They Need Us In Houston

[booger]

They were calling for anyone with a boat to lend a hand. I was watching the news, with a reporter at one "boat ramp", which was just a low spot on the interstate. Several good ole boys just showing up, slinging it off the trailer and going, wearing t-shirts and life jackets. The official swift water rescue guys and the other gubment rescue teams had more crap on than I could believe, helmets with some kind of rain flaps, big jackets, rigging all over them. Several even had Go-Pro's on the top of their helmets (i thought they were lights). That's a lot of hot heavy gear.

Anybody watch ole boy sling the air boat off. Backed way in, not enough to float it, backed some more, helpers monkeying around trying to help, he got everyone out of the way, pulled the truck way up the "ramp", floored it backwards and then jammed the brakes, it came off then. Anyone on Ducksouth could tell what he was trying to do, but the average "joe" was getting in the way of the process.

What a frigging mess, never been to Houston, must be flat as a a pancake. Floods all the time.

[stang67]

I'm sure quite a few of the Cajun Navy are heading west as we speak. They got plenty of practice a year ago.

[teul2]

Looks like the Cajun navy is there in full force. Seeing lots of reports of them doing good.

[peewee]

My younger sister flooded yesterday afternoon. She evacuated to my older sisters house last night. Water got into my older sisters garage last night but not the house. Water has receded a few feet off her porch. It's still raining and isn't expected to move out till Thursday.

[mshunter77]

They were calling for anyone with a boat to lend a hand. I was watching the news, with a reporter at one "boat ramp", which was just a low spot on the interstate. Several good ole boys just showing up, slinging it off the trailer and going, wearing t-shirts and life jackets. The official swift water rescue guys and the other gubment rescue teams had more crap on than I could believe, helmets with some kind of rain flaps, big jackets, rigging all over them. Several even had Go-Pro's on the top of their helmets (i thought they were lights). That's a lot of hot heavy gear.

Anybody watch ole boy sling the air boat off. Backed way in, not enough to float it, backed some more, helpers monkeying around trying to help, he got everyone out of the way, pulled the truck way up the "ramp", floored it backwards and then jammed the brakes, it came off then. Anyone on Ducksouth could tell what he was trying to do, but the average "joe" was getting in the way of the process.

What a frigging mess, never been to Houston, must be flat as a a pancake. Floods all the time.

Spent a decent amount of time in Houston for work as our corporate office is in Katy. Extremely flat out there, interstate system is pretty much all raised but downtown and all the frontage roads and underpasses flood very easily.

[novacaine]

I know a few guys at Harris County Flood Control and Fort Bend Levee District..........they fight it all the time.
You think we have channels, sloughs, lakes, streams and rivers here in Ms Delta..............look at their web site.
over 2500 miles of streams.... and now USACE are popping off a flood control reservoir before it get beyond catastrophic.
They have a mess on their hands.

[Blackduck]

The square footage of concrete has skyrocketed in the past 20 yrs.or so. Runoff happens even faster.

[teul2]

Our very own Chevy0123 is out there helping with a few other boats.

I have been listening to the rescue radios and there is LOTS of traffic for rescues. The Cajun Navy is pretty well organized to be what it is. Rescue websites, location specific radio channels. There are people out doing the rescues, and those that are home on internet giving out driving directions for road closures / police check stations to rescuers, people updating flooding maps, people putting in rescue requests into the websites. It is nothing short of amazing.

[teul2]

To look over some of the rescue info, look at http://houstonharveyrescue.com/

[novacaine]

Wow................interactive AND proactive.

[RedEyed Duck]

CBS evening news said 51,000 fema claims already filed. Its estimated 100,000 homes were flooded and that on 15% of homes had flood insurance. So sad

[peewee]

My younger sister got flooded. I told them they couldn't wait on FEMA as mold would destroy the house. Her fiancé and her started working on it Thursday am. That afternoon about 30 folks from a local Latter Day Saints church (Mormon) showed up and helped rip our every thing they needed in about an hour. It was truly a blessing.

[Smoke68]

My younger sister got flooded. I told them they couldn't wait on FEMA as mold would destroy the house. Her fiancé and her started working on it Thursday am. That afternoon about 30 folks from a local Latter Day Saints church (Mormon) showed up and helped rip our every thing they needed in about an hour. It was truly a blessing.

That's awesome right there, and good for them on getting going. I heard a lady in an NPR interview this morning. Her whole mentality was "what is FEMA/OtherGovtOrg's plan for me?" At some point, you just have to sit down and make the best plan you can come up with and get to it. There are no doubt countless victims from this storm, but nobody is forced to take on a victim mentality.

The next interview they played was an elderly paraplegic man who had to be rescued from his house by air. His mentality was, "I've got to rebuild everything. It sucks, but there are plenty of people like me, and it's just what I've got to do."