But by the Grace of God... - Reduce Flooding

Donna Dewhirst’s home did not flood. But the flood came within feet of her foundation and left debris strewn across her yard.

Based on Harris County Flood Control estimates, 154,170 homes flooded in Harris County during Harvey (see page 13). The US Census Bureau estimates that there were 1.56 million households in Harris County in 2017. That means approximately one in ten homes flooded during Harvey in Harris County.

At the edge of the flood, nine out of ten families breathed a sigh of relief and went about the work of helping their neighbors. Donna Dewhirst was one such person. As you can see, she also had a little work of her own to do.

Raging Waters. Hurricane Harvey Flood by Donna Dewhurst. — *Raging Waters. Hurricane Harvey Flood by Donna Dewhirst. “My backyard with my outdoor kitchen …knee deep in the lake water with my dock buried along with our boat.”*

Flood debris from Harvey washed up in back yard of Donna Dewhurst — Flood debris from Harvey washed up in back yard of Donna Dewhirst. “The debris line on my lot next door after the rains when the water was beginning to subside… a refrigerator was on the lot among other things… stairs from docks etc.”

Debris left after street flooding. By Donna Dewhurst — *Debris left after street flooding. By Donna Dewhirst. Note how lake in background is still curling around her home in the upper right.*

While the debris shot is impressive, the other two shots are just plain spooky. The gray curtain of rain coming down to meet the brown torrent of floodwater with no horizon in sight. The lake creeping up the street.

It’s enough to make you want to campaign for flood mitigation. Please help by submitting your pictures of Harvey through the submissions page of this web site.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/16/2019

564 Days since Hurricane Harvey

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