The Katy area of Houston is still flooded with more rainstorms to come
Roads and schools are inaccessible
It’s been a crazy (and wet) couple of days for us Houstonians, especially those of us out in suburbia.
There’s been a few times where Houstonians have been told it’s going to rain buckets and buckets and then nothing happens. Anyone remember Tropical Storm Bill?
Anyway, this was one of the scariest thunderstorms I’ve been around for. I knew it was going to be bad, but I definitely underestimated. The thing about Houston is that we’re not only at sea level but also not too far from the ocean itself. The distance from Downtown to Galveston can be covered in a forty-five minute trip. Thus, when bad weather like this occurs, the water flows toward Houston to drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, because Houston is at sea level, we’re also very flat. When it rains, there’s often no place for the heavy rains to go. In the GIF below, you can see how quickly the area started flooding.
The rain and subsequent flooding escalated quickly. The thunder on Sunday night and Monday morning was shaking my house. I could actually hear the lightning striking the ground as the electrical charges were grounded.
The water on my street was creeping to the entrance of my door, and at four in the morning I had to move my car as close to my garage as I could get it. I had no idea how badly Katy and Cypress were going to be flooded. Katy and Cy-Fair are closed for the entire week following the flood. Houston ISD and the University of Houston did not open until Wednesday.
People who lived on first floor apartments in areas like Greenspoint and Cypress had to escape to the second floors of the complexes. These people, along with others, lost everything they had to the flood. People were utilizing their boats to help people escape. There are coordinated efforts among the citizens of Houston to collect goods for those whose possessions were destroyed by the flood.
Despite the selfishness of students being happy to have a random week off and for many college students to have a four-day weekend, it’s truly disheartening to see the damage and destruction the flooding has caused. The creeks and bayous are still rising as a result of all the water from the north draining down towards the sea. Two local reservoirs (Addicks and Barker) have not reached their maximum levels and are already above their banks. More rain is expected in the area today, approximately two more inches that a saturated ground won’t be able to take.
My thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragic flooding this week, especially the family and friends of those lost.