I assume most people have heard of Hurricane Harvey by now? If you look at the picture above it warns of a storm, well, it formed and it is bearing down on Texas. The thought of any hurricane is a scary, but when you read a little about this storm it certainly is frightening. The outer bands have already made landfall and it is predicted to make landfall tonight or tomorrow morning. Some would think the wind speeds are the most important or most dangerous part of a hurricane. That is not always the case, in this instance it will be the water that causes the damage.
A hurricane warning is in effect for 1.5 million people and another 16 million are under a tropical storm warning. That is a lot of people! The storm should not be taken lightly. Many of the counties on the coast have issued evacuation orders. Of course, evacuations will lead to major traffic issues. I can imagine it would be hard to leave your home and sit in traffic jams, but your life is more important and that has to take priority.
Many, including myself, associate hurricanes with strong winds. Hurricane Harvey is being predicted to strengthen to a category 3. What does that mean? A category 3 will have winds of at least 111+ mph. Clearly, wind of that speed is very scary. It could possibly tear your house apart, it will destroy plenty of trees, and it will knock down plenty of power poles. All of that will lead to a rough recovery by itself. However, it is being predicted that the worst part of the storm will be the amount of water that is present. This storm could bring a storm surge of 6-12 feet in some areas. Storm surge is the rise of sea water that would not normally happen. So anything on the coast that is not above that height will probably be flooded. If you combine the wind speed and surge it can be scary. Now, add it to an estimated 35″ of rain in areas and think about the devastation! That’s right, 35″ of rain is being forecasted for certain areas. New York City averages 42″ of rain in an entire year. Imagine getting 80% of that amount in 3-4 days!
Wrapping my mind around the possibility of 35″ of rain is not easy. All of the damage caused by the wind, surge, and rain will be catastrophic. There will be people that are out of their homes for a long time. Quite honestly, some people might not ever go back to their homes. There may be nothing left of some homes. Hopefully, the evacuations will lower the population to a point that our first responders are not risking their own lives needlessly. As sad as it is losing your home and possessions, they can be replaced. You can not replace a life! Please be safe and we will hope for the best possible outcome.
—Victor Mandalawi