This page contains updates on items or issues that might not be highlighted in the major media or analysis of developments offered by Doug Terry. Unless you see an immediate update at the top, the posts below are from earlier days. The page will be updated on most days, but not always as recovery efforts take precedence.

One of the better sources of information about the storm and its aftermath are the local television outlets in the cities being impacted. Houston, being a major media market, has professional, experienced reporters and photographers in the field. That doesn’t mean what you hear and see is accurate. Sometimes, it is downright silly. Given enough air time, unwarranted comments and misinformation will come out.

KPRC-TV has ended its livestream feed, so we are offering only KHOU for the time being.

GOOD NEWS? NOT QUITE: As of 11:30 am eastern time (8.28.17) Monday, it looks like there might be some relief in sight for the southeastern Texas region. Much of the more intense section of the storm has moved inland over Louisiana and while there is still a lot of rain and rain bands moving around southern Texas, the forecast calls for what’s left of Harvey to move northeast across Louisiana and into Arkansas by mid-week. The threat of more flooding is moving toward these states. The National Hurricane Center says Harvey should produce 5 to 15 inches of rain in southeast Louisiana. The Houston area is expected to see continue impact from Harvey through Wednesday. With the storm moving northeasterly after that, the potential for a multi-state disaster zone increases.

There are increasing indications that the Houston flooding is overwhelming all efforts to provide rescues for people trapped in their houses. The National Guard, local police and sheriffs offices, fire departments and citizen boat equipped rescue teams do not appear to be enough to get people out with water rising to five feet or higher in some houses. With only a little more than seven hours of daylight left Monday, the urgency of getting people out is turning critical. One volunteer rescuer said that they need more boats and more people to get the job done and they need people in their houses to have something, a sheet or anything, hanging out a window so that rescuers know there is someone inside who needs help. (11:52 CDT)

AS OF MONDAY AFTERNOON (3:00 PM, CDT): THERE ARE REPORTS THAT MORE BOATS ARE NEEDED FOR RESCUES. This cannot be confirmed. It appears that flat bottomed boats powered by giant fans of the type used in swamps and marsh land might be particularly helpful in getting through places with shallow water faster. If you live within reasonable driving distance and want to lend a hand you are encouraged to go for it. However, there appears to be no one coordinating these efforts at the present time, so there is no guarantee you would be successful in helping out.

A Houston television station,KPRC, has reported (3:40 CDT, 8.28.17) that boats are needed in the Splendora area north of Houston. There are reported to be people trapped in desperate need of rescue. This is on I-69 North of Houston.

END OF DAY SUMMING UP, 11 PM CDT, Monday, August 28. 2017

I have watched live news coverage from two of the local Houston television stations, listened to officials explain what is going on, consulted written news reports in the major newspapers in Houston, New York and Washington, DC, watched the network evening newscasts (more on that later) and my overall impression after two days of flooding in the Houston area of Texas is this:

                                                                                SOUND THE ALARM

SOUND THE ALARM. From my viewpoint, it is worse than is being reported. The reports are fragmentary and it is difficult to put all of these fragments into a composite picture, but it looks to me like hundreds, perhaps a few thousand, people are still trapped and in desperate need of getting out of their houses or other buildings. 12 years ago, much of the flooding in New Orleans was limited to one section of town, the lower Ninth Ward. Houston has flooding downtown and in dozens of places elsewhere. Some of the flooding, as of Monday afternoon, was only waist deep and not much threat to life for able bodied people. Other flooding went over the top of National Guard trucks, two of which were shown stranded in high water that covered them almost completely. These are big, troop carrying type trucks.

Boats of private citizens are being used for many rescues, with a good many coming in from the bayous of Louisiana to help out. From the looks of things, Houston and surrounding communities need every boat that can float in shallow water within a 400 mile radius of Houston. This is just my estimation based on what I have seen and read.

Overall, my conclusion is that the situation is worse than what is being reported and one that has overwhelmed local and state government response. This is a life and death crisis that it not being addressed adequately despite the heroic best efforts of first responders and citizens.

The national network news, by the way, seems to be concentrated on the excitement of the event, giving very little in actual details. Once again, no one is summing up the overall situation and the necessity of increased response. That is most likely because people do not understand the bigger picture and, instead, deal with what is in front of them.

 

The Weather Channel is providing an occasional live stream.

Cajun Search and Rescue is on the scene in Houston helping with water rescues, part of a huge effort by people from beyond the immediate Houston area to provide assistance. Here is a comment from the head of that group, Toney Wade, that appeared today in the Washington Post:

I’ve been working in search and rescue for well over 20 years, and I’ve worked all the major storms in southern Louisiana’s recent history: Katrina, Rita. But before this is said and done, I think Harvey is going to be one of the worst. We were pulling up to homes and finding water all the way up to the second story. At one point, we passed by a hotel where people had been stranded on the second floor since Saturday; local officials didn’t know they were there. We brought them all to safety.

FOX 26 in Houston is providing a livestream feed of flooding developments.