30,000 Guard troops prepared to respond to Harvey

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: BubbaJoe

That's one of the things I mean. You have people with no transportation, and even if they use city buses or whatever they have, it's not enough. The roads aren't able to move that many people, even if they use both sides, etc.

Some of the evac pics I have seen are horrible. I lived in a rural area in FL, about 20 miles from I-4, but it was jammed in both directions, saved none of them, Charlie came over us, moved on to Orlando, and then Daytona

originally posted by: muzzleflash
a reply to: BubbaJoe

Well I usually think of myself as the dumbest person to ever exist.
So yes, maybe it's exaggerated.

But thanks for the explanation about how my thoughts were wrong by ignoring what I said and focusing on belittling me for having a comment.

Does it matter what category of Hurricane I've been through?

You start out by talking about putting a lot of people in a small area, and then you blame planners. I have been through these storms in a rural area, and they are a bitch, much like the tornadoes I grew up with in the midwest.

Weather is a sonofabitch, and either you respect it, or you perish from it.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: muzzleflash

No, they aren't, and no one has suggested they are. But they have a lot more resources than the average community, and can do a lot more than a group of people just trying to help each other.

Never discount neighbors helping neighbors. Charlie in 04, next morning, we were all out checking on each other, figuring out how to move, cutting trees. A lot of people working together with limited resources, we all managed to survive.

Go back an review Rita.

Many people who were in the area of landfall did leave. Small towns though.

a reply to: BubbaJoe

I saw what could be done in Alabama. Like I said, we did a lot on our own. But there is a limit as to what could be done by people helping people.

a reply to: roadgravel

And something like 107 people died trying to evacuate Houston.

originally posted by: roadgravel
Go back an review Rita.

Many people who were in the area of landfall did leave. Small towns though.

And that is good, Charlie hit, middle of the state, had no where to go, had animals, including horses. They were freaked the f out when the storm was over. We took no damage to our home, going to hand that victory to the trees surrounding our home, they took a pounding.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: BubbaJoe

I saw what could be done in Alabama. Like I said, we did a lot on our own. But there is a limit as to what could be done by people helping people.

I agree, I saw a lot, but the people could not cover everything.

We fed and clothed our neighbors the best we could, but the storm had hit us all.

originally posted by: Zaphod58

Listen, I know you understand military response better than me. But one of my longest careers was logistics.

I understand it's a logistical nightmare, but I don't understand no effort to begin when this storm was expected to be cat 3 or higher and move slower while dumping more rain than many on recent history.

I don't think an acceptable response is no response. There should have been a more coordinated effort. These people were going to have to evacuate most likely anyways. Why not start with the ones who need it most.

What I'm left wondering is how are the 5 or 6 million people in the Houston area doing as far as food, water, and shelter? Is most of the city shut off? Are there thousands unknown dead or is the situation not as bad as the flood images seem to suggest? If there are millions stranded, we could have a major crisis of people without food, water and shelter. I heard numbers like 10,000 in one shelter, several thousand elsewhere. Those numbers make me wonder what about everyone else?

I'm wondering if there are millions of people in partially flooded homes or are they simply high and dry and getting by ok.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

They figured out that it was going to be a Cat 3 something like 24 hours before landfall. That's not enough time to evacuate, not even everyone from the small towns that got hit.

They had plenty of warning with Hurricane Rita.

In the Houston area, the muddled flight from the city killed almost as many people as Rita did. An estimated 2.5 million people hit the road ahead of the storm’s arrival, creating some of the most insane gridlock in US history. More than 100 evacuees died in the exodus. Drivers waited in traffic for 20-plus hours, and heat stroke impaired or killed dozens. Fights broke out on the highway. A bus carrying nursing home evacuees caught fire, and 24 died.

qz.com...

Any big city is going to require days, or even more to evacuate, even if they have plenty of warning and the best evacuation plan known.

The small towns that were hit DID evacuate, and did it well. That's why the death toll stands at 30, despite all the flooding and storm damage. The storm has set a record for total rainfall in the continental United States, with totals in one area hitting 51.88 inches.

a reply to: orionthehunter

My cousin lives there now. A lot of the city is not flooded. Someone put it well earlier, in that "Houston" covers something like 80 miles. It's mostly the area around the 610 loop and around there that's underwater.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker

originally posted by: Zaphod58

Listen, I know you understand military response better than me. But one of my longest careers was logistics.

I understand it's a logistical nightmare, but I don't understand no effort to begin when this storm was expected to be cat 3 or higher and move slower while dumping more rain than many on recent history.

I don't think an acceptable response is no response. There should have been a more coordinated effort. These people were going to have to evacuate most likely anyways. Why not start with the ones who need it most.

I am there up to the evaquate point.The coordination in the aftermath is a disaster.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Thank you for the numbers, I was just confused with the slow speed of the storm. I remember them projecting record rainfall, so I was curious to why Houston didn't try to do some preliminary moves no matter how minor they were.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

This is the first hurricane I've ever seen that stayed together this well once it crossed over land. Normally once they do, they fall apart, and become a big mess of rain. This one, for some reason held together and is sticking around as a fairly organized storm.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: CriticalStinker

This is the first hurricane I've ever seen that stayed together this well once it crossed over land. Normally once they do, they fall apart, and become a big mess of rain. This one, for some reason held together and is sticking around as a fairly organized storm.

The Gulf can do mysterious things with hurricanes.

Luckily it usually breaks them with the land barrier, but the warm waters can fuel the slow ones.

a reply to: Zaphod58
Thanks for the answer.

I'm wondering if it was only like 60,000 of the 6 million of the city that got flooded. It does seem like that small number could have been evacuated in 24 hours with proper planning ahead of time for such a high water flood event. Lots of times, it seems like cities don't want to spend money for something deemed to be a rare event. In my opinion, these 1000 year flood events aren't that rare anymore. The Carolinas got 11 trillion gallons of water in a week 2 years ago. Now Texas has received over 19 trillion less than 2 years later.

a reply to: orionthehunter

After the disaster that was the evacuation for Rita, they're gun shy. They don't want another 100+ dead on their hands, when they don't have to.