[ebag4]

I know several of you frequenting this circle live in Texas.  Stay safe, positive thoughts and prayers coming  your way.

Best,
Ed

[S Clark]

I know several of you frequenting this circle live in Texas.  Stay safe, positive thoughts and prayers coming  your way.

Best,
Ed

Thanks, Ed.  The folks close to the coast are in for a rough ride tonight and over the next several days.  I'm about 400 miles inland in Abilene, and we are still getting rain.  Danny's so far north he has a slight Canadian accent. 
But our members in Houston are in for severe flooding, and a friend in Victoria loaded his stereo and coffee roaster and evacuated this morning early. 

[Nick77]

Thanks Ed, heavy rains just started here in Austin. Have a bunch of friends that had to move north for a few days.

[JakeJ]

Hoping all are safe and sound during this weather event.  NPR keeps saying "three feet of rain" every couple of hours and I just cannot fathom that kind of rainfall.  Some will need a snorkle and swim fins after this is over.

[Captainhemo]

Looking pretty friggin wet  on the coverage we get up here,  900 +  mm (36")  of rain for some areas in a couple  days 
As Ed said, stay safe guys  !

jay

[Danny Richie]

Yeah, I'm far North of it, but I have lots of friends and customers down there. Stay safe down there guys.

[rollo]

 To ALL my Texan Friends God be with you. Stay safe and dry.



charles

[mlundy57]

Keeping my fingers crossed. Good Luck!

Mike

[brother love]

Hoping all Texans in harms way are careful & use good judgement this weekend AND next week.

My wife has family in Galveston, Alvin & New Braunfels.  The amount of rain being forecast is staggering. 

[Nick77]

Here in Austin the rain and wind has been fairly constant but not torrential. Houston is just getting hammered, praying for those down south. 

[S Clark]

My wife grew up in Houston.  They sold the house, and moved her parents to an assisted living complex last year.  Their house stayed dry through Hurricane Carla and every thing since... until today.  We just got a picture showing the intersection a few hundred feet away showing about 2 feet of water and a guy in a boat.  The water had taken out a retaining wall on the Sam Houston Tollway feeder road- and tollway is probably 20 feet below it with large chunks of concrete and rebar now residing there. No way that house is in the dry.  I feel sorry for the new owners, but honestly, I'm so relieved that my mid 80's in laws don't have to worry about it.  This is the worst flooding in the modern history of Houston. 

[TomS]

My daughter's home in Houston is under water now. Fortunately she evacuated her family (2 adults, 2 kids, 2 dogs) to Dallas Friday and they have a place to stay for at least the next week. She works at MD Anderson Cancer Center and her building already had water into the second floor, so they can't see outpatients or take in anyone for surgeries.

With the worst of the rain still to come, this is an epic disaster for those in the area. Everyone should look for ways to help any way they can - Red Cross, etc.

[poseidonsvoice]

+1. Donate if you can through American Red Cross. My wife, sister in laws all grew up in Houston, moved away about 8 years ago - thankfully.

Best,
Anand.

[Bemopti123]

Stay safe all people who are from Houston and vicinity or know people who live in the area.  I visited the area around 2011 and there is something I do not understand about the different explanations people give about the incredible flooding happening there, some people claim that the flood management system is inadequate and others claim it to be one of these once in a 100 year storms but they never reference the fact that Houston has gone through bad flooding pretty often in the past 5 years.  I see bigger things happening there than just negligence in urban planning.  Who knows?  Keep safe everyone. 
 

[S Clark]

As the metropolitan areas get bigger, they have less ability to retain runoff.  Houston as exploded in population over the past decade- 4.5 million people IIRC.  That's a lot of concrete and asphalt.  And the banding of the hurricane rains make it unpredictable how the rain falls.  Some areas have gotten 18", and some have gotten 4 ft of rain. 

[brother love]

My wife's niece, husband & 2 toddlers had to be rescued by the National Guard from their home in Dickinson yesterday (Pictures showed the water just under their window sills. They had to climb out of the house thru their front windows). Her & her family were dropped off at a shelter in League City that was already full!  They got a nearby friend to take them to a hotel in Webster.

[Letitroll98]

Good to hear that all the reports in this thread are of people who were rescued or got out early.  Hats off to all the first responders both governmental and the heroic private citizens who came out on their own to save citizens they don't even know.  I heard they had to stop people from continuing rescue after dark for safety reasons, they wanted to keep going.  This kind of heroism restores my faith in humanity.

For the other side, CNN had a story about independent reporters that have been trying to tell Houston officials for years that developers are building over wetlands that are needed to act as sponges during flood events.  Apparently a combination of officials that wouldn't believe it, and developers that sue to have regulations waived and win every time.  I have no personal knowledge about Houston per se, but I do know that this is an ongoing issue in many coastal communities (my dad was on the planning board of his seaside community and was constantly fighting unchecked development).

[Nick77]

Relief funds sent! Another great relief organization is Samaritan's Purse. I love how they treat both physical and spiritual needs during crisis.
Lord help all those affected.