While much of the press after Harvey focused on the wisdom of development in floodways and floodplains, the plight of homes and businesses much further from the San Jacinto was largely overlooked. Amy Slaughter and Jennifer Trimble bought homes more than a mile from the river, thinking they beyond the reach of floods. They weren’t. Homes near mine, almost two miles from the river, also flooded.
Page 13 of the Harris County Flood Control District’s final report on Harvey states, “Of the 154,170 homes flooded, 48,850 were within the 1% (100-yr) floodplain, 34,970 within the .2% (500-yr) floodplain, and 70,370 were outside of the 1% (100-yr) and .2% (500-yr) floodplains.” In other words, 46% were not in a marked flood plain. Which helps to explain the staggering number of uninsured homeowners.
Sixty-four percent of all the homes flooded did not have flood insurance.
Carolanne Norris took this shot while sitting on her stairs, watching her home fill with water.
Looking toward Kingwood Drive from Woods Estates and Twin Grove. Carolanne Norris took this from an upstairs window as the floodwaters rose during Harvey. Note the water level near the stop sign one block north of Kingwood Drive.
Carolanne Norris took this shot as she and her family hiked to safety. Shot is looking back down Woods Estates from a hill near Valley Manor . The Kings Forest Pool is on right. This is more than 1.75 miles from the river as the crow flies.
“Bath anyone?” Photo of Carolanne Norris’ tub after Harvey’s floodwaters went down and she could get back in her home.
“The water was strong enough to pick up my island with a granite counter (bottom) and slam it into my double ovens.” Photo by Carolanne Norris.
Carolanne Norris’ home took on 44 inches of water. Wakes from all the rescue boats had water lapping at her first-floor eaves.
“Nice reminder that you sometimes have to laugh when all you want to do is cry.” Photo by Carolanne Norris.
Photos by Karen Favero
The Cleanup After Harvey Begins. Photo by Karen Favero. Favero lived in the Kingwood Town Center Apartments in a first floor unit. Distance from river is about 1.25 miles.
Flooded apartment in Kingwood Town Center as Harvey’s Floodwaters Receded. Photo by Karen Favero.
Car at Kingwood Town Center Apartments floated out of its parking spot by Harvey. Photo by Karen Favero.
More cars floated by Harvey into new parking spots. Photo by Karen Favero.
House on Kings Trail After Harvey. Photo by Karen Favero.
Folly of High Rise Development near the Floodway
Images like these so far from the river can only make one marvel at the folly of high-rise developers who insist on building on the edge of the current floodway. They know full well that, when new new flood maps are redrawn, their property will be IN the floodway. Of course, by that time, they will likely have resold it to unsuspecting buyers who are thrilled with the river views.
Underscoring Urgent Need for Flood Mitigation
If you have pictures that you would like to share, please send them to me via the Submissions Page of this web site. My thanks to Karen and Carolanne for sharing their experiences. They underscore the urgent need to put flood mitigation measures in place. It’s been more than a year and a half since Harvey and six months since the Everybody But Trump meeting in Austin. That that meeting, City officials came away hopeful that we were close to an agreement with FEMA to remove at least part of the Mouth Bar.
Sadly, not much has happened since then. But City Council Member Dave Martin, Mayor Turner and Stephen Costello have scheduled a meeting for March 21 at the Kingwood Community Center. That will be one year after Turner promised the community more gates for Lake Houston and additional dredging to reduce our flood risk.
Posted by Bob Rehak on March 11, 2019
559 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/CAN-Entry.jpg?fit=1500%2C2000&ssl=120001500adminadmin2019-03-11 17:19:302019-03-11 17:20:10The Long Reach of Harvey
A lengthy Associated Press article today talked about the long, slow demise of community newspapers around the country. Now you may ask, “What does this have to do with flooding?” It doesn’t directly relate. But indirectly, it does…or at least with the slow pace of recovery from disasters, such as Harvey.
Carolanne Norris took this shot as she and her family hiked to safety. Shot is looking back down Woods Estates near Valley Manor. Kings Forest Pool is on right. 568 days after Hurricane Harvey, her family’s flood risk remains just as high as it did before Harvey and the value of her home is half what it used to be.
Our founding fathers considered the press so important that they talked about it in terms of “The Fourth Estate,” a fourth branch of government (after the executive, legislative and judicial branches).
But with so many newspapers folding or cutting back, who’s ensuring government is doing its job?
Press as Government’s Report Card
Without someone looking over the shoulders of officials, would they act fairly? Would they spend your money wisely? Would they always follow rules?
Even with the press attending public meetings, it’s often difficult to learn how your money is being spent. Even big city newsrooms are on life support these days. Few editors rush out to do investigative stories on financial irregularities at city hall (I’m using city hall in the generic sense here). That could take months. They have a deadline at five. It’s much easier and more profitable to run a story on grandma’s nut bread recipe, or the best barbecue in Houston. Now there’s some real meat for people to sink their teeth into.
Link Between Editorial Costs and Ad Revenues
One of my local heroes is Cynthia Calvert, owner of the Tribune newspapers. I’ve seen Cynthia and her reporters at many local meetings when not one other soul shows up. School board meetings have to be the worst. This costs Calvert money. Not only to cover the meeting. But to print the story later and distribute it. And since she distributes her paper free of charge, she needs to sell a lot of ads to cover the cost.
Most newspapers closely watch their advertising-to-editorial ratio. If ad revenue dips, editorial must get trimmed. It takes financial courage to have a reporter investigate a story for weeks that may lead nowhere and have no payoff.
Mitigation Molasses
Against this backdrop, ask yourself why the city has been so slow to implement mitigation efforts since Harvey. Is it all the fault of other branches of government moving too slowly as the City would have you believe? Or is the City missing opportunities? Why can’t we get weekly updates on the status of mitigation efforts? Why will no one set deadlines and stick to them?
One thing is for sure. When Dave Martin holds his town hall meeting on March 21st, we’ll get the story that he, Costello and the Mayor want us to hear. Members of the press will dutifully report whatever they say. But how many will report what they don’t say and why?
How to Get Better Government
If you want better government, if you want faster flood mitigation, subscribe to your local newspaper and tell the editor you want answers. And for paper’s like Cynthia’s, make sure you tell local merchants how much you appreciate merchants who support their local papers with advertising. The payoff may not be immediate. But the connection is there. When officials know someone is watching, they’re on their best behavior.
Posted by Bob Rehak on March 10, 2019
558 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/CAN-KF-Pool-e1731972288338.jpg?fit=1100%2C825&ssl=18251100adminadmin2019-03-10 18:58:542019-03-10 19:34:45Decline in Readers and Ads Leads Hundreds of Newspapers to Fold. So What’s the Connection to Flooding?
Two weeks ago, when the San Jacinto River Authority reconsidered whether to lower Lake Conroe seasonally again this year, I put out a call for pictures from Harvey. I wanted the people of Lake Conroe to see how much the people of Lake Houston suffered from floodwaters. The community responded with dozens of images. I have just now finished posting the last of them on the Submissions page. If you’ve never been to this page before, check it out. The images speak volumes…silently.
Submissions from Karen Hudak
As I edited Karen Hudak’s pictures, I could almost feel what must have been her panic. Waking up in the dark to see water creeping up. Scrambling to elevate belongings. Pausing to photograph a panicked deer. Peering out a second story window to see how bad things were. Loading up a truck to escape then finding the water was rising too fast to get away.
Night of the Intruder. By Karen Hudak.
Barrington Homes about to be Engulfed as Harvey’s Floodwaters Rose. By Karen Hudak.
Sheltering in Attic as Harvey’s Floodwaters Rose in Utility Room. By Karen Hudak.
Deer Seeking Shelter During the Storm. By Karen Hudak.
Rescue Truck that Needed Rescuing. Photo by Karen Hudak.
No Go. Photo by Karen Hudak.
Submissions by Diana Aston
Diana Aston also submitted several pictures that captured the overwhelmingness of the event. They capture floodwaters rising outside, engulfing homes, swallowing cars, and her garage. And finally the return to shattered dreams…down the toilet.
16th Hole Marker, Kingwood Country Club Lake Course, As Harvey’s Floodwaters Rose. By Diana Aston
Flooding Cars in the Barrington during Harvey by Diana Aston
A Losing Battle. Harvey’s Floodwaters Creeping into Barrington Garage by Diana Aston
Toilet after Harvey Flood. By Diana Aston.
My thanks to Karen and Diana for allowing me to share their pictures with the world.
To see more pictures submitted by others, browse through the gallery on the Submissions page. To share your images with the world, follow the instructions on the page.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/9/19 with photos from Karen Hudak and Diana Aston
557 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/image4-e1552182578172.jpeg?fit=1224%2C1632&ssl=116321224adminadmin2019-03-09 20:51:002020-01-17 10:23:13Night of the Intruder: More Reader Submissions
The Long Reach of Harvey
While much of the press after Harvey focused on the wisdom of development in floodways and floodplains, the plight of homes and businesses much further from the San Jacinto was largely overlooked. Amy Slaughter and Jennifer Trimble bought homes more than a mile from the river, thinking they beyond the reach of floods. They weren’t. Homes near mine, almost two miles from the river, also flooded.
Page 13 of the Harris County Flood Control District’s final report on Harvey states, “Of the 154,170 homes flooded, 48,850 were within the 1% (100-yr) floodplain, 34,970 within the .2% (500-yr) floodplain, and 70,370 were outside of the 1% (100-yr) and .2% (500-yr) floodplains.” In other words, 46% were not in a marked flood plain. Which helps to explain the staggering number of uninsured homeowners.
Below are some more pictures that two readers recently submitted after recent posts about The Night 11,000 Lake Houston Area Residents Became Homeless and The Night of the Intruder.
Photos by Carolanne Norris
Photos by Karen Favero
Folly of High Rise Development near the Floodway
Images like these so far from the river can only make one marvel at the folly of high-rise developers who insist on building on the edge of the current floodway. They know full well that, when new new flood maps are redrawn, their property will be IN the floodway. Of course, by that time, they will likely have resold it to unsuspecting buyers who are thrilled with the river views.
Underscoring Urgent Need for Flood Mitigation
If you have pictures that you would like to share, please send them to me via the Submissions Page of this web site. My thanks to Karen and Carolanne for sharing their experiences. They underscore the urgent need to put flood mitigation measures in place. It’s been more than a year and a half since Harvey and six months since the Everybody But Trump meeting in Austin. That that meeting, City officials came away hopeful that we were close to an agreement with FEMA to remove at least part of the Mouth Bar.
Sadly, not much has happened since then. But City Council Member Dave Martin, Mayor Turner and Stephen Costello have scheduled a meeting for March 21 at the Kingwood Community Center. That will be one year after Turner promised the community more gates for Lake Houston and additional dredging to reduce our flood risk.
Posted by Bob Rehak on March 11, 2019
559 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Decline in Readers and Ads Leads Hundreds of Newspapers to Fold. So What’s the Connection to Flooding?
A lengthy Associated Press article today talked about the long, slow demise of community newspapers around the country. Now you may ask, “What does this have to do with flooding?” It doesn’t directly relate. But indirectly, it does…or at least with the slow pace of recovery from disasters, such as Harvey.
Our founding fathers considered the press so important that they talked about it in terms of “The Fourth Estate,” a fourth branch of government (after the executive, legislative and judicial branches).
Press as Government’s Report Card
Without someone looking over the shoulders of officials, would they act fairly? Would they spend your money wisely? Would they always follow rules?
Even with the press attending public meetings, it’s often difficult to learn how your money is being spent. Even big city newsrooms are on life support these days. Few editors rush out to do investigative stories on financial irregularities at city hall (I’m using city hall in the generic sense here). That could take months. They have a deadline at five. It’s much easier and more profitable to run a story on grandma’s nut bread recipe, or the best barbecue in Houston. Now there’s some real meat for people to sink their teeth into.
Link Between Editorial Costs and Ad Revenues
One of my local heroes is Cynthia Calvert, owner of the Tribune newspapers. I’ve seen Cynthia and her reporters at many local meetings when not one other soul shows up. School board meetings have to be the worst. This costs Calvert money. Not only to cover the meeting. But to print the story later and distribute it. And since she distributes her paper free of charge, she needs to sell a lot of ads to cover the cost.
Most newspapers closely watch their advertising-to-editorial ratio. If ad revenue dips, editorial must get trimmed. It takes financial courage to have a reporter investigate a story for weeks that may lead nowhere and have no payoff.
Mitigation Molasses
Against this backdrop, ask yourself why the city has been so slow to implement mitigation efforts since Harvey. Is it all the fault of other branches of government moving too slowly as the City would have you believe? Or is the City missing opportunities? Why can’t we get weekly updates on the status of mitigation efforts? Why will no one set deadlines and stick to them?
One thing is for sure. When Dave Martin holds his town hall meeting on March 21st, we’ll get the story that he, Costello and the Mayor want us to hear. Members of the press will dutifully report whatever they say. But how many will report what they don’t say and why?
How to Get Better Government
If you want better government, if you want faster flood mitigation, subscribe to your local newspaper and tell the editor you want answers. And for paper’s like Cynthia’s, make sure you tell local merchants how much you appreciate merchants who support their local papers with advertising. The payoff may not be immediate. But the connection is there. When officials know someone is watching, they’re on their best behavior.
Posted by Bob Rehak on March 10, 2019
558 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Night of the Intruder: More Reader Submissions
Two weeks ago, when the San Jacinto River Authority reconsidered whether to lower Lake Conroe seasonally again this year, I put out a call for pictures from Harvey. I wanted the people of Lake Conroe to see how much the people of Lake Houston suffered from floodwaters. The community responded with dozens of images. I have just now finished posting the last of them on the Submissions page. If you’ve never been to this page before, check it out. The images speak volumes…silently.
Submissions from Karen Hudak
As I edited Karen Hudak’s pictures, I could almost feel what must have been her panic. Waking up in the dark to see water creeping up. Scrambling to elevate belongings. Pausing to photograph a panicked deer. Peering out a second story window to see how bad things were. Loading up a truck to escape then finding the water was rising too fast to get away.
Submissions by Diana Aston
Diana Aston also submitted several pictures that captured the overwhelmingness of the event. They capture floodwaters rising outside, engulfing homes, swallowing cars, and her garage. And finally the return to shattered dreams…down the toilet.
My thanks to Karen and Diana for allowing me to share their pictures with the world.
To see more pictures submitted by others, browse through the gallery on the Submissions page. To share your images with the world, follow the instructions on the page.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/9/19 with photos from Karen Hudak and Diana Aston
557 Days since Hurricane Harvey