This has been a complete disaster of a week. As I was driving to UH for class last Tuesday, the radio station mentioned a tropical disturbance near the Texas coast in the Gulf of Mexico. As I was returning home about five hours later, I was listening to reports on Tropical Storm Allison. Allison was already throwing storms ashore to the Houston area. Tuesday night she moved ashore and moved inland to the north/northeast. That night she flooded several communities southeast of Houston. I thought this was going to be the end of Allison. I was wrong.The rain continued off and on through Thursday. Thursday, it was discovered that Allison had gotten stalled in northeast Texas around the city of Lufkin. A high-pressure area was trying to move south, so Allison got stuck and, eventually, began moving southwest � straight back to the Houston area. Friday is when all hell broke loose in Houston and the surrounding counties. Allison�s eye was sitting about 50 miles west of Houston, but her currents were sweeping up moisture in the Gulf, forming thunderstorms, and throwing it back over Houston. Today, we�ve finally gotten relief. Allison has moved back into the Gulf of Mexico and is dissipating. However, the damage is done.
Most areas of Houston received 16 to 24 inches of rain. I live 30 miles northwest of Houston in the community of Cypress. The two rain gauges nearest my house recorded 23 inches at US 290 and Texas 8 (15 minutes southwest from my house) and 17 inches at Willowbrook Mall (5 minutes northwest of my house). The University of Houston has recorded 24 inches of rain, and Downtown Houston recorded 22 inches of rain. Denver Harbor (a part of East Houston close to the ship channel) recorded 36 inches of rain. Entire communities got the stuffing knocked out of them. In the southeast, Friendswood and Pasadena were completely isolated from the rest of the world. In the southwest, Missouri City and Sugarland were decimated. In the north, The Woodlands and Conroe met a similar fate.
The highways are finally open. I-10 and US 59 are built into the ground, so they naturally turned into rivers. Some sections were under 10 or more feet of water. Semi trailers were picked up in the water and began floating. Texas 288 and Texas 225 are on grade-level but flooded when bayous began overflowing. The lower sections of I-45, Texas 8, US 290, and I-610 were flooded, and all frontage roads were impassable. The streets of downtown were impassable at all but maybe five entrance points.
Buildings flooded everywhere. The downtown tunnel system ranged from being flooded by a few inches to a few feet. The tunnel system for the criminal justice centers was completely blocked. A woman died in a downtown building�s elevator when power failed. Water flooded the cab, and she was unable to escape. The Texas Medical Center (where most of our major hospitals are) is still without main power. Most hospitals lost their emergency power Saturday morning when the basements flooded and shorted out generators and power switch boxes. Our two major trauma hospitals, Hermann and Ben Taub, had to combine their staffs and equipment. Hermann lost all power and had to transfer critical care patients (about 20) to other hospitals. Ben Taub was running at about 20% power from its backup generator. By yesterday evening, a company donated generators to the Medical Center, and Hermann and other hospitals once again had some power. However, all of the hospitals are in reduced services mode: Hermann, Ben Taub, LBJ, St. Luke�s, St. Joseph�s, MD Anderson Cancer Center, UT Health Science Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children�s, Texas Women�s, Veterans Affairs, and many more. Hobby Airport and Bush Intercontinental shut down for a time.
All of the city�s bayous and creeks overflowed. San Jacinto River also overflowed when the floodgates had to be opened at Lake Houston. I live one mile from Cypress Creek, and it flooded as well. Friday night, I lost my telephone service and almost power. My telephone was finally restored this afternoon. My street flooded about 4 inches and White Oak Bayou (one block away) was looking rather menacing. My house, fortunately, did not flood, but thousands of others were not so lucky. My uncle has two inches of water in his home. The community of Crosby had to evacuate 2000 residents because of the flooding. Currently, there are 27 shelters set up and being run by the Red Cross and housing about 15000 people. Current damage estimates for the city of Houston alone is at $250 million.
The news is reporting that the University of Houston will be closed at least a week. The campus is within telecommunications and, possibly, power. Saturday at 3:00 a.m., an administrator was on the news saying that he lost contact with UHPD. Before the phones went out, UHPD reported that there was flooding in all of the buildings. A lot of my friends are living or working in the residence halls this summer; I�m worried about them but know they�re okay. I can�t get a hold of anyone up there. The phones are still down, and cellular telephones are still being worked on.
The mayor, county judge, governor, and president have declared this area of Texas as a disaster area. The National Guard moved in yesterday to aid in the evacuation of flooded residents. The police and firefighters of all areas have been stretched to the limits rescuing people. The news reporters even began helping when not giving reports. The entire 911 system failed, first in the city of Bellaire, then in the southeast communities of Friendswood and Pasadena, then in the northeast areas of Crosby and Highlands, finally greater Houston/Harris County. So far, there are 15 confirmed deaths from the flooding.
I cannot tell you how horrible and awe-inspiring the past two days have been for me. Friday and Saturday, I was more or less flooded into my small section of Cypress. My friends are flooded in at UH, and I have no way of contacting them. Thousands of homeless, and 15 are dead. Houston has never seen this amount of destruction. This has been a truly humbling experience, but, at the same time, it has brought out the best in humanity. Boy Scout and Cub Scouts arrived at the Texas Medical Center to help with the logistics of dispensing food and supplies. Individuals and companies donated food, water, and supplies to the hospitals, and many volunteers arrived at the shelters and flooded areas to help. The news reporters were helping rescue people flooded in their vehicles and arranging transport for injured or medically-in-need people. The news helicopters were pressed into service to aid the Life Flight air ambulance service in transporting patients and people and supplies. We�ll survive. Roadways are opening up and FEMA is in town.
And hurricane season has only just begun, too.
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