Tropical-storm-force winds could arrive at the Texas Coast by Monday night.Source: NHC
Tropical depression #14 has formed in the northwestern Caribbean Sea and is turning northwest into the Gulf of Mexico. NHC predicts the storm will move into the south-central Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm on Sunday.
The National Hurricane Center predicts arrival time of tropical storm force winds along the Texas Coast on Monday evening.
Threat to the NW Gulf Early- to Mid- Next Week.
Persons along the TX coast should closely monitor the progress of this system. Review hurricane plans and be prepared to enact those plans this weekend.
Jeff Lindner, Harris County Meteorologist
Visible satellite images indicate that a tropical depression has formed over the NW Caribbean Sea. Satellite images also show the gradual formation of curved banding. The depression is moving toward the west/WNW.
Track
West to WNW motion should continue for the next 24-36 hours bringing the system toward the Yucatan. Forecasters predict that over the weekend, the system will turn toward the NW and move into the south-central Gulf of Mexico. Forecast models are starting to come into better agreement with a continued track toward the TX coast as high pressure builds westward from the SW Atlantic.
As of 8/20/2020, NOAA shows the cone of uncertainty pointing straight toward the upper Texas Coast.
Intensity
Conditions favor additional intensification over the western Caribbean Sea for the next 24-36 hours. Overall, conditions over the Gulf of Mexico will be increasing favorable for development of a tropical system, says Jeff Lindner, Harris County meteorologist.
Second Storm Brewing; Wet Week Likely
A rare double whammy is possible for the Gulf Coast early next week. Forecasters at the NHC predict that Tropical Depression 13, now in the western Atlantic, will strengthen into a tropical storm tonight and into a hurricane by Monday morning. However, at this time (Thursday noon),forecasters are not predicting the storm’s track or intensity beyond Monday night.
A second tropical system, TD13, could make next week very wet and windy all along the Gulf Coast.TD13 will likely arrive in Florida and the eastern Gulf around the same timeas TD14 arrives at the Texas coast.
A high degree of uncertainty remains regarding the track of TD14 because of potential interactions with land. However, here is what forecasters predict as of Thursday morning.
It offers important advice for those who may be forced to shelter with friends and family and well as those who need to go to a public disaster shelter.
“While it may be nerve-wracking to go to a public shelter during a pandemic, know that your immediate safety during a hurricane takes priority over everything else,” says Methodist.
“Shelters will be modified to separate families as much as is feasible and hold fewer people, whether that be by walls separating rooms or by simply designating larger spaces that allow for greater distance between families,” said Lina Hildago, Harris County Judge, in an interview with Space City Weather. “We’re ready to institute temperature checks and have PPE (personal protective equipment) on hand for folks who need it. We’re also working with our first-responder community, making sure they not only have enough PPE on hand for any response, but that they are also trained on how to use it.”
Methodist advises that if you experience COVID-19 symptoms, you can speak to a Virtual Urgent Care provider 24/7. The provider will help you determine if testing is needed and advise you on where you should go.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/20/2020
1087 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/145738.png?fit=897%2C738&ssl=1738897adminadmin2020-08-20 11:52:472020-08-20 11:59:57Tropical Depression 14 Headed into Gulf
FEMA defines base flood elevation as “The elevation of surface water resulting from a flood that has a 1% chance of equaling or exceeding that level in any given year.” In other words, it’s how deep the water would be in a 100-year flood at any given spot.
Let’s take a look at each.
Texas Watershed Viewer
The Texas Watershed Viewer lets users identify local watersheds, sub-watersheds, river basins, and river sub-basins throughout the State of Texas.
To find your watershed and river basin, simply type your address into the search bar and press enter. The map will zoom into the address. From here, click anywhere on the map and the name of the sub watershed will appear. If you click the next arrow on the feature label, the name of the watershed will appear. If you click the next arrow again, the name of the river sub basin will appear followed by the larger river basin.
Clicking on Caney Creek showed the extent of the watershed. Clicking on the arrow within the green bar at the top of the info box changes the outline to match the river sub-basin or basin.
This lets you quickly visualize the extent of a watershed so you can see where water is coming from and going to.
After you click on map to see the feature’s name, you can view the geographic extent of the sub watershed, watershed, river sub basin, and river basin, by clicking the minus sign on the top left corner to zoom out from the address level to the boundaries of the other features. The boundaries of these features will be light blue.
Other Texas Watershed Viewer tools
Zoom: You can zoom in on your neighborhood or zoom out to the entire state of Texas.
Layers: adds the layers window in the top right corner. You can turn the layers on and off by click on the check box.
Basemap gallery: lets you change the basemap of the viewer. The topographic map, for instance, is a useful layer because river, lakes, and streams are labeled.
Measure: lets you measure the distance from your home to a water feature.
Share: lets you show your friends what you see on social media.
Print: lets you print out a copy for your records.
Uses
This site helps viewers understand where water comes from and how it converges. As land is cleared and leveled, it also helps you understand where streams used to flow. (Note: This feature only works until background maps are updated, however.)
One reader used this feature to show how a developer had filled in natural drainage on the developer’s property and blocked off drainage from the reader’s subdivision. With three potential tropical systems moving in our direction at this moment, that information could be very useful if his home floods and he needs to call a lawyer.
Using the topographic base layer, you can also predict where and how runoff will flow during a flood. Many homes near the East Fork flooded during Imelda when Caney Creek captured the Triple PG mine and started flowing south through an area where several other creeks converge. Homeowners report being flooded from overland flow before the creek rose. The topographic feature shows the path that the water likely took.
Those who have a passion for understanding the physical world around them could spend days exploring this website.
Legend shows estimated water depths in image above.
Like most flood maps of this sort, you can turn layers on and off and change base maps.
For instance, by clicking buttons, you can have it show the estimated flood extent and depths for a 1%-chance flood and a .02%-chance flood. You can also view stream center lines, cross sections, and view detailed information on flood insurance rate maps.
You can even activate a split screen mode and compare different features side by side, i.e., ten and hundred year flood extents.
The point of this whole site is to understand not just the extent of floods, but their DEPTH as well.
Uses
FEMA says information from this site helps:
Inform personal risk decisions related to the purchase of flood insurance and coverage levels.
Inform local and individual building and construction approaches.
Prepare local risk assessments, Hazard Mitigation Plans, Land Use Plans, etc.
Prepare information for Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) submittals.
Helpful Where Flood Maps Not Yet Available
The BLE (Base Level Engineering) Data in this website provides flood hazard information where flood insurance rate maps may not yet be available. We saw this, for instance, in Woodridge Village (north of Elm Grove) where flood maps stopped at the Harris/Montgomery county line. LJA Engineering claimed there were no floodplain issues on the Montgomery County side of the line. In fact, most of the Woodridge Village was in a flood plain as you can clearly see below; it just had not been mapped yet.
Compare that to FEMA’s Flood Hazard Layer Viewer below and you will immediately see the difference.
FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer Viewer shows danger stopping abruptly at the county line.
FEMA’s estimated base-flood elevation viewer helps reputable land developers identify flood risk, expected flood elevation, and estimated flood depth where Base Level Engineering has been prepared (i.e., as in the Lake Houston Area).
Reportedly, the information in this tool is not yet Atlas-14 compliant. But it’s still better than nothing.
“Buyer Aware”
The more tools you have to evaluate the purchase of insurance and property, the safer you will be.
No one tool can do everything. But together, the can make you “buyer aware.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/20/2020
1087 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 335 since Imelda
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-19-at-10.30.14-PM.png?fit=1422%2C1080&ssl=110801422adminadmin2020-08-19 23:17:552020-08-19 23:39:41Two More Websites That Help You Understand Drainage and Flood Risk
Three lawsuits representing a total of approximately 1700 plaintiffs against more than 50 San-Jacinto-River-Basin sand mines have been joined in Multi-District Litigation (MDL). The lawsuits each arose out of flooding during Hurricane Harvey. Particulars of each suit vary slightly, but they all have common elements.
Basis for Lawsuits
At a high level, plaintiffs allege that the sand mines failed to take steps that reduced discharge of sediment, silt and sand. Floodwaters then carried sediment from the mines downstream, they say, where it clogged the river, backed water up, and contributed to flooding of plaintiffs’ homes and businesses.
Sand mines inundated in the floodway of the west fork of the San Jacinto during Hurricane Harvey in 2017
Plaintiffs allege negligence, gross negligence, negligence per se and nuisance. They seek exemplary damages.
First Suit Filed in 2018; Two More Intervene in 2020
Spurlock and Webster filed the Ellisor Lawsuit in 2018. The Potts Firm, and Arnold and Itkin intervened in the Ellisor suit in August of 2019 just before the statute of limitations ran out, but due to some procedural rulings later re-filed separate suits in February of this year.
The Ellisor suit had been in the works for 18 months when the Del Pino and Nelson cases were filed. In law, “intervening” means obtaining the court’s permission to enter into a lawsuit which has already started between other parties and to file a complaint stating the basis for a claim in the existing lawsuit.
However, the other suits had some plaintiffs from jurisdictions other than Harris County. So instead of just consolidating the lawsuits, defendants filed a motion with the Texas Supreme Court requesting multi-district litigation. Defendants and plaintiffs also wrestled over procedural issues such as jurisdiction, venue, dismissal, the judge, and more.
Supreme Court Mandates Multi-District Litigation
As usually happens with multiple suits in different counties, the Supreme Court ordered one judge to oversee all of the cases to ensure rulings were consistent. A “stay order” put everything on hold for months. Webster and Spurlock have not been able to move their case forward until these other issues were worked out.
The Texas Supreme Court appointed former Judge Sylvia Matthews to hear pretrial motions on all the cases.
Judge Matthews has reportedly ordered a status conference with all parties after Labor Day to discuss outstanding issues. If and when the cases go to trial, they go back to the original trial court.
“Now that the stay has been lifted, we’re hoping that we’ll be able to start moving forward with discovery,” said Kim Spurlock, one of the lawyers in the Ellisor case.
New Case Number
The three cases in the Multi-District Litigation have been consolidated under a new Master File for those seeking information about them in the future.
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Screen-Shot-2018-06-21-at-10.07.29-AM.png?fit=2496%2C1648&ssl=116482496adminadmin2020-08-17 20:56:322020-11-30 20:26:47Approximately 1,700 Plaintiffs in Three Lawsuits Against Sand Mines Now Joined in Multi-District Litigation
Tropical Depression 14 Headed into Gulf
Tropical depression #14 has formed in the northwestern Caribbean Sea and is turning northwest into the Gulf of Mexico. NHC predicts the storm will move into the south-central Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm on Sunday.
The National Hurricane Center predicts arrival time of tropical storm force winds along the Texas Coast on Monday evening.
Threat to the NW Gulf Early- to Mid- Next Week.
Visible satellite images indicate that a tropical depression has formed over the NW Caribbean Sea. Satellite images also show the gradual formation of curved banding. The depression is moving toward the west/WNW.
Track
West to WNW motion should continue for the next 24-36 hours bringing the system toward the Yucatan. Forecasters predict that over the weekend, the system will turn toward the NW and move into the south-central Gulf of Mexico. Forecast models are starting to come into better agreement with a continued track toward the TX coast as high pressure builds westward from the SW Atlantic.
Intensity
Conditions favor additional intensification over the western Caribbean Sea for the next 24-36 hours. Overall, conditions over the Gulf of Mexico will be increasing favorable for development of a tropical system, says Jeff Lindner, Harris County meteorologist.
Second Storm Brewing; Wet Week Likely
A rare double whammy is possible for the Gulf Coast early next week. Forecasters at the NHC predict that Tropical Depression 13, now in the western Atlantic, will strengthen into a tropical storm tonight and into a hurricane by Monday morning. However, at this time (Thursday noon),forecasters are not predicting the storm’s track or intensity beyond Monday night.
A high degree of uncertainty remains regarding the track of TD14 because of potential interactions with land. However, here is what forecasters predict as of Thursday morning.
Bookmark the National Hurricane Center home page for updates every few hours.
Preparedness
Now is a good time to start thinking about preparedness. Houston Methodist Hospital published an article last week about “How to Prepare for a Hurricane During COVID-19.”
It offers important advice for those who may be forced to shelter with friends and family and well as those who need to go to a public disaster shelter.
“While it may be nerve-wracking to go to a public shelter during a pandemic, know that your immediate safety during a hurricane takes priority over everything else,” says Methodist.
“Shelters will be modified to separate families as much as is feasible and hold fewer people, whether that be by walls separating rooms or by simply designating larger spaces that allow for greater distance between families,” said Lina Hildago, Harris County Judge, in an interview with Space City Weather. “We’re ready to institute temperature checks and have PPE (personal protective equipment) on hand for folks who need it. We’re also working with our first-responder community, making sure they not only have enough PPE on hand for any response, but that they are also trained on how to use it.”
Methodist advises that if you experience COVID-19 symptoms, you can speak to a Virtual Urgent Care provider 24/7. The provider will help you determine if testing is needed and advise you on where you should go.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/20/2020
1087 Days after Hurricane Harvey
Two More Websites That Help You Understand Drainage and Flood Risk
Today, readers sent me links to two more websites that help you understand drainage and flood risk. The first by Texas Parks & Wildlife is called the Texas Watershed Viewer. The second is a FEMA site that estimates base flood elevations based on USGS data.
FEMA defines base flood elevation as “The elevation of surface water resulting from a flood that has a 1% chance of equaling or exceeding that level in any given year.” In other words, it’s how deep the water would be in a 100-year flood at any given spot.
Let’s take a look at each.
Texas Watershed Viewer
The Texas Watershed Viewer lets users identify local watersheds, sub-watersheds, river basins, and river sub-basins throughout the State of Texas.
To find your watershed and river basin, simply type your address into the search bar and press enter. The map will zoom into the address. From here, click anywhere on the map and the name of the sub watershed will appear. If you click the next arrow on the feature label, the name of the watershed will appear. If you click the next arrow again, the name of the river sub basin will appear followed by the larger river basin.
This lets you quickly visualize the extent of a watershed so you can see where water is coming from and going to.
After you click on map to see the feature’s name, you can view the geographic extent of the sub watershed, watershed, river sub basin, and river basin, by clicking the minus sign on the top left corner to zoom out from the address level to the boundaries of the other features. The boundaries of these features will be light blue.
Other Texas Watershed Viewer tools
Zoom: You can zoom in on your neighborhood or zoom out to the entire state of Texas.
Layers: adds the layers window in the top right corner. You can turn the layers on and off by click on the check box.
Basemap gallery: lets you change the basemap of the viewer. The topographic map, for instance, is a useful layer because river, lakes, and streams are labeled.
Measure: lets you measure the distance from your home to a water feature.
Share: lets you show your friends what you see on social media.
Print: lets you print out a copy for your records.
Uses
This site helps viewers understand where water comes from and how it converges. As land is cleared and leveled, it also helps you understand where streams used to flow. (Note: This feature only works until background maps are updated, however.)
One reader used this feature to show how a developer had filled in natural drainage on the developer’s property and blocked off drainage from the reader’s subdivision. With three potential tropical systems moving in our direction at this moment, that information could be very useful if his home floods and he needs to call a lawyer.
Using the topographic base layer, you can also predict where and how runoff will flow during a flood. Many homes near the East Fork flooded during Imelda when Caney Creek captured the Triple PG mine and started flowing south through an area where several other creeks converge. Homeowners report being flooded from overland flow before the creek rose. The topographic feature shows the path that the water likely took.
Those who have a passion for understanding the physical world around them could spend days exploring this website.
FEMA Estimated Base Flood Elevation Viewer
Like most flood maps of this sort, you can turn layers on and off and change base maps.
For instance, by clicking buttons, you can have it show the estimated flood extent and depths for a 1%-chance flood and a .02%-chance flood. You can also view stream center lines, cross sections, and view detailed information on flood insurance rate maps.
You can even activate a split screen mode and compare different features side by side, i.e., ten and hundred year flood extents.
The point of this whole site is to understand not just the extent of floods, but their DEPTH as well.
Uses
FEMA says information from this site helps:
Helpful Where Flood Maps Not Yet Available
The BLE (Base Level Engineering) Data in this website provides flood hazard information where flood insurance rate maps may not yet be available. We saw this, for instance, in Woodridge Village (north of Elm Grove) where flood maps stopped at the Harris/Montgomery county line. LJA Engineering claimed there were no floodplain issues on the Montgomery County side of the line. In fact, most of the Woodridge Village was in a flood plain as you can clearly see below; it just had not been mapped yet.
Compare that to FEMA’s Flood Hazard Layer Viewer below and you will immediately see the difference.
FEMA’s estimated base-flood elevation viewer helps reputable land developers identify flood risk, expected flood elevation, and estimated flood depth where Base Level Engineering has been prepared (i.e., as in the Lake Houston Area).
Reportedly, the information in this tool is not yet Atlas-14 compliant. But it’s still better than nothing.
“Buyer Aware”
The more tools you have to evaluate the purchase of insurance and property, the safer you will be.
No one tool can do everything. But together, the can make you “buyer aware.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/20/2020
1087 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 335 since Imelda
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
Approximately 1,700 Plaintiffs in Three Lawsuits Against Sand Mines Now Joined in Multi-District Litigation
Three lawsuits representing a total of approximately 1700 plaintiffs against more than 50 San-Jacinto-River-Basin sand mines have been joined in Multi-District Litigation (MDL). The lawsuits each arose out of flooding during Hurricane Harvey. Particulars of each suit vary slightly, but they all have common elements.
Basis for Lawsuits
At a high level, plaintiffs allege that the sand mines failed to take steps that reduced discharge of sediment, silt and sand. Floodwaters then carried sediment from the mines downstream, they say, where it clogged the river, backed water up, and contributed to flooding of plaintiffs’ homes and businesses.
The three lawsuits include:
Plaintiffs allege negligence, gross negligence, negligence per se and nuisance. They seek exemplary damages.
First Suit Filed in 2018; Two More Intervene in 2020
Spurlock and Webster filed the Ellisor Lawsuit in 2018. The Potts Firm, and Arnold and Itkin intervened in the Ellisor suit in August of 2019 just before the statute of limitations ran out, but due to some procedural rulings later re-filed separate suits in February of this year.
The Ellisor suit had been in the works for 18 months when the Del Pino and Nelson cases were filed. In law, “intervening” means obtaining the court’s permission to enter into a lawsuit which has already started between other parties and to file a complaint stating the basis for a claim in the existing lawsuit.
However, the other suits had some plaintiffs from jurisdictions other than Harris County. So instead of just consolidating the lawsuits, defendants filed a motion with the Texas Supreme Court requesting multi-district litigation. Defendants and plaintiffs also wrestled over procedural issues such as jurisdiction, venue, dismissal, the judge, and more.
Supreme Court Mandates Multi-District Litigation
The Texas Supreme Court appointed former Judge Sylvia Matthews to hear pretrial motions on all the cases.
Judge Matthews has reportedly ordered a status conference with all parties after Labor Day to discuss outstanding issues. If and when the cases go to trial, they go back to the original trial court.
“Now that the stay has been lifted, we’re hoping that we’ll be able to start moving forward with discovery,” said Kim Spurlock, one of the lawyers in the Ellisor case.
New Case Number
The three cases in the Multi-District Litigation have been consolidated under a new Master File for those seeking information about them in the future.
See: Harvey Sand Litigation, Harris County 281st District Court, MDL 19-0500, Cause No. 2020-48333.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/17/2020
1084 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.