By Daisy Luther
Survival Saturday is a round-up of the week’s news and resources for folks who are interested in being prepared.
This Week in the News
As expected, Hurricane Harvey hit coastal Texas with a vengeance. Here’s what we know so far.
Dire warnings about Hurricane Harvey
The media was abuzz with predictions and warnings in the days before the storm made hit the coast of Texas. It is expected to affect highly populated parts of the Texas coast like Corpus Christi (325,733 people) and the Houston metro area (6,313,158 people).
Mandatory and voluntary evacuations saw highways jammed for hours yesterday.
Yesterday, Patrick Rios, the mayor of Rockport Texas, had a grim suggestion to help potentially identify the bodies of those who stayed behind.
“Those that are going to stay — it’s unfortunate — but they should make some type of preparation to mark their arm with a Sharpie Pen. Put their social security number on it, and their name.
We can’t emphasize enough that this is a life-threatening storm. All the advice we can give is get out now.
We hate to talk about things like that. It’s not something we like to do but it’s the reality, people don’t listen. (source)
The Weather Service of Houston and Galveston warned:
Small streams, creeks, canals, and ditches may become dangerous rivers. Flood control systems and barriers may become stressed.
Potential impacts in this area include: Structural damage to sturdy buildings, some with complete roof and wall failures. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Damage greatly accentuated by large airborne projectiles. Locations may be uninhabitable for weeks or months. (source)
Offshore oil rigs closed down production and evacuated employee. (Note that regardless of where you live in the United States, you can expect the price of fuel to increase sharply. Some areas have already reported an increase of 19 cents per gallon.) Hospitals transferred critically ill patients. People without cars were loaded onto buses. At least one college campus closed down.
Forecasters and officials warned the storm, predicted to be the fiercest to hit the United States in 12 years, posed life-threatening risks.
“It’s hard to imagine just how horrific and destructive this amount of water will be, but it goes without saying that anyone who has decided to stay in a low-lying area is risking their lives and those lives of first responders,” MSNBC meteorologist Bill Karins said Friday. (source)
Some governmental back-up was in place in advance of the storm.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said Friday it had summoned 460 National Disaster Medical System staff including doctors and nurses for the storm.
The Centers for Disease Control also said it had prepared two 250-bed Federal Medical Stations in Baton Rouge, La., that could be deployed to other locations. (source)
Unsurprisingly, many people waited until last night to purchase supplies to ride out the storm and subsequent flooding.
Houston residents stood in long lines at grocery stores and cleared out shelves of staple foods and bottled water, KPRC-TV reported. Grocer Kroger sent an additional 80 truckloads of bottled water to its stores in the area. (source)
Not only was food in short supply, but emergency equipment and fuel also became scarce.
In the hours ahead of the first strong winds, supplies became scarce as Harvey’s strength grew — leaving those seeking to top off their tanks and grab flashlights on a scavenger hunt for some of the most basic emergency supplies.
A Stripes store downtown early Friday night was boarded up, but hadn’t closed down — and customers casually drove up to the pumps for what might be the last re-up before Hurricane Harvey’s arrival, joking: “Is there some kind of a storm coming?”
A few hours later, the store ran out of all fuel — and it was unclear when or if there would be more available. (source)
I just have to ask…
Would you be ready if a disaster like this was headed your way? Could you evacuate rapidly with all of the important things you needed? Would you have the supplies on hand to weather the storm? Keep in mind that it isn’t just hurricane country that has to worry about natural disasters. Floods, tornadoes, blizzards, earthquakes, and extended power outages could threaten many of us. No area is completely safe from the wrath Mother Nature.
If you know, deep down, that you’d be out there standing in line for the last case of water, then be proactive. Go here to learn how to create a thorough emergency plan, no matter where you live.
[page_section template=’3′ position=’default’]Quick Disaster Readiness Tips
- Learn to get prepped for disasters here.
- Learn about health hazards after a flood here.
- This is how to replace important documents after a disaster.
- These tips will help you survive a summer power outage.
- Don’t wait until the last minute! Get emergency food and survival gear ahead of time.
- Keep abreast of the news. Sign up here for daily updates.[/page_section]
Last night, Hurricane Harvey made catastrophic landfall.
Last night, true to dire predictions, Hurricane Harvey made landfall between Port Aransas and Port O’Connor, Texas. It is the first Category 4 storm to make landfall in the US since Hurricane Charley in 2004.
The storm hit at 10 pm last night with winds of more than 130 mph. At 5 am, the storm downgraded to a Category 1, but this is nothing to sneeze at. Winds are still up to 90 miles per hour in some places and torrential rain is expected for days.
In Rockport, Texas, there were reports of several building collapses last night. The roof caved in on a senior living complex trapping an unknown number of elderly people inside. At the time of publication this morning, rescuers were still unable to get to them. (source)
Jeff Piotrowski, a storm chaser, stayed in Rockport and filmed the damage in the eye of the hurricane.
At one point, Piotrowski said that a ‘car wash’-like structure collapsed and that the roof of the building in which his car was parked was also in danger of collapsing.
‘There’s total destruction here outside my window,’ Piotrowski said, his voice rising as he dramatically describes the effects of the devastation around him.
‘There’s zero visibility,’ he said in one Periscope video. ‘I see walls and debris now flying through the air.’
Piotrowski described ‘roofs being ripped off’ and ‘high beams splitting.’ (source)
Here’s his live video from the center of the storm.
Live Hurricane Harvey damaging winds gusting -110 MPh. https://t.co/lL39UbZqAP
— Jeff Piotrowski (@Jeff_Piotrowski) August 26, 2017
President Trump declared a disaster (on Twitter, where else?) at 9:46 last night.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/901259509632573440
Somehow, this was seen as a political move and some people were displeased (?) with his announcement of aid. It looks like the President’s “fascist” powers are so vast he is even responsible for a hurricane. One has to wonder if these people criticizing Trump’s early response are the same people who criticized President Bush’s delayed response to Hurricane Katrina.
The worst may be yet to come…
Texans are in for a rough week or so. Those whose homes survived the initial storm and high winds without damage will now face torrential rains and flooding.
[page_section template=’3′ position=’default’]Here’s what you can do to prepare for disasters before they happen.
- Learn to get prepped for evacuations, natural disasters and long term power outages here.
- Here’s what you need to know about health hazards after a flood.
- This is how to replace important documents after a disaster.
- These tips will help you survive a summer power outage.
- Don’t wait until the last minute! Get emergency food and survival gear ahead of time.
- Keep abreast of the news. Sign up here for daily updates.[/page_section]
At least 40 inches of rain are expected as the storm stalls over the coastal region. Victoria, Texas has already received over 16 inches of rain. This could result in catastrophic flooding over a wide area.
So far, just over 211,000 people have reported power outages. However, ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) expects that this number will increase.
The electric company is at work to get power restored, but it may not happen immediately.
Centerpoint Energy said they have thousands of workers ready to tackle outages caused by Hurricane Harvey, but cautioned they may need help from outside Houston to get the lights back on. (source)
This map shows where power outages are most likely.
ABC13 predicts the following power-outage timeline:
Saturday morning
As Hurricane Harvey slams Texas at its peak, the lights are likely to go out in Victoria, Palacios, and areas as far north as Wharton County.
Saturday evening
If you live in the Houston area, this is when you would most likely begin seeing power outages, particularly in the southern parts of Harris County.
Sunday morning
Centerpoint crews will most likely be found working to restore electricity in areas like Angleton, Wharton, Victoria, and down the coastline. The power might also be out in Beaumont, Galveston, Liberty and east Harris County (source)
Any reports from the frontlines of Hurricane Harvey?
Are you in the path of Hurricane Harvey? If you still have power, let us know how things are going. Can you share any insight to help others be better prepared in the future? Your stories could help someone else, so please share them in the comments section below.
Due to my husband’s former job, we lived in Houston and later in nearby Friendswood for three years.
Hurricanes are not new to this area. What I don’t understand is WHY some folks who plan to remain in their homes wait until the very last minute to get supplies.
Keeping those affected by the hurricane in my thoughts and prayers.
Know what you mean. Was talking to a friend in San Antonio which is expecting major flooding and possible power outages and he was saying last night that he might go to the store to pick up a couple flashlights in case the power goes out. I was thinking – you’ve got to be kidding me!! With the way power goes off in so many storms, he and his wife have no flashlights or other emergency lighting in their home? OMG! He did say he had spent much of the day filling water bottles so at least he has that right, to some degree.
Have what might seem a foolish question. Noticing everyone goes at the last second to buy bottled water. Don’t people realize that while the water system is still good they could fill water bottles or just about any clean container out of their taps at home? I keep lots of water stored all the time, since you never know what might be coming, but for those who choose not to, surely they have jars, bottles or other containers they could fill with water – tubs, sinks, there are so many options, beyond rushing to the store and fighting the crowds to buy bottled water. I guess too many people just “know” the expected response in an emergency is the last-second rush to the store, and don’t use their brains to figure out more reasonable methods to get ready.
Having just been through the Great Eclipse of 2017 Traffic Jam last Monday and Tuesday, I don’t envy these fleeing people. When what felt like half the population of California all headed home at the same moment as soon as totality was over, a solid line of vehicles 200 miles long formed and it took hours to go what would normally take minutes. The lesson is that all of our transportation infrastructure only works if a very small percentage of the population wants to use it at any one moment. If they all need to evacuate, it STOPS. The government knows this, but they don’t like to talk about their powerlessness to do anything about it. In the case of Oregon, the state had unlimited budget to fund cops to harass motorists caught in the nightmare, and to profit from writing tickets for the smallest infraction, but I didn’t see one penny spent to prepare for the traffic jam or make traffic flow better.
What were you doing leaving home to watch an eclipse ?
You have no one to blame but yourselves and the thousands of others who caused the miserable traffic jam all because of some non sence.
One thing to remember is that if you are staying for a hurricane (people do this for a variety of reasons), then make sure you have the proper shelter. If it’s a basement, then is it water tight? If it’s a selected room, then iit structurally sound enough to withstand the hurricane? If you plan to stay, plan to be safe.
Texas is BIG, hurricane small….
Appropriate footwear, and clothing need to be stressed. I’ve seen countless pics of ppl inspecting damage to their businesses in flip-flops, shorts,sundresses, barefoot…..even a poor toddler dressed in a diaper walking hand in hand with an adult through flood water. It’s not a water park! Nails, glass, all sorts of debris everywhere. Just ridiculous.
Shoes by your beds, everyone. It’s so basic. Can’t imagine ppl slept through it anyway. I live in New England, so blizzards and ice are primary weather concerns, but earthquakes happen occasionally. I can’t control loss of heat, as we rent and are still aiming for a place with woodstove, but appropriate clothing isn’t a real barrier. Even sneakers and jeans would be more protection than bare feet, shorts, no shirt. Just WTF are ppl thinking??
Lived in Houston area for 30 years. I’ve been through 3 hurricanes and the one tropical storm (Alison) that flooded Houston big time. My husband’s work place was flooded in that one and he worked from home for a couple of months or more.
Here are a few tips, which I realize are probably too late for Houston now. They didn’t expect the direct hit, which they didn’t get. Now it is the flooding.
Fill up your washing machine. Fill your bath tubs.
If you can’t board your windows, put masking tape on all of them. Crisscross it several times.
Usually you will know when a storm is coming. Do all your laundry ahead of the hit. You will be glad you did!
Fill jugs and freeze them. This will help keep your cold stuff for a couple of days and provide water later.
Have towels or something ready in case the wind driven rain comes in around your windows and or doors. It just might – to your big surprise.
DO NOT go outside during the storm. FOR ANY REASON!
If you are told to evacuate – DO IT!
And, do not bring any wild life inside! This is a kind of funny story. During Alicia ( a relatively small hurricane) my husband went outside and found a squirrel that looked like it was dead or dying. He felt sorry for it and brought it in. We put it in a box and put a board over the top. Later, he checked on it and it FLEW out and ran crazy in the den! He finally caught it by throwing a towel over it and using oven mitts to pick it up. Needless to say, it wasn’t dead, only stunned.
During Ike, the eye passed directly over our neighborhood. We went outside during the calm. It was pitch dark, and eerily quiet.
My thoughts and prayers are for Houston now. So much water and so many people who are new to the area and not aware of how dangerous this is.
We now live in the Hill Country west of San Antonio. No more hurricanes.