US Hurrican Harvey and flooding in Houston area

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Washington (CNN)The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said his agency is already gearing up for a years-long effort to help Texas recover from the damage wrought by Hurricane Harvey.
"FEMA is going to be there for years," administrator Brock Long said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

He added, "This disaster is going to be a landmark event."
More: FEMA administrator: We're 'going to be there for years' - CNNPolitics (27. August 2017)
 
I was working in Houston back in the fall of '05, just after hurricane Katrina. I remember we had a collection at the other board for a girl who had to evacuate, and myself and one other member met up with her for lunch to hand over the stuff. I remember lots of evacuees stayed at my motel. Then I had to evacuate myself when hurricane Rita was on her way, but that wasn't too bad in the end, not for Houston anyway IIRC.

This storm they're having now, though, that looks quite bad for Houston ...

The US city of Houston is in the grip of the biggest storm in the history of the state of Texas, officials say.

A record 30in of rain (75cm) has fallen on the city in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, turning roads into rivers.

The area is expected to have received a year's rainfall within a week. Five people are reported dead. Helicopters have plucked victims from rooftops.
Storm Harvey: Houston battles 'unprecedented' floods - BBC News
 
When I was still driving an 18-wheeler a few years ago, I sometimes made deliveries all around the Houston area. It's a huge city, 4th largest in the US- over 2-million people. I was reading, prior to the storm hitting, that developers have been building neighborhoods in low-lying areas, knowing full well, beforehand, they would be subject to flooding. I'm sure the banks made profits, though. Some years ago, after heavy rains, there was bad flooding in Oklahoma City. I had occasion to rescue a young man from deep water. My truck was big enough to pass through, but his car had gone afloat. At least I was able to get him to dry land.

Prayers for the people of Houston.
 
2:15 p.m. CDT Tuesday: Two ExxonMobil refineries have been damaged by Harvey, the company acknowledged on Tuesday.

According to the Texas Tribune, the Baytown and Beaumont refineries have released hazardous pollutants into the atmosphere.


People have reportedly complained on social media about an “unbearable” chemical smell over parts of Houston.

***

4:13 p.m. CDT Tuesday: A new continental United States record was shattered after the National Weather Service recorded 51.88 inches. That is the most rain ever recorded from a tropical system in the United States.

***

Apparently, after its first strike on Friday, the storm backed out to sea, built in strength and hit a 2nd time.
 
List from here.

- Via United We Dream, resources en español, including details about residency status and ID-related queries

- Texas Diaper Bank is creating relief kits

- Houston Coalition for the Homeless is coordinating shelter

- SPCA of Texas coordinating animal rescue and rehoming

- Houston DSA coordinating volunteers for rescue and assistance

- Houston Food Bank

- Direct Relief connects safety net providers with medical supplies

- Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi

- Portlight prioritizes disaster relief for people with disabilities

- Austin Pets Alive is taking in strays from Harvey zones

- Corpus Christi food bank

- Galveston food bank

- AirB&B for places to stay

- Global Giving's Hurricane Harvey relief fund

- GoFundMe pages related to Hurricane Harvey (I haven't vetted these)

- Dallas shelters prep for evacuees, how to help here

- HEB: mobile kitchens, aid + find out which stores are open

- Austin folks: Sign up to help!

- Houston Emergency Aid Coalition

- Target Hunger - local neighborhood food bank in Houston

- Houston Area Women's Shelter - domestic violence aid w/hotlines open during storm

- Forgotten Dogs of the 5th Ward coordinating animal rescue in neighborhood, need assistance and repairs for kennels, etc

- Team Rubicon: Deploys veterans to respond in crises

- If you have a boat in Houston, here's how to help!

- Help supply period products to Texans in need! This org is working to donate tampons, pads etc to Houstonians.

- The city of Houston has launched a disaster relief fund

- Harvey relief fund managed by the Texas Organizing Project, SEIU, TRLA and other groups focused on assisting the most marginalized Texans

- Houston Interfaith Ministries is supporting seniors

- Help supply lunch kits to day laborers when clean-up begins

- A Houston teacher's Amazon wishlist for supplies for her students post-Harvey

- SPREAD THE WORD: Texans should try to file insurance claims before September 1st, when a new law making payouts harder to enforce goes into effect. More here.

- SPREAD THE WORD: "Mattress Mack" is opening his furniture stores to people who need shelter. Pets welcome!

- SPREAD THE WORD: List of shelters in Houston

MORE FOOD BANK INFO via Houston Press:

Houston Food Bank
832-369-9390
houstonfoodbank.org

Galveston Food Bank
409-945-4232
galvestoncountyfoodbank.org

Food Bank of the Golden Crescent (Victoria)
361-578-0591
victoriafoodbank.org
Closed Friday

Corpus Christi Food Bank
361-887-6291
foodbankcc.com

Southeast Texas Food Bank (Beaumont)
409-839-8777
setxfoodbank.org

Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley (Pharr)
956-682-8101
foodbankrgv.com

Brazos Valley Food Bank (Bryan)
979-779-3663
bvfb.org

Central Texas Food Bank (Austin)
512-282-2111
centraltexasfoodbank.org

San Antonio Food Bank
210-337-3663
safoodbank.org
 
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What a brutal storm. The amount of rain is astounding and unprecedented.
I'm keeping tabs on a couple of friends who live in the Houston area. One lives in Conroe and has had several trees fall in her yard. Two hit her car and destroyed it, but so far, they've missed her house. Beyond scary. The flooding is so massive. My niece and her husband live in San Antonio, and they are helping with evacuees who are coming to their city left and right.
 
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Gotta be tough on crime, though ...

lotters.jpg

What surprises me most is that they somehow managed to spell "sight" correctly, no mean feat there....
 
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....I just hope weather stabilizes , on the positive , it's a country that has immense resources to get you through disasters like this .
 
...on the positive , it's a country that has immense resources to get you through disasters like this .
The U.S. actually has enough resources to make natural disasters less catastrophic, but that gets in the way of profit.
 
Imagine having so much money that you can donate 36 million without blinking an eye...Michael Dell. Well done.
 
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