Remembering the Seventh Anniversary of Hurricane Harvey

8/27/24 — This week marks the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Harvey. Today is the 2555th day since the event. It’s hard to pinpoint an exact date for a storm that ravaged SE Texas for the better part of a week. But most of us remember anniversaries in a personal context.

For whatever reason, back when I started this blog, I set the counter atop the home page ticking 2555 days ago. And seven times 365 equals 2555. Add in a couple days for leap years, and I figure this is close enough. Who’s counting, right?

I would like to post some pictures from the peak of the flooding in the Lake Houston Area and its aftermath. I will also discuss some statistics from the storm.

Tomorrow, I’ll review what we’ve done during the last seven years to reduce our flood risk. But first…

Origins of Harvey

Jeff Lindner, Harris County’s meteorologist, produces reports summarizing every major storm that hits the area.

For Hurricane Harvey, he began, “The tropical wave that would eventually develop into Hurricane Harvey moved off the west coast of Africa on August 11th and tracked westward across the tropical Atlantic becoming a tropical storm on August 17th and then moved into the Caribbean Sea where Harvey became disorganized and was downgraded to a tropical wave.”

“The tropical wave entered the Gulf of Mexico on the afternoon of the 22nd and was upgraded again to tropical depression Harvey on the morning of the 23rd. Over the next 48 hours Harvey would undergo a period of rapid intensification from a tropical depression to a category 4 hurricane and make landfall along the Texas coast near Port Aransas around 10:00 p.m. on August 25th.”

Lindner continued, “The upper air steering patterns that moved Harvey toward the Texas coast weakened and Harvey’s forward motion slowed to near 5 mph after landfall and then to a meander just north of Victoria, TX on the 26^th. Rain bands on the eastern side of the circulation of Harvey moved into southeast Texas and Harris County on the morning of the 25th and continued through much of the night and into the 26th.”

“A strong rain band developed over Fort Bend and Brazoria Counties during the evening hours of the 26th and spread into Harris County and slowed while training from south to north,” said Lindner.

“Flash flooding developed rapidly between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. as tremendous rainfall rates occurred across much of Harris County. Additional rain bands continued to develop into the morning hours of the 27th producing additional excessive rainfall amounts. As the center of Harvey slowly moved east-southeast and back offshore, heavy rainfall continued to spread across Harris County through much of the 29th and the 30th exacerbating the ongoing widespread and devastating flooding.”

“Harvey maintained tropical storm intensity the entire time while inland over the Texas coastal bend and southeast Texas. After moving offshore, Harvey made another landfall just west of Cameron, Louisiana on the morning of the 30th,” said Lindner.

Harvey Impacts

Re: impacts, Lindner said, “All 4.7 million people in Harris County were impacted directly or indirectly during the flood and after the flood waters receded. 60,049 residents were rescued by government resources across all portions of Harris County, most of them from their homes with 32,000-34,000 staying in 65 temporary shelters.”

“Tens of thousands of additional residents were rescued by local civilian resources and help that arrived from around Texas and surrounding states.”

“On Sunday morning, August 27th, parts of all of the 22 major freeways in the Houston metropolitan area were flooded and impassable resulting in nearly impossible travel conditions and creating significant challenges to rescue operations across not only Harris County but the entire region.”

“It is estimated that over 300,000 vehicles were flooded across Harris County, many of which were at homes, parking garages, and dealership lots.

“The Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed 36 flood related deaths across Harris County.”

*Harvey was so big, it filled virtually the entire Gulf of Mexico.*

US59 at West Fork during Harvey — *Looking S toward Humble from Kingwood across US59 Bridge. Supports for the southbound lanes were so badly scoured, they would take 11 months to repair while inbound traffic detoured to 45.*

will this get any of the $750 million in CDBG-MIT funds from the GLO? — *Looking E across I-69 just south of West Fork*

Heaviest Rainfall In U.S. History

HCFCD gages recorded a 4-day maximum of 47.4 inches.

A total of 1 trillion gallons of water fell across Harris County over the 4 day period which would fill NGR Stadium 1472 times and cover Harris County’s 1,777 sq. miles with an average of 33.7 inches of water.

This volume of water would also run Niagara Falls for 15 days.

Harvey dropped more rain than any other storm in the recorded history of the continental US, according to climatologists.

“There are three ways to examine a rainfall event to determine its historic nature and comparison to other events. This includes duration, amount, and spatial coverage of rainfall,” said Lindner.

“Texas State Climatologist Dr. John Nielson-Gammon examined the largest rainfall events ever recorded in United States history and compared against Hurricane Harvey for durations of 48, 72, and 120 hours and in spatial coverage of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, and 50,000 square miles.”

He continued, “Harvey exceeded the previous records in all of the 18 different combinations except one. The most astounding statistic is that for the 120 hour duration over 10,000 square miles, Harvey exceeded the previous record from June 1899 by 13.33 inches or 62%.”

“The rainfall amounts and spatial coverage of those amounts have never been experienced across the United States since reliable records have been kept.”
Jeff Lindner, Harris County Meteorologist

An estimated discharge of 425,000 cubic feet per second or 5.0 times the average flow of Niagara Falls occurred at the peak flow over the Lake Houston spillway. This amount would fill NRG Stadium every 3.5 minutes.

In all, Harvey caused an estimated $125 billion in damage. It ranks as the second costliest storm in U.S. history after Katrina.

Harvey flooded 16,000 homes and 3,300 businesses in the Lake Houston Area. They included 100% of all the businesses in Kingwood’s Town Center and 44% of all business in the Lake Houston Chamber.

*Sally Geis evacuating through Kingwood Town Center. Note Whataburger in background and strength of current 1.67 miles north of West Fork.*

4000 Students at Kingwood High School — *Kingwood High School flooded to the second floor. Repairs took a year and the building of a flood wall around it took 2369 days (6 1/2 years*) *and cost $78 million.*

*Toppled tank in Forest Cove fell three years after Harvey shifted it off its foundation*. *The Texas Railroad Commission did a massive cleanup effort in the area*.

Key Days in Recovery

I-69 repairs — *TxDoT hoped to repair damage to the I-69 bridge by September, 2018, more than a year after Harvey. But they finished the job by July, 2018.*

Railroad Bridge After Harvey — *When the water finally receded, it became clear that parts of the railroad bridge over the West Fork had been swept away.* *Rebuilding a new bridge would take 958 days.*

*Harvey deposited so much sand at the mouth of the West Fork, that it took more than 3 years to remove it all.*

Next in Series

No one planned for an event like Harvey. But we’ve learned a lot since. More tomorrow about what we’ve done to reduce flood risk since Harvey and some of the challenges that remain ahead.

I also hope to chronicle the stories of several leaders who have helped steer us through the recovery.

In the meantime, I would steer you toward an excellent booklet produced by Harris County Flood Control called “Hurricane Harvey: Impact and Response.”

Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/27/24

2555 Days since Hurricane Harvey (7 years)