FEMA Harvey site is open, Estimated 450,000 to Apply; TX Leg FU Sept.1

032 (1280x720).jpg Cruise Ship comes up the channel to Port of Galveston, two weeks before the Port closed for Hurricane Harvey and stranded 15-20,000 people out to sea. Still not reopened as of this afternoon. Roads in and out of Galveston, as well as regional airports are still closed so who knows when they will get to go home even after they land? August, 2017

I have quite a few relatives and friends living in the path of Harvey. Have been finding out that most are alright so far, but rising waters put some still at risk. Not sure when we will know about some of them.

(Here in Santa Fe, NM we have been looking at our own disaster readiness in the face of climate change. We still have all our important papers in our 'hurricane bag', something we learned to do when we first retired down to East Bay. We are looking at solar charged battery backup generators and replacing our old Base Camp water purification bladder.)

Many many others of the 10 million people at risk from Harvey so far are not all right. The storm still is dumping water, and tornados are still a risk.

Makes me want to vomit to consider what I already knew about why Houston was not ready for Harvey.

For years enviros across the country have fought the destruction of wetlands and worked to staunch runaway development that has been allowed by the buying of politicians and other government officals.

Having moved from Austin down to the bay after we retired, having made quarterly trips down in the area when we moved away after Rita, knowing how Texas politicians and other officials have continued to favor the developers over consumers just makes me sick.

Now, with Republicans ascendant both nationally and in so may states, and neo-liberal duopoly still working against the interests of the 99 per cent, it is hard for many to be encouraged about the future.


And I admit to having trepidation about the coming FEMA response.


450,000 plus

Gah. Of course it is still early days, with rains multiple other hazards still being predicted for SE TX until Thursday.


App For Help Via FEMA


More FEMA

TX Insurance Law Changes Sept. 1 ; Get Claim on record NOW !

HT to TX gay politico Glen Maxey on Facebook for heads up on this, for info about the latest TX Leg fail. Here is a Press release from a law firm who wants your business, but still best source could find.

http://www.insuranceclaimrecoverysupport.com/public-adjuster-press-relea...

A new insurance bill recently passed which is a major loss for Texas property owners. House Bill 1774 further enables bad faith insurance companies to abuse policyholders deploy unfair claim handling practices that force consumers to sue insurers for underpaying, delaying or wrongfully denying “force of nature” related insurance claims. The bill is an Insurer-friendly attempt to make it harder for Policyholders to bring and litigate force of nature related property claims.

The media and insurance company lobbyists tout the bill will put an end to frivolous lawsuits surrounding weather disasters such as hailstorms and lower premiums by de-incentivizing trial lawyers gaming the system to get massive attorney’s fees. However, the new law reaches far beyond hail related occurrences, it encompasses other nature-related events including property damage covered for earthquake, wildfire, flood, tornadoes, lightning, hurricane, wind, snowstorm, or rainstorm.

HB 1774 offers little to no real mechanisms to curb lawsuits or hold insurer’s accountable for bad faith insurance claim handling acts which forces many policyholders to file lawsuits even after making reasonable efforts to settle a claim with the assistance of a licensed public insurance adjuster. The legislation limits the ability of property owners to hold insurers accountable for underpaid claims or poorly handled claims investigations.

The bill actually cuts penalties for insurers sued for underpaying, delaying or wrongfully denying storm claims, including wind and hail damage, while making it harder for those suing to collect attorneys’ fees.

HB 1774 will force a majority of claim cases into federal court, which typically takes twice as long to receive justice, adds cost and uncertainty for property owners who attempt to legally challenge insurers’ decisions. To win in federal court, the plaintiff needs a 100% unanimous jury decision vs. district court 10 out of 12.

Many insurance companies pay property owners as little and as late as possible and drag the process out as long as they can. Texans can expect more delays and denials from insurers and less accountability. The harmful effect of this new law for homeowners, businesses, churches, and schools will be state-wide.

It is also noteworthy that HB 1774 passed in the absence of a Commissioner at the Texas Department of Insurance who regulates the insurance industry and protects consumers. Previous Commissioner of Insurance David Mattax sadly passed away in April of 2017 and to date, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has not appointed a new Commissioner to the Texas Department of Insurance.

Changes to the Texas Insurance Code

The “Hailstorm Bill”, effective September 1, 2017, adds several new provisions to the Texas Insurance Code affecting first-party property insurance claims. Notably, the bill would create a new Chapter 542A for weather-related claims, which changes the requirements for pre-suit notice and inspections, allow for the assumption of agent liability, and limit the amount of recoverable attorneys’ fees. Other changes are as follows:

• Inspections – Section 542A.004 provides that the person who receives pre-suit notice may provide a written request to inspect the insured property within 30 days after receiving the notice. It further provides that the inspection is to actually occur within 60 days of the date the person receives the pre-suit notice if reasonably possible.

• Assumption of Liability – Section 542A.006 allows insurers to elect to assume whatever liability an agent might have to the claimant for the agent’s acts or omissions related to the claim by providing written notice to the claimant. An agent includes any employee, agent, representative, or adjuster acting on behalf of the insurer. Once the insurer assumes the agent’s liability, the claims against the agent must be dismissed with prejudice. By allowing assumption of an adjuster’s or insurance agent’s liability, the bill aims to make it easier for insurers to remove cases to federal court.

• Limitation of Attorneys’ Fees – If the policyholder’s attorney fails to comply with the new pre-suit notice requirements, the policyholder may be prohibited from recovering attorneys’ fees. Additionally, if a claim is tried, the amount of recoverable attorneys’ fees will be adjusted. For a claimant to recover all attorneys’ fees, the award must equal at least 80% of the pre-suit damages demand, while a pre-suit demand equaling 20-79% of the damages award allows only for a scaled percentage recovery of attorneys’ fees. Should the award be 20% or less of a claimant’s original demand, the claimant recovers no attorneys’ fees. So now there is an incentive for Insurers to pay 20% less on every claim.

• Reduced Statutory Penalty Interest – The new law lowers the penalty interest rate that insurers must pay if they fail to pay “timely and fully” from 18% per annum to a rate of adding 5% to the interest rate determined under Section 304.003 of the Finance Code, prejudgment interest which is currently 5%. Thus, the penalty is lowered from 18% to 10%. For claims to which Chapter 542A does not apply, however, the statutory penalty interest rate would still be 18%. That’s right, Texas lawmakers have lowered the penalty on Insurers who abuse the system and take advantage of consumer from 18% to 10%.

Rep. Greg Bonnen sponsored the bill passed by the Texas House. Texans for Lawsuit Reform and The Texas Coalition for Affordable Insurance Solutions (TCAIS), which represents major homeowners insurance companies doing business in Texas, praised the passage of HB 1774.

A sample claim form for emailing, here: https://www.educationviews.org/affected-hurricane-harvey/ .

Perhaps you will add other useful links in the comments for helping people get through and move on from Harvey?

Easy to imagine that thousands won't be aware of the deadline law changes, and will have hell getting their due from Big Insurance as a consequence.

Hopefully we can help get the word out on this and the FEMA application announcement.

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divineorder's picture

Maybe that will be cleared up soon? JtC could probably give them some advice on how.

The future ?

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

ggersh's picture

@divineorder @divineorder on how great FEMA was doing.

Here is a link on the situation and from all the
coverage I saw on WC it was mostly regular people
helping people, the government of Texas is absent
and why wasn't the NG called out before not after?

http://wallstreetonparade.com/2017/08/hurricane-harvey-how-bad-are-thing...

It all adds up to one wanting to puke.

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Pluto's Republic's picture

@ggersh

…in case there's a nuclear war. Then, they'll really have our backs. Right?

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
ggersh's picture

@Pluto's Republic
FEMA needs to keep their powder dry
…in case there's a nuclear war.

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

divineorder's picture

@Pluto's Republic wherein US get's its @ss handed to it for not being ready. https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/why-the-us-wasnt-prepared-for-h...

But if the past is any indication, we will very soon hear from politicians that Harvey was just too big, and that "nothing could have been done to prepare for or mitigate the impact of such a loss.Big-picture considerations in the case of Harvey would include looking at the condition of green space and wetlands that could have aided in mitigating the impact of the storm, land-use planning and runaway development in such places as Houston, building codes in affected areas, market penetration of flood insurance (only one in six homeowners in the Houston area have purchased the coverage), the existence of large-scale mitigation projects like seawalls and levees, and whether important government institutions like the National Hurricane Center and FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) were prepared for such an event.

"

...

Other areas of concern include the troubling fact that building code in Texas is voluntary unless a municipality adopts a code and enforces it. According to building-code progress studies of 18 coastal states completed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety for 2012 and 2015, Texas had a score of 18 out of 100 in 2012, rising to 36 out of 100 in 2015. Virginia, comparatively, scored a 95 in both reports and Florida a 95 in 2012 and a 94 in 2015.

Looking at the role of government agencies in Harvey, it might be useful to determine if the appointment of FEMA's new director in late June – three weeks into hurricane season – played any role whatsoever in that agency's response to Harvey. Similarly, the National Hurricane Center has been without a head since its director left in May to take a job in the private sector.

How about teh STNP. Wounder if FEMA has plans for handling a catastrophe there?

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

Pluto's Republic's picture

@divineorder

No point in building an infrastructure for them.

Now take a place like Russia. They have small and large scale nuclear war drills nationwide with millions of people involved and training. They have a plan and every citizen is trained to play a role. They know where to meet, where to go, how to communicate, how to shelter. They work on tactics that instantly decentralize their populations and their resources. The people there are keepers, I guess.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
divineorder's picture

@ggersh while trillions are spent on MILC and endless war.

jakkalbessie pointed out earlier todadythat with Harvey, as with Ike, these new storms form up so quickly and with such ferocity that FEMA would have to be super efficient with plans and resources in the can ready to roll to really do some good, and people would just have to accept the fact that mistakes would be made and money wasted if the storm went elsewhere or died quickly.

Having grown up down near the coast and lived in Texas all my life I have to say that much of the citizenry has to be somewhat accountable from continuing on generation after generation having families and going along with the sprawl, ignoring the huge risk of living near the coast in order to have jobs and be near family.

With the jobs disappearing due to automation and outsourcing I sadly expect there to be a geometric increase in desperate people for years to come after Harvey is gone. Hope I am wrong !

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ggersh's picture

@divineorder where snowstorms roam, we used to be
great at helping others, my father owned a
grocery store during the great snowstorm of 67
he sold milk from the back of a truck as it
couldn't get to the store, so people need to
step up and from my experience always do. It's the
pol's that are always a step slow and a day late.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/chi-chicagodays-...

My question is why didn't Abbott put the NG on
alert as Harvey wasn't unexpected, also the clips
of him on TV only show him trying to look good, not
do the job well

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

divineorder's picture

@ggersh Complete and total bad actor.

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divineorder's picture

@ggersh at some point saw those. I was totally blown away, but even back then I knew they were a cover for crimes against nature in the name of developer greed.

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ggersh's picture

@divineorder almighty dollar and the quest to hoard it. -sigh-

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

@divineorder
someone is a "developer" it usually means they are despoiling something or other, and making a lot of money doing it.

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native

divineorder's picture

@native

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

divineorder's picture

Has vid of scenes from Harvey that are heartbreaking.

But also some tips from someone who lived through Sandy.

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

@divineorder Reading all the news and seeing all the horrifying pictures of the Houston area. Amazed at the low number of fatalities in all of this devastation. Very heartening reading of all the groups rescuing people from the floodwaters.

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

@divineorder Reading all the news and seeing all the horrifying pictures of the Houston area. Amazed at the low number of fatalities in all of this devastation. Very heartening reading of all the groups rescuing people from the floodwaters.

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

Deja's picture

We've both been so lucky so far, and were actually more concerned about Friday's dialysis and high water. Now, he could die due to power loss.

He's only 27. Strep throat killed his kidneys last summer. He's on a donor list. He spends about 15 hours per week hooked up to a machine. It's a pain in the ass, and muscles, and keeps him from sleeping, but it keeps him alive - provided he actually gets it.

Now, I am truly worried.

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divineorder's picture

@Deja

In researching solar charge power generators yesterday came across a review one person experienced the generator would only fully charge the portable oxygen machine, would not handle the full home size unit.

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Deja's picture

@divineorder
I don't know what to do. I feel totally helpless. I have a small truck but so many roads are closed that I likely couldn't get him to an open center if I knew of one, and might not even be able to get to him.

I still have power, luckily. He does not. We're about 15 miles apart.

I don't know what to do.

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divineorder's picture

@Deja they well have dead since sounds like health emergency?

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Deja's picture

@divineorder

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WoodsDweller's picture

@Deja
Does he have a unit at home? Or is this a matter of getting him to a functioning facility somewhere?
If the unit is at home, find out what its power requirements are.
Then reach out by whatever means are working to someone who has a generator that they would lend for a few hours, mention it is for dialysis. Emergency services might be willing to lend you one as well. Construction firms. Anyone who might have a generator.
Use your truck to get the generator, put it outside (or leave it in the truck), run an extension cord inside, and plug the unit directly into it.
Don't get electrocuted in the rain.
Good luck!

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"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone

divineorder's picture

@WoodsDweller except for the fact so many roads remain closed and more may close in short term.

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Deja's picture

@WoodsDweller
I just looked at the Ft Bend County road closures and I literally can't get to him.

He told me Wednesday night that if he couldn't get dialysis on Friday (due to weather), he could adjust his diet and make it until Monday. However, he was able to get there Friday, just not today. Supposedly, it's doable until tomorrow or Wednesday, but I can't imagine he'll be in good shape by then.

With his power out, I am not blowing up his phone to save his battery, but I know what a hard head he is. (His refusal to go to the doctor in the first place is why his kidneys are shot.) I need his address. I know how to get to his house, but don't know the address. If he knows why I want the address he probably won't give it to me. Ugh.

Just got another flash flood warning alert. Then one from work saying we're closed tomorrow with pay. He works there too.

I'm going to try to call around and see what I can find as possible solutions.

Thanks for the suggestion. I had benefit of a generator during Ike in 2008, but had to travel to Brenham for replacement fuel. And we shared. The whole culdesac (autocorrect turned off & I can't spell) had extension cords criss crossing it.

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divineorder's picture

@Deja you cannot blame yourself if his outcomes are not favorable.

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Deja's picture

@divineorder
Dash 1

I told her I saw a tweet where the Harris County Sheriff's Office was picking up dialysis patients for dialysis. She said if it's an emergency to call 911 but otherwise he needs to figure it out.

We've been told for days to stay off the roads, and not to go around barricades, but figure it out.

I don't think she knows how serious kidney failure is, or how stupidly contradictory she sounded.

I'll get one of those red necks with an air boat to go get him if I have to. She 'done went an pissed me off'. And if a cop gives me any shit I'll tell him/her the woman at the sheriff's office told me to figure it out - so I did. Grrrrrrr

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divineorder's picture

@Deja overwhelmed, and exasperated at the lack of resources and personel for the epic castostopic even they are still in the middle of.

Wish you would have got a problem solver!

She is right in some respects,ie what she said could have been the best she could say but meant that he does need to be in the driver's seat on this?

Wonder if this is any good ?

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

Deja's picture

@divineorder
He said he didn't need it and better for those affected to get it.

Like you said, he's got the wheel. As long as he doesn't wait too long to do something about it, he'll likely survive.

Oh great - this post interrupted by yet another flash flood warning alert on my phone. This one til 11:45 pm.

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Deja's picture

@divineorder

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WoodsDweller's picture

@Deja @Deja
you should be able to pull that from google maps. Start at your house, trace the way you know to drive to his house, that should let you find the location. Click on the road map to get the address. Check it with the satellite view and/or road view to verify that it's the right house.
If you can get hold of a topographical map, you might be able to check against known road closures to see what altitude is flooded, then plan a route that way.
The problem would be if there is too much water to drive, but not enough for a boat.

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"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone

Deja's picture

@WoodsDweller
He's irked at me for dwelling on it. His power was restored not too long ago.

He did finally agree to calling the emergency number for his clinic tomorrow for help and advice. He's only 27, and stubborn as a mule, as they say.

But, I think I'd like having you around for the zombie apocalypse! Thank you for all your advice.

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TheOtherMaven's picture

@Deja
They don't take proper care of themselves, deny there's anything wrong, won't (or forget to) take their meds, don't tell the dr anything or ask any questions, wind up in the hospital, and make things worse for themselves by fighting the treatment.

That's why I'm now all alone - my SO followed that path to the bitter end.

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Deja's picture

@TheOtherMaven
So very sorry. My dad was like that too. At 18, rather than stay the weekend listening to him dry heave (sp?), refusing to let me take him to the hospital, I went camping on the beach. When I returned, the house was silent. I prepared myself for what I would see when I entered his room because he wasn't answering me back when I called out. I was shocked to find him gone. A man he worked with had taken him to the V.A. hospital in Houston (something I didn't know existed at 18). A quadruple bypass and a 6 mos to live prognosis is what they gave him. He lived another 7 years, to the age of 52. Ornery old bastard. I certainly miss him.

I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure you miss your mule too.

On a somewhat lighter note, my mule-headed friend was trying to make it to Katy in hopes of receiving dialysis there. He did not request my assistance regarding my truck (he's a really tall guy and doesn't fit well in my little Ford Ranger lol). I'm waiting to hear back. Hoping for a text that says the usual, "I'm hooked up." I'll breathe easier then.

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divineorder's picture

@WoodsDweller remember a friend or relatives address. We used to keep a hard copy address book, but that went by the wayside some years ago. Privacy?

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Deja's picture

@Deja
It took him 2 hrs to get to Katy (should take 30 minutes), and he's hooked up right now. In 5 hours he'll need to make the trip back home. His stepdad was going stir crazy so offered to try to get him there. So relieved.

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TheOtherMaven's picture

@Deja
especially in times like these.

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

detroitmechworks's picture

If you feel like vomiting, feel free to check out twitter, and the huge numbers of "Liberals" cheering that it's Trump Voters who are being hit by this.

Even saw one that praised Bush for doing something during Katrina... Because they weren't his voters, but at least he did "Something".

Nothing I hate more than hypocrisy. At this point, I've had my fill.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

divineorder's picture

@detroitmechworks FWIW I did see here central Harris County went for Clinton surrounded by red trump on the outer areas.

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

Deja's picture

@divineorder
Little Napoleon and his cult can suck a bag of ____ (fill in the blank).

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@Deja

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snoopydawg's picture

@LoneStarMike
Did you see my comment about this?

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg

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thanatokephaloides's picture

@detroitmechworks

And Democrats are cheering.

If you feel like vomiting, feel free to check out twitter, and the huge numbers of "Liberals" cheering that it's Trump Voters who are being hit by this.

Good afternoon, Markos!

(He sowed the seed; the crop is his!)

No, thank you; I'll take the ipecac, if you don't mind!

Bad

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

snoopydawg's picture

@thanatokephaloides

Don’t weep for these coal miners, now abandoned by their GOP patrons. They are getting exactly the government that they voted for. Democrats can no longer offer unrequited love and cover for them. And isn’t this what democracy is all about? They won the election! This is what they wanted!
B

The democrats weren't protecting these people, unless you count the ACA which many poor people can barely afford to use.
This willful blindness from ToP members who have their lips stuck to the democrats' asses is beyond disgusting.
To be this happy to see that people who believed differently than they do shows how shallow they are and everyone who rec'd his diary are no better than skunk rats.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

divineorder's picture

@snoopydawg easy for Big Hospital and Big Insurance . Dems, well, what will they do ?

Oh yeah, they all only have our best interests at heart!

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snoopydawg's picture

@divineorder
because they are conveniently in no position to do so.
Natural disasters should not require special funding from congress. This is what people pay taxes for. The government was set up to work for all of us, not just the ones who can afford to buy our government.
And insurance companies should have to help people who have been wiped out during these catastrophes whether they bought special riders or not.
And as others have stated, the national guard and every organization should have been ready to help the minute it's safe for them to do so.
How do other countries handle these disasters?

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divineorder's picture

@detroitmechworks stairs to the laundry room here in the condo complex and ducked in to say hi to the association manager for the first time since we got back to Santa Fe NM from camping Africa via stopover in TX to see relatives.

Mentioned our concerns about them and she said why didn't they get out, and was quite adamant about it. We told her one reason we sold our retirement fixer upper down on the bay was because after Rita we had determined that it was practically impossible to evacuate 6 million people and we wanted no part of that. Still, she persisted.

Heh.

This Twitter thread is well worth reading imo:

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

Deja's picture

@divineorder
From natural disasters to economic collapses to domestic violence to addiction to police violence.

We just don't get it until we've been there, done that - or until someone we actually care about has, and we know intimate details about that experience.

*Oh goody (NOT): just got another flash flood warning alert on my phone. This one til 5am. Sigh . . . It just won't stop.

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WaterLily's picture

@detroitmechworks Why this still surprises me, I don't know. And they're all so SMUG about their self-righteousness.

All I can say is, karma is a bitch.

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Meteor Man's picture

The Film:

http://www.houstonwehaveaproblemfilm.com/

The Problem:

It’s still unclear exactly where the smells are coming from, but Parras suspects the source is the many oil refineries, chemical plants, and gas facilities nearby. Several of these plants have shut down or are in the process of shutting down due to Harvey’s historic flooding, and shutdowns are a major cause of “abnormal” emission events, according to a 2012 report from the Environmental Integrity Project.

Short-term impacts of these events can be “substantial,” because “upsets or sudden shutdowns can release large plumes of sulfur dioxide or toxic chemicals in just a few hours, exposing downwind communities to peak levels of pollution that are much more likely to trigger asthma attacks and other respiratory systems.” The communities closest to these sites in Houston are disproportionately low-income and minority.

https://newrepublic.com/minutes/144487/unbearable-petrochemical-smells-r...

More here:

Environmental advocates are also worried that Harvey will create long-term public health problems due to accidental toxic substance releases, and not just from refineries and power plants. In the 30 counties where a disaster has been declared, there are dozens of Superfund sites, many of which are essentially waste pits containing harmful chemicals.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/08/25/trump-charge-heightened-fea...

Surprise, surprise!

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/weather/2017/08/25/texas-lawmakers-now-b...

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

divineorder's picture

@Meteor Man on remodeling our retirement house on East Bay where we could kayak with the gators and otters but at night could also observe petrochemical hell across the Bay we heard an large explosion come rolling across the water. As Obama infamously said about torture 'some folks died.' I had hoped that the prevailing breeze from the Gulf would keep the bad air mostly away from us but when the northers blew in winter the stench was bad. Still like going to Galveston for a weekend when we go down to Houston for a while to visit elderly relatives and some friends.

But also so glad to be gone from there because of the horrendous pollution and the storm worries. Of course here in Santa Fe, NM, when the northers blow the coal fired plants start killing people....

What a country,eh?

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Meteor Man's picture

@divineorder @divineorder @divineorder
I drove down to New Orleans after Katrina with a caravan out of that low down, dirty rotten commie Pacifica Radio station, KPFK. The station was running a public service announcement every hour, so I said to myself WTF? let's do it!

KPFK was organizing at least two 10 car caravans per day to transport emergency supplies and manpower to N.O.
Doc Jefferson had set up a Mobile Mash Unit at Camp Covington just north of N.O. Volunteer nurses were going out with emergency meds and testing for high blood pressure, diabetes and whatever. Most rewarding vacation I ever had. So I checked out the local Picayune paper. They were getting ready four days ago:

https://topics.nola.com/tag/jefferson%20parish/

And a timely development 6 days ago from the link above:

Jefferson Parish officials said Wednesday (Aug. 23) they are looking to get more control and better access to the Pumping Station No. 6 that drains portions of Old Metairie and Old Jefferson.

Jefferson Parish pays the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans $1 million a year toward operational cost at the pumping station, but parish workers have limited access and no say in how the station operates.

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divineorder's picture

@Meteor Man you just gave me a flashback to my hippie wanna be days in the 60's.

Great story, so wonderful you were able to give and help out! Thanks for sharing that.

For some reason this came to mind as well:

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Deja's picture

@Meteor Man
Truly fabulous!

I've been seeing people with boats from Louisiana, Mississippi, and who knows where else who came just to help. They are rescuing people by the hundreds, if not more.

One group called themselves The Cajun Cavalry. Smile

20 years ago I met two NYC firefighters who came down here to help rescue people after major flooding. They were fabulous too. I have wondered if they survived 9/11 since that day. I think of one in particular.

Benny, this one's for you:

[video:https://youtu.be/p5rQHoaQpTw]

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divineorder's picture

@Deja read the lyrics.

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Meteor Man's picture

@Deja @Deja
group that made it to N.O., as reported by The Picayune, were the Canadian Mounted Police:

Rodriguez said the parish made it through the early days with the help of sheriffs from other states, a contingent of 50 Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other first responders.

https://www.com.edition.cnn.com/2005/US/09/07/katrina.parishes/

Never heard about Sheriffs from other states getting there. The Times Picayune is archived and not available. We were reading about Chicago and other cities begging to send first responders. They were being blocked by Shrub 41.

This is how America responded:

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/new-orleans-police-were-ordered-to-shoo...

Heck of a job Brownie!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_D._Brown

Fuck you Shrub, you pissant little prick.

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

Deja's picture

@Meteor Man

I lived in central Tx (Elgin). My, then, SO's eldest daughter and her roommate came, packed to stay a few days at most. The roommate brought her college textbooks, but left her car so they could save gas money.

We watched all hell unfold, 24/7, with the rest of the world.

I'm doing the same now except, I'm in it, and yet, I'm not. I'm far enough out that I'm not underwater (yet - it's still raining as I thumb type this, and the river I'm 1/2 mile from has yet to crest, but it can't do that til it stops raining, and it ain't gonna do that for a day or two, supposedly), but I've got people I know, work with or have worked with, or am related to all around this huge spanse of "city".

I think I might be in shock or some sort of ptsd shit. There's the stir crazy part and there's the 24/7 stream of non-stop broadcast of goddamn devastation.

I gotta go. I watched a movie last night I found in a computer on my last job (folks at dep of human services must have a lotta time bec they leave a lot of movies in their computers), and I'm going to do that again.

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snoopydawg's picture

@Meteor Man
the areas that poor people live in.
Pet coke is a byproduct of coal, IIRC and the Koch bastards have a huge yard of it in south Chicago. When the wind blows the right way, it goes into the poor neighborhoods and covers everything in a fine film. This gets into people's houses, all over their bodies and of course into their lungs.
Can you imagine the outrage if this was built close to rich white people's neighborhoods? The good news is those cretinous bastards are getting older every day and they are going to be shuffling off this mortal coil soon. Hopefully very soon.

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WoodsDweller's picture

If the Addicks and Barker Dams Fail

In April 2009, during an unnamed weather event that leveled the west side with more than nine inches of rain in 24 hours, the dams exhibited signs of irreversible failure. Five months after the 2009 storms, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the dams, which are located near the intersection of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8, slapped Addicks and Barker with an "extremely high risk of catastrophic failure" label. The dams are currently two of the country's six most dangerous, according to the Corps.

Houston's most valuable and proven flood-control mechanisms might not be able to protect the city against a 25-year storm event

Because long-term improvements are at least five years away, the Corps' interim fix was to shave 975 years off of Addicks's and Barker's 1,000-year-flood capability. Currently, the reservoirs are permitted to hold only around 60,000 acre-feet of water, a level the reservoirs nearly reached during the April 2009 downpour.

Additionally, the Corps doubled the maximum amount of water that can be released downstream (from 2,000 cubic feet per second to 4,000 CFS). If reservoir water levels swell to 2,500 CFS, properties will start to flood. At 4,100 CFS, homes near West Beltway Bridge, North Wilcrest Drive and Chimney Rock Road could be marinating in floodwaters.

Harvey Moves Back Over Water; Historic Rainfall Will Continue

The center of Tropical Storm Harvey edged out over the Gulf of Mexico late this morning, and satellite images and radar loops show that Harvey is responding by building new intense thunderstorms near its center. These thunderstorms will bring renewed rounds of torrential rains to the Houston area through at least Wednesday morning.

Here we are, in the midst of a mega-disaster on the scale only surpassed by Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina in recent decades, from a hurricane hazard we’ve never seen on such a large and destructive scale—torrential rain. The damages from Harvey will undoubtedly run into the tens of billions of dollars, making Harvey’s rains the most destructive ever experienced from a hurricane.

The main risk involves Addicks and Barker Reservoirs, which straddle Interstate 10 about 15 miles west of downtown Houston, and Buffalo Bayou, which flows from the reservoirs into downtown. Addicks and Barker are “dry” reservoirs: they are not used for routine water storage, only to serve as flood control devices for the downstream city of Houston during extreme events. Nearly all of Addicks Reservoir was drained in the days leading up to Hurricane Harvey, and officials expected the reservoirs this week to exceed record-high levels set during the Tax Day Flood of April 2016 (102.65 feet at Addicks and 95.24 feet at Barker). These records were broken Monday morning: as of 2:15 pm EDT, Addicks was up to 103.65 feet and Barker was up to 98.04 feet.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has been ramping up controlled releases from the two reservoirs throughout the day. By Monday afternoon, USACE was planning to release 4000 cubic feet per second from each of the two reservoirs, which is half of the maximum release rate of 8000 cfs per reservoir.

Despite the ramped-up controlled release, water will still be accumulating faster in the two reservoirs than it will be draining out. (Early Monday, the reservoirs were rising at more than 4 inches per hour.) This means floodwater is now beginning to expand west from the edges of the reservoirs toward a number of residential areas, where residents were under non-mandatory evacuation alerts—but many were scrambling to leave on Monday as the water rose. Because the reservoir must be drained at a controlled rate for one to three months following Harvey, the USACE warns that the flooded homes behind the reservoir could be inundated for a long period of time.

The USACE’s delicate balancing act this week, as the rains and inflow continue, is to (a) release enough water to minimize the strain on Addicks and Barker Dams and reduce the risk of westward flooding, and (b) keep the releases controlled enough to limit flood impacts eastward along Buffalo Bayou into highly populated parts of western Houston and downtown. USACE expects water to go over the uncontrolled spillways at the ends of both dams, which is part of the dams’ design for floods of this magnitude.

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"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone

divineorder's picture

@WoodsDweller

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Deja's picture

@WoodsDweller
They're talking about controlled releases. If you look at them on a map, they're yuuuge!

We can mark through this on our To Do list as Done:

. . . homes near West Beltway Bridge, North Wilcrest Drive and Chimney Rock Road could be marinating in floodwaters.

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divineorder's picture

@Deja

Sad for those experiencing it, and for the nature destroyed over the decades.

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

@Deja @WoodsDweller .Yes these dams are huge! Moved to Houston in the early 60's and of course the area around the dams was still wild open country and we would skip church and ride out into the country and check out the area around the dams and look in wonder at the coyote carcass's strung on the fences nearby. We at the time lived at what is now Katy Fwy/I10 and Gessner road.

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

Deja's picture

@jakkalbessie
I moved here in '83, a month or less after Alicia. Thought my patrents had lost their damn minds dragging us, almost kicking and screaming, to a place with the ability to create that type of destruction, and no cellars/basements, "cuz yew could drown, ya dumbass! Hehehe".

Yet I keep ending up back here.

I have some wonderful memories from my teens around the Pearland area, and Richmond/Rosenberg alike. My early 20s too. Hell, I love this place. Sad

Just like now, the people are generally very good to each other. We seriously forget our humanity on the road, when it's all good. But times like these? My people shine! All the colors that people can be - they do me proud.

I love this place.

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snoopydawg's picture

@jakkalbessie
off topic, but I missed you in the Friday night photography essay.
I was hoping that you two would stop by and post a few of your pictures from your many trips.
This Friday?

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snoopydawg's picture

@Deja
that they need to move to higher ground. I'm not sure if people are going to be able to do this or not because of all the road closures.
This is going to be the biggest catastrophic event in history if the dams fail and the storm reloads and it continues to keep raining.
Even during this event, people in Utah are complaining about the environmentalists who are trying to keep the corporations from destroying the lands.
If oil companies hadn't littered Louisiana with canals for their pipelines, and eroded the natural barriers that kept the ocean back, Katrina wouldn't have done as much damage.
There are over 10,000 miles of oil and gas pipelines in and around New Orleans.
The environmentalists have been trying to keep this type of destruction from happening, but the whores in our governments have sold us out. And for what? So they can continue to be in governments? This circle is a möbius circle all over this country and the world.

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@snoopydawg
harmony and power, is to court disaster. People know this, but they keep doing it anyway.

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native

@native

As Pelosi might say "We're (disaster) capitalists, and that's just how it is."

As long as the non-billionaire Poors bear the brunt of the disasters and the top fraction of the 1% make more money out of them, it's all good, right?

My heart is swimming in Texas right now... so horrible...

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

WoodsDweller's picture

Dams begins overflowing amid record rainfall

Two major dams outside Houston have begun overflowing as Storm Harvey pushes reservoirs past capacity. Flood control official Jeff Lindner said nearby communities could face further flooding as a result.
...the water level in the Addicks reservoir west of Houston exceeded 108ft (32.9m) on Tuesday, ... causing it to flow over the top of defenses.

Travis Herzog

Addicks reservoir water level has reached 108'. Awaiting confirmation water is going over spillway for first time in history.

From a comment at that twitter post:

The dam wall is 119 ft high Its going to top the north spillway near clay red

Brazoria County 7:30 am

The levee at Columbia Lakes has been breached. GET OUT NOW!

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"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone

Deja's picture

She was wearing bright, white tennis shoes. Both looked very uncomfortable sitting at that generic cafeteria table. The handshake wasn't long at all between him and Gov. Abbott. People in wheelchairs might creep him out or something.

At a different location, John Cornyn just said he wants a down payment from DC, and you can get a small business loan. Cruz just finished talking about serving chili to refugees.

And then, a reporter asked Cornyn about his Sandy aid vote! Wish I knew who asked it. I saw it on ABC KTRK channel 13. His response was something, blah, blah, something about non aid funding attached to the bill, blah, blah.

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