Quatloos!

Based on the rain gauge here at my house:
Friday: zero rain
Saturday: 10.4 inches
Sunday, August 27, up to 10:40 pm: 18.86 inches

Total: 29.26 inches of rain.

For those who don't know, I live on the north side of Houston.

Considering the weather situation here, living in Houston feels a lot like "gambling" right now -- and not so much the "good life."

It's now early Monday morning central time in Houston (about 12:36 am). To give you an idea of how bad it is here, of the 18.86 inches of rain on Sunday, 6.9 inches fell here at my home between 6:54 pm and 10:40 pm alone.

Famspear wrote:For those who don't know, I live on the north side of Houston.

Considering the weather situation here, living in Houston feels a lot like "gambling" right now -- and not so much the "good life."

I drove through Houston in 2008 and it was still recovering from Katrina. Now this. Seems like a dangerous place to live.

Burnaby49 wrote:

Famspear wrote:For those who don't know, I live on the north side of Houston.

Considering the weather situation here, living in Houston feels a lot like "gambling" right now -- and not so much the "good life."

I drove through Houston in 2008 and it was still recovering from Katrina. Now this. Seems like a dangerous place to live.

If it was 2008, you may be thinking of Hurricane Ike. Actually, these storms have been few and far between in Houston. Tropical Storm Allison was really bad in 2001.

Famspear wrote:

Burnaby49 wrote:

Famspear wrote:For those who don't know, I live on the north side of Houston.

Considering the weather situation here, living in Houston feels a lot like "gambling" right now -- and not so much the "good life."

I drove through Houston in 2008 and it was still recovering from Katrina. Now this. Seems like a dangerous place to live.

If it was 2008, you may be thinking of Hurricane Ike. Actually, these storms have been few and far between in Houston. Tropical Storm Allison was really bad in 2001.

You'd know better than me. Lot of signage down in Houston and all kinds of coastal damage between New Orleans and Houston. Still, the fourth largest town in the US getting trashed every decade or so seems an unsustainable situation.

Burnaby49 wrote:You'd know better than me. Lot of signage down in Houston and all kinds of coastal damage between New Orleans and Houston. Still, the fourth largest town in the US getting trashed every decade or so seems an unsustainable situation.

I've lived here for 31 years. Despite the spectacular pictures on television and the cost to rebuild, hurricanes and tropical storms here don't seem to do material permanent damage. Houston is strong economically.

Also, we know when the storm is coming. Many people here contrast the Gulf Coast storms to earthquakes in California. It is difficult to predict an earthquake. Also, the mud slides.

And, up north, they have those miserable blizzards that paralyze communities -- seemingly every winter. Shoveling snow out of a drive way????!!!??? It's difficult for many people here to understand why anyone would want to live in a climate like that.

I guess it's partly a matter of what a person is "used to".

Stay safe. Living in Florida when younger you learn that it can be just as dangerous after the hurricane, especially with downed power lines, messy roads, and debris everywhere. Glad you made it through, just be careful the next few days.

Burnaby49 wrote: Still, the fourth largest town in the US getting trashed every decade or so seems an unsustainable situation.

You are overlooking the fact that Famspear posted this thread in "Gambling and Quatloosia Good Life." Maybe Houstonians like living on the edge.

We're probably a few decades away from having to start declaring sections of the coast to be uninhabitable, but it's a fair cost benefit analysis to make. Back in '05 there was some good discussion as to whether rebuilding New Orleans post-Katrina was worth the expense:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_ ... float.html

Unfortunately, we've had a turn in events. This morning, Monday, August 28, we woke up to find out our neighborhood flooded. The water is about 15 feet from my front door, and appears to be rising slowly.

We may lose power soon. If the water gets into the house, I'll have to kill the power myself, anyway.

Argh. Good luck, stay as safe as possible.

wserra wrote:Argh. Good luck, stay as safe as possible.

Thanks. I lost my internet during the middle of the day, but now I have it back (about 9:14 pm on Monday 28 August). The neighborhood is still flooded, and the water is closer to my front door (maybe less than 10 feet).

My wife and I spent the day putting the most important items in the attic of our one-story home and putting furniture up on bricks, rolling up rugs and generally trying to move the most important items to higher places.

Almost miraculously, we have not lost our electricity or cable TV (even though Comcast or "infinity" or whatever they call it provides both internet and cable TV to us).

Some of the weather folks on TV are saying that the rain may let up a bit late on Tuesday instead of on Wednesday or Thursday.

Houston desperately needs a break.

I have a rain gauge in my yard. Here are my readings for rain:

Friday, August 25: 0.5 inch.
Saturday, August 26: 10.4 inches.
Sunday, August 27: 18.8 inches.
Monday, August 28, thru my latest reading (at 7:15 pm): 5.0 inches.

I'll take another reading on the rain some time before midnight.

PS: I don't have any sand bags, but my wife remembered that we have several unused bags of bark mulch. I have piled about six of them in front of the front door.

The water got to within a few feet of my front door, but began receding early Tuesday morning. No water in the house!

The water is now gone from my enclave, but the flood is still preventing me from being able to drive out.

Best of luck - it is amazing you still have utilities.

A suggestion - don't go out into the water - especially without waders. God only knows what's in it.

JRB - you're far enough west that you're not affected, right?