Notes from my book:
I did entertain getting a “bug out” bag ready and perhaps protecting a few things in the house. The night of the heavy rains I put my computer on my end table, instead of against the vulnerable floorboards. I was exhausted, and at one point during waking, I slipped my foot out of my bed and placed it on the floor to see if it was wet. When it felt nothing but the shaggy rug, I stuck it back under the sheets. I would check out the rest of the house in the morning. I was lucky, in many homes water rose fast. People who did what I have done in storms have lost their lives. I had forgotten until a neighbor down the street told me that she thought she did not get any water, but upon further investigation, she realized that the builder of our neighborhood “floated” the floors on 2 x 4 ’s over the concrete slab. Therefore water could come in, and you would not know. I did not flood, the water came 1/2 way up into my yard, and those on lower ground at the end of the street did flood, but in my immediate vicinity it dissipated before it got to my house.
My studio suffered some damage in the storage area. I climbed up for the further investigation of my studio roof after discovering some huge indoor puddles. In doing so, I created a beautiful ‘butt’ size skylight, from my shocking discovery of a soft spot. It was that moment, I realized, I needed a new roof. But, compared to the rest of Houston, my damage was minor. I did what others were doing in every neighborhood for many miles. I went through all my belongings. I was a lucky one, without having 4 -6 or 12 feet of water and just puddles I could sort through belongings. Other neighbors were taking their entire life and memories and putting them to the curb. Piles of trash were so high that a group trying to make light and have fun with the tragedy created a video performing ‘One Day More’ from Le Mis. Complete with climbing the trash heap and waving the Texas flag. The rest of Houston, it is a vast city, one of the fourth largest, continued to suffer long after the storm passed. I have neighbors on my street who have taken out their floors and drywall. Harvey destroyed many, many homes. Add to this, that molds proliferate in our climate and the unhealthy conditions grow with it.
I remember Linder talking about having to let water out of the reservoirs. For those that don’t know, these reservoirs are a large bowl like areas filled with grass. They are typically dry and used as parks. But because of Harvey, they were full of rain. Holding water is what they are meant to do. But there was so much water they were overflowing. It probably didn’t help things, in my opinion, that for Houston to grow as much as it did, it paved paradise and put up houses and condos. Wetlands, meant to hold water, now hold homes. “Homes must be sacrificed downstream,” Linder reported. My home is a bit north of downstream and during the storm I posted on Facebook that I was concerned. “Why?” A friend on Facebook asked. You have never flooded before, and you are much further north than I. I said, “Harvey has stalled in the Gulf of Mexico, three things could happen, storm surge, reservoir release, and more rain, and if these occur in conjunction, we must be ready.” I must also note that these reservoirs are not the only way for water to get to the bay. All around Houston there are streams, rivers, lakes, and bayous that bring water to the gulf. Some things flood on a regular basis. The closest bayou to my home was three miles away. It was well out of its banks, and every street flooded in between. It is all about water flow. If other water is moving to the bay, then water from our Bayou can’t get out. Storm surge—Harvey could push water up the bay, as hurricanes often do. It is called storm surge. Storm surge kills many people during a storm, sometimes more than the actual hurricane. There is a very eerie picture of the Bolivar Peninsula after Hurrican Ike in 2008. Every house is gone but one. When you see it, you are bound to think this is a retouched photograph. I did. The owner rebuilt his home after Hurricane Rita in 2005. The house was rebuilt to sit 14 feet above the ground and 22 feet above sea level. ( According to an online app, my Houston home approximately 78 miles north of Bolivar, 60 miles from Galveston and just 33 miles from the bay. It is just 72.5 feet above sea level. These numbers let you know how flat Houston is. ) Storm surge can come fast and catch many people unprepared. And besides water, it brings debris, alligators, snakes, fire ants, dead animals and dead people. Also, remember storm surge water can move fast. It is nothing to take lightly.
The second thing to take into consideration was the reservoirs. As I talked to my friend, I was determining if I would flood in a home that I have lived in for 35 years and has never flooded. To the northwest of the bay, Houston officials were determining that two reservoirs must have water released. The water must get to the bay anyway it can. Sometimes this “emptying or release of water” meant streets were used as conduits when bayous were full. The other great concern was it was still raining. The city of Houston is in-between these two critical junctions between the reservoirs and the bay. Officials were already reporting that if they did not do a “controlled release” out of the reservoirs and somehow there is a breach, it would be catastrophic for all involved. It was hard to understand how the event could be any more catastrophic than it already had become. The reservoirs were opened and released 10,000 cubic feet of water onto our streets. We waited, and I thanked God that Harvey did not push water up the bay, and thanked God again that the rain lessened.
Harvey passed, the sun came out, and many residents felt relief, but still many homes were flooded long after Harvey was gone. Flooding was because of this release, rising waters and creeks from the north and all of it wanting to get past Houston and to the bay. In many cases, these were homes that have never flooded before.
HBO’s “The Houston Homes Sacrificed after Harvey” features Dan Cho. He lived in his home for 40 years and built it. It never flooded. I listened to the interview about how his home was sacrificed maybe for the safety of others. The man, as he is interviewed in waders with water up to his hips in his front yard and yet he says, if this perhaps saved others, then maybe it was worth it.” I’m in awe of this man. “ After all god loaned it to me while I’m here.” Sept 7, 2017. How many others would break down with despair at all that they lost that was theirs. Officials declared that water in these homes might sit for weeks, as of this writing some home have water in them for 13 days. They warned that standing water in a home for extended periods of time could compromise the structural integrity of the home