@cap, that map is incredible. Harvey’s impact area would have covered Florida all the way up to Daytona!
For those of you who would like to give to an organization that you know is meeting real and specific needs on the ground in Houston and Texas after Harvey, I will add to the list a group called “Undies for Everyone”, This group was formed several years ago when a local rabbi noticed that there was a huge need for new underwear for children as part of school uniform donation drives. They are expanding to distribute underwear for children and adults to our neighbors affected by Harvey. There is a credit card donation link on their website, which is exactly the same as their name, but I suggest you search for their facebook page. In addition to the info about donating money so they can buy wholesale, you have the option of going to their Amazon wish list page where you can select your favorite style and color! My church has worked with this group on an underwear drive, so I know they are legitimate. Brene’ Brown, the Houstonian, social worker, researcher and author of “Daring Greatly” and other books, also gave the links on her Facebook page yesterday, along with an account of what they are doing at the shelters. Thanks to all who are helping, whether it’s through donations, prayers, or discussing the hard questions about this storm.
My parents lived on Hilton Head full-or part-time for a number of years. They had to evacuate in the face of possible hurricane strikes a number of times: everyone on the island travelling over one bridge. The traffic jams just to get over the bridge were 3+ hours, even if you left a day or more early. They would then have to travel 300+ miles inland to find a place to stay. By the time they built their second house there, regulations had changed so that no living area could be less than 14 ft above sea level. Houses were designed so that flood waters could flow underneath if necessary. No compliance: no flood insurance.
HHI was lucky that the hurricane that devastated Charleston and the Isle of Palms et al took a turn to the north at the last moment and spared them. The predicted storm surge would have covered the entire island except for one tiny area at its highest point.
Repeated evacuations were a major reason why they decided to sell their house and move to the mainland.
Consumer Reports has an article about effective ways to donate:
https://www.consumerreports.org/charitable-donations/best-ways-to-help-victims-of-hurricane-harvey/
Rachel Maddow did an in-depth reporting last night about the chemical plant - Texas not having a zoning law and not requiring chemical plants to disclose chemical inventory. One reporter asked the CEO about the inventory, and the CEO said, “I don’t see how it is relevant now.” They knew this was going to happen and they could have done more.
Zoning. Yes. That is super important. Periodic public disclosure of inventories? I don’t see how that could be helpful in any way. What would the public do with the list? There are only downsides. Many companies would love to get their hands on their competitor’s inventories to asses their weak spots or to see the trends. Stock market analysts would be thrilled to get that info, for sure. As long as the appropriate officials and first responders know what is present and in what amounts, that is what matters.
“I don’t see how that could be helpful in any way. What would the public do with the list?”
I’d want to know what I was living near if I was in that community.
We’ve had a run on gas today in Dallas. Last night we arrived back in Texas after a month in CA. We filled up on the way home with no issues. My car already had a full tank. Today, everywhere I drove doing my back home errands, I saw either cars lined up all the way down roads for gas, or gas stations that were closed because they sold out. The traffic was starting to get crazy, and I’m sure there was stress and rudeness going on at the gas stations. I called D2, who is due to drive to Dallas tomorrow for an interview, and gave her the heads up. She lives 1.5 hours away and had no issues finding gas in her college town, but that is sure to change if this doesn’t improve here. I wish she wasn’t even coming in. She could probably go several weeks on one tank if she only had to drive to school and the grocery store.
Just goes to show that we are all connected in many ways that may not seem immediately apparent. Since we had no food in the house anyway, I went ahead and stocked up and filled my freezer and cabinets with food. This way, I can reduce the number of trips I have to make in the car. This is worrisome and stressful.
More and more is bound to come out that will have economic and human consequences. Water systems contaminated, thousands of houses and businesses ruined, gas prices, etc., etc., that will trickle well beyond the Houston area and even the South. I’m clear across the country and gas prices are up as much as 26 cents/gallon vs. last week.
“I’d want to know what I was living near if I was in that community.”
For that, you don’t need the inventory down to a few grams of things with names you can’t even pronounce (heck, I am a chemist, and even chemists struggle with some of those, lol).
Zoning would have prevented this. Period.
This is horrifying. Decent infrastructure is a matter of life and death.
http://www.wfaa.com/news/more-than-1000-die-in-india-monsoon/469551312
Why do they not have zoning? Is it common in rural area or in south? Does anyone remember the place that had a huge mud slide in Washing state a couple of years ago? Was that placed zoned properly and still had an accident or did they not have zoning since it’s rural?
Just heard on the news. The chemical company was cited for a number of vsafety violation in February. Fine about $100K.
Igloo - the two events are not directly comparable.
WA has strict zoning ordinances. that mudslide was an unprecedented event and it affected a very small town (I know a few folks who lived nearby - you can drive a mile and don’t see a house). In the aftermath of the Oso mudslide, people near the slide were bought out and not allowed to rebuild (the homes that suffered some damage or the homes that had roads cut off - I am not talking about the area that was wiped out). That was not construction next to a chemical plant. There were no industrial plants of any kind in that area. They would not be allowed by zoning, which is fairly strict in my neck of the woods.
Here, it is an epic proportions event that was bound to happen sooner or later - and a huge area is affected. A chemical plant that was built next to residential area or residential area that was developed around a chemical plant. That should not have been allowed by any means.
Houston has been known for poor zoning going back decades. Even among Texas cities, it has always had a reputation for poor zoning.
DH is in real estate, and he often has to deal with planning/zoning issues and commissions. It must be MUCH more strict here.
Bloomberg news just published a piece about the Houston zoning issue titled “Harvey Wasn’t Just Bad Weather. It Was Bad City Planning.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-08-31/a-hard-rain-and-a-hard-lesson-for-houston
But Slate says “Don’t Blame Houston’s Lax Zoning for Harvey’s Destruction. Cities with stringent zoning would have been just as vulnerable to the flood.” and “No city is or should be designed to accommodate a one-in-a-million-year flood.”
The Washington Post asks,“Houston is experiencing its third ‘500-year’ flood in three years. How is that possible?”
New York Magazine takes a middle road. “More Zoning Wouldn’t Have Protected Houston From Harvey’s Fury, But Less Sprawl Would Have Helped”
We are having a run on gas in San Antonio, too. Long lines on my drive home from school and a few places with no gas. The mayor issued a statement telling people not to panic, there is no real shortage. Meanwhile on FB people are getting whipped into a frenzy.
There was a company that wanted to set up fracking on land that was zoned residential. Close to a high school. The town said no, the parish (county) said no. The state issued a permit and there was nothing anyone local could do!
The fracking people did some explorations and decided there wasn’t enough natural gas to make it worth their while and everyone else breathed a sigh of relief. Abita beer is bottled nearby, from spring water and artesian water that would have been in danger from fracking wastewater. Unbelievable that it all came that close.
In less frustrating news, here is an Amazon wish list that is set up for Harvey needs. Rice, wheelchairs, tampons, and much more.
https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/1NN6LRHJZ0CC5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_dEQPzb8GPX7S0
I do not need to know down to a few grams of things, but I do want to know if a plant near me is keeping chemical that would combust if it is not kept cool enough and I would also want to know what kind of fume it could produce. It would certainly help me decide if I want my family any where near a plant like that. It is unconscionable to me when the reporter asked the CIO what kind of chemical was in the plant, not the whole inventory, but just in general, the CIO said it was not relevant.
I am not trying to get political here, but if the government should decide it is not necessary for the general public to know about what kind of chemical a plant is keeping then the government better be certain it has a good handle on how to keep the public safe if there was a disaster. If it was full disclosure to the public then it would on the public to decide if they want to live close to the plant.
The public knew that the company was making pounds and pounds of organic peroxides. The ability to self combust is an INHERENT property of those compounds. What did the public do with that info? The public did not give a hoot about that… build houses around.
@oldfort - there are federal and state mandates that chemical manufacturers and anyone involved in working with certain chemicals must regularly provide their inventory of compounds to the authorities, typically, the fire department. The system to guard the public is already in place. The first responders must know that info when they daal with fires and spills. There are fines for those who do not comply, and the companies will and are shut down because of that. Companies in my neck of the woods get inspected quite regularly by the fire departments.
There are also strict requirements to have a certain number of fire zones in the building if the inventory has certain amounts of flammables. In one case, a company here was required to engineer their building in a way that if an explosion happened, a wall would give, instead of the entire building going to shreds. It was not cheap, but the company could not operate until that was done.