magellan contractor had a welding truck damaged.  Prop on a boat hit the top of the truck cab...

[anubias]

The Trinity is a trickle up here by me. I am assuming they have slowed the flow to give y'all a break. I'll have to take some snaps on my next ride and upload them.

Mosquitoes are crazy up here too.  Too much standing water. As bad as it is here, I can't imagine the swarm down south.

@thackney  I feel terrible for what you are going through. :(

[thackney]

The Trinity is a trickle up here by me. I am assuming they have slowed the flow to give y'all a break. I'll have to take some snaps on my next ride and upload them.

Mosquitoes are crazy up here too.  Too much standing water. As bad as it is here, I can't imagine the swarm down south.

@thackney  I feel terrible for what you are going through. :(

We are only impacted by the Brazos.  And yeah, mosquitoes...  I'm hoping they don't carry off one of my cows or such them dry.

[Bigun]

The Trinity is a trickle up here by me. I am assuming they have slowed the flow to give y'all a break. I'll have to take some snaps on my next ride and upload them.

Mosquitoes are crazy up here too.  Too much standing water. As bad as it is here, I can't imagine the swarm down south.

@thackney  I feel terrible for what you are going through. :(

How far up the Trinity are you?

[thackney]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDZO6_f2CDA

[anubias]

How far up the Trinity are you?

Cowtown.

[Bigun]

Cowtown.

AH!  WAY up!  I'm near prison city.

[anubias]

How far up the Trinity are you?

West Fork of the Trinity. I should have made that distinction. Dunno what the east fork looks like.

[anubias]

AH!  WAY up!  I'm near prison city.

What does it look like down there?

[Bigun]

What does it look like down there?

I think it's still a little above normal but nothing serious.  If Harvey had delivered the amount of rain up where you are that he did down here the people downstream would have been in REAL trouble!

[anubias]

I think it's still a little above normal but nothing serious.  If Harvey had delivered the amount of rain up where you are that he did down here the people downstream would have been in REAL trouble!

Agreed. As bad as it is, it could have been much worse. Thankful that weather has held here to keep the spillways from overflowing and sending more water south.

[AllThatJazzZ]

https://www.facebook.com/vicenews/videos/867135046779780/

[IsailedawayfromFR]

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2017/09/reporters_compare_harvey_and_irma_s_impacts.html

Irma May Have Been the Bigger Storm, but the Damage From Harvey’s Storm Surge Will Last for Years

Seems this reporter has never covered a hurricane.

It was not the storm surge, but the rains which caused most of the damage in Harvey.  Rain does not equal Storm Surge

[Smokin Joe]

Seems this reporter has never covered a hurricane.

It was not the storm surge, but the rains which caused most of the damage in Harvey.  Rain does not equal Storm Surge

Precisely. Storm Surge is almost always salt or brackish water. Rain is fresh, and the resultant flooding is as well. Different sort of damage, really, as the salt water is far more corrosive, and much harder on plant life as a rule.

[thackney]

FITTINGS? Fittings are what's holding you back?
You're a bright boy @thackney , surely there is something that can be done!

prayers up, man. I sure hope it works out!

30" diameter flexible, sealing fittings~10 ft long.

Duct tape isn't going to cut it.  Nor is there time at this point.

@roamer_1

Going through this old thread, remembering conversations from two years ago....

(I do have the replacement connectors now.  And had we installed them back then, it would have overtopped the AquaDam by about 6 inches, 12 inches above the rating where it starts to float)

Later that night, the first of our three evacuations.

God be with you.  We evacuated from Rosharon to a friends camping trailer in their driveway in Sienna Plantation, Missouri City.  The 59 ft @ Richmond is going to put more than the Sienna Levees were designed to hold (100 year flood design).  So we may be evacuating again tomorrow.  The 59 ft is expected Tuesday evening.  I understand Greatwood Levees won't hold up to that either.

[roamer_1]

@roamer_1

Going through this old thread, remembering conversations from two years ago....

(I do have the replacement connectors now.  And had we installed them back then, it would have overtopped the AquaDam by about 6 inches, 12 inches above the rating where it starts to float)

Later that night, the first of our three evacuations.

Yeah, I remember all that... And the water went higher than the wall would have helped anyhow...

Sure hope you're all straightened out by now... Last we talked of it, you were coming on sheetrock, I think, and worrying over cabs.... But had not really addressed your shop or outbuildings...

That must have been a long row to hoe... Even if insurance footed the bill more or less...