Hurricane Harvey Heading for Texas...

[deustroop]

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (c. 1555) is an oil painting attributed to Pieter Bruegel the Elder. It shows the Greek mythological figure, Icarus, plunging into the sea in the lower right-hand corner.

John Sutherland describes the painting as

A parable on human aspiration. Daedalus and his son, Icarus, were imprisoned on the island of Crete. Daedalus created wings to fly away. Icarus, ambitiously, flew too near the sun. The wax holding his wings together melted and he plunged into the sea and was drowned.

If you look carefully, you can see his legs as he drowns.

Earth abides: the ploughman ploughs. Trading vessels go about their commercial business. Life goes on. The death of an unlucky aviator is of no more importance than the fall of a sparrow. Mankind deludes itself if it thinks otherwise.

 

[OutHouse]

Fire Ant raft. cant even drown those bastards.

http://kdvr.com/2017/08/29/terrifying-clumps-of-fire-ants-are-floating-in-the-floodwater-in-texas/

 

[Ns1]

dear mother of god.

https://twitter.com/The_Reliant/status/902536760038711296/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc^tfw&ref_url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41093596

 

[Ns1]

oh this sounds lovely.

Harvey Danger: Major Chemical Plant Near Houston Likely to Explode, Facility Owner Warns
by ALEX JOHNSON

One of the world's largest chemical companies warned Wednesday that its flooded plant near Houston will likely catch fire and explode in the next few days — and there's nothing the company can do about it.

Arkema Group's plant in Crosby, Texas — about 20 miles northeast of Houston — was inundated by more than 40 inches of rain by Hurricane Harvey and has been without electricity since Sunday, the company, based in Colombes, France, said in a statement.

The plant manufactures organic peroxides commonly used in everyday products like kitchen countertops, industrial paints, polystyrene cups and plates and PVC piping. The materials must be kept very cool, but refrigerators for the plant's low-temperature containers are out of commission, and backup generators were also swamped, meaning "the potential for a chemical reaction leading to a fire and/or explosion within the site confines is real," the company said.
....
"We have an unprecedented 6 feet of water throughout the plant. We've lost primary power and two sources of emergency backup power. And as a result, critical refrigeration needed for our materials on site is lost," Richard Rowe, chief executive of the company's North America operatives, said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters.

"Materials could now explode and cause a subsequent and intense fire," Rowe said. "The high water that exists on site and the lack of power leave us with no way to prevent it.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/h...-near-houston-likely-explode-facility-n797581

 

[kranky]

Those pictures are chilling. It's hard to process the sheer magnitude of this disaster.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I'm still willing to let the great state of Texas leave the union, but they have to take those fire ants with them.

 

[Paratus]

dear mother of god.

https://twitter.com/The_Reliant/status/902536760038711296/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc^tfw&ref_url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41093596

 

[chubbyfatazn]

Ummmm... Guys? We may be in for round two: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at1.shtml?cone#contents

Yep, just gotta keep an eye on it. Though I heard most models are predicting it goes to the east coast states. We will see....

That one's now a tropical storm (Irma), but I'd be more concerned with what's going on here:

Still way too early to tell anything; a couple storm models predict it'll head south. The National Hurricane Centre gives it a 20% chance of forming into something within the next 5 days

Here's the GFS prediction for total 24-hour rainfall next Wednesday (9/6):

Animated map: http://ggweather.com/loops/gfs_12z_qpf03.shtml

------------------------------------------------------------------

Edit: sorry, didn't mean to scare anyone. Here's the current/updated prediction:

Still shows how hard it is to predict this sort of stuff. Way too far out right now, no use in worrying about it right now.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

That one's now a hurricane (Irma), but I'd be more concerned what's going on here:

Still way too early to tell anything; a couple storm models predict it'll head south. The National Hurricane Centre gives it a 20% chance of forming into something within the next 5 days

Here's the GFS prediction for total 24-hour rainfall next Wednesday (9/6):

Animated map: http://ggweather.com/loops/gfs_12z_qpf03.shtml

Ouch, have we ever had a recorded bounceback on a hurricane in the gulf? I think southeast TX/southern LA would prefer that not become The New Thing(tm).

 

[FeuerFrei]

oh this sounds lovely.
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/h...-near-houston-likely-explode-facility-n797581

From teh article: "All residents within 1½ miles of the plant were evacuated on Tuesday."

 

[chubbyfatazn]

Ouch, have we ever had a recorded bounceback on a hurricane in the gulf? I think southeast TX/southern LA would prefer that not become The New Thing(tm).

No clue, I'm just an armchair meteorologist. That said, current GFS predictions look much better (see edit above)

 

[Ns1]

Dunkirk, TX edition.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-texas-dunkirk-20170830-story.html

There's a gif somewhere out there of this crazy traffic jam, cannot seem to locate however.

 

[Red Squirrel]

The magnitude of the damage is insane, and the sheer amount of water is just nuts, I read somewhere that it is measured in TRILLIONS of gallons. That's just incomprehensibly a lot of water. There was a model showing that if the same flood was in Toronto, the sky dome would be under water. That's just mind blowing.

Sucks for all the home owners losing their houses too, even the ones that are not submerged most likely have flooded basements. The whole house is probably still a write off due to the rot, mold etc that will have formed by the time they can go back. Really sucks. :/

 

[OutHouse]

The magnitude of the damage is insane, and the sheer amount of water is just nuts, I read somewhere that it is measured in TRILLIONS of gallons. That's just incomprehensibly a lot of water. There was a model showing that if the same flood was in Toronto, the sky dome would be under water. That's just mind blowing.

Sucks for all the home owners losing their houses too, even the ones that are not submerged most likely have flooded basements. The whole house is probably still a write off due to the rot, mold etc that will have formed by the time they can go back. Really sucks. :/

very few homes in texas have basements, its pretty rare to see them down there.

 

[NoTine42]

very few homes in texas have basements, its pretty rare to see them down there.

They'd probably just fill with oil, anyway.

But seriously, it's bizarre seeing home improvement shows from Texas, where foundation problems aren't uncommon ... because it seems most homes don't really have a much of a foundation. Just an occasional concrete pad or a slightly thicker slab.
(Vs up north where you are worried about frost lines and need a concrete wall at least 4' deep with a footer under the entire foundation wall...)

 

[UglyCasanova]

Dunkirk, TX edition.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-texas-dunkirk-20170830-story.html

There's a gif somewhere out there of this crazy traffic jam, cannot seem to locate however.

Cajun Navy did good work in the Louisiana floods last year. Real good people.

 

[Paratus]

Work is spinning up groups to go out and help clear out flooded homes.

Went to help one family near our neighborhood who had about a foot of water in their home.

With flooding you have to remove the carpets, pads, baseboards and cut out the sheetrock 6-12" above the flooding and remove any wet insulation. Then it's a good idea to spray a solution of water and bleach on the exposed studs to head off any mold.

Then you wait for the insurance adjuster assuming you had flood insurance (and why don't you?) and filed a claim.


The family today had already removed the carpets and a lot of the Sheetrock. So it was a bunch of moving debris to the curb and trying to clean up the interior of the house.

Tomorrow we have several friends and coworkers who had at least 4 feet of water in their houses that has finally receded.

It's going to be a long day.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

They'd probably just fill with oil, anyway.

But seriously, it's bizarre seeing home improvement shows from Texas, where foundation problems aren't uncommon ... because it seems most homes don't really have a much of a foundation. Just an occasional concrete pad or a slightly thicker slab.
(Vs up north where you are worried about frost lines and need a concrete wall at least 4' deep with a footer under the entire foundation wall...)

To add to that, the dirt gets *dry*, and I do mean that in every sense of the word. I've seen cracks in TX dirt you could lose pets in. Not at all uncommon for house slabs to break in half under their own weight from rainstorms washing away the dirt underneath.

 

[Paratus]

They'd probably just fill with oil, anyway.

But seriously, it's bizarre seeing home improvement shows from Texas, where foundation problems aren't uncommon ... because it seems most homes don't really have a much of a foundation. Just an occasional concrete pad or a slightly thicker slab.
(Vs up north where you are worried about frost lines and need a concrete wall at least 4' deep with a footer under the entire foundation wall...)

My old house had the foundation crack out. The whole front third dropped by an inch or two.

Its generally caused by moisture changes in the soil. Houston soil is basically gumbo. When it gets wet it expands and when it drys it shrinks. The cycling cracks the foundation.

One way to prevent it from happening is to put in a buried soaker hose to water the foundation before it gets dry.

For our old house we had to have piers put in. For several hundred a pier they use a hydraulic ram to push concrete cylinders into the ground until the house begins to move upwards. Then they do the next pier.

Finally when all the piers are in, they get a bunch of guys with jacks and jack the house level. Then they shim it.

It's very weird seeing the front of your house move up while the roof stays put.

 

[Triloby]

dear mother of god.

https://twitter.com/The_Reliant/status/902536760038711296/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc^tfw&ref_url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41093596

Kill them all. Every single last one of them.

 

[zinfamous]

dear mother of god.

https://twitter.com/The_Reliant/status/902536760038711296/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc^tfw&ref_url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41093596

this is one of those rare opportunities when you have a really good chance to eradicate those useless motherfuckers when they start concentrating their colonies like that. gasoline and fire.

 

[zinfamous]

oh this sounds lovely.



https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/h...-near-houston-likely-explode-facility-n797581

remember that thing we learned some years ago about building super dangerous factories, like uh, nuclear power plants near constant, guaranteed, natural disaster zones like tsunamis and floods?

oh yeah, that thing. What's the deal with humans not learning things?

 

[ViRGE]

The NHC has issued their last advisory on Harvey, as it continues to wind down and lose tropical characteristics.

The National Hurricane Center would like to thank all the men and women that have worked countless hours at local National Weather Service Forecast offices along the Gulf coast providing life-saving warnings and information during the past week, on top of preparing their family and homes for the storm. The center would also like to acknowledge the dedication of the Air Force and NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft crews that flew numerous missions into Harvey. In addition, NHC thanks the staff at the Weather Prediction Center, who led efforts to coordinate forecasts of the historic flooding event, NWS River Forecast Centers that provided flood guidance, and the Storm Prediction Center, that coordinated tornado forecasts.

 

[NoTine42]

remember that thing we learned some years ago about building super dangerous factories, like uh, nuclear power plants near constant, guaranteed, natural disaster zones like tsunamis and floods?

oh yeah, that thing. What's the deal with humans not learning things?

Or, at least the most basic feature of any critical backup generator.
The critical generator needs to be physically well above water level to serve its purpose during a disaster.

 

[Ken g6]

If this were a disaster movie, somebody would find a way to draw the fire ants to the chemical plant before it exploded destroying them. Too bad this isn't a movie.