Hurricane Harvey - TX & LA Members Okay?

[8bit]

Hey guys.

Thanks to Joe for checking in and sending me a text to let me know about this thread. My neighborhood was spared thank goodness but it was really really bad in the area. Just a 1/4 mile down the road, visible outside my living room window, they were launching rescue boats yesterday.

We recorded 37" of rain in my neighborhood and I back right up against Addicks Reservoir which is a huge water retention area in Northwest Houston that prevents millions of gallons of water from entering downtown Houston. We were so worried had everything in the house up off the floor and ready for 2 ft of water inside and the car packed ready to go to a neighbors house with a second story. To make things more nerve-racking we have a 2 week old and a 3 1/2 yr old that we were concerned about having to take out in high waters.

Through all of this we've learned that my house is 4-5ft in elevation above where the overfilling of the reservoir can reach - at the point just above where water will start spilling around the corners of the dam. This is great for me but terrible for the other homes in the area and those around the corners of the dam who are are lower in elevation. There are an estimated 3000 homes affected by this one reservoir filling up and backing up into neighborhoods. Some homes, including two really close friends of mine with kids, won't even get to see the damage for weeks to come still bc the water has no where to go until it's slowly released through the dam downstream. Absolutely nuts.

Anyway, I am very glad to hear that my other RB friends in the area are okay and thankful for the community for caring.

*edit* Some other members below mentioned that Hobie-Wan stayed dry as well. Phew.

Here are some pictures of the game room when it was ready for potential flooding.

[Ack]

I've seen Hobie on Steam in the last couple of days. If I catch him online again, I will send him a message and check on him.

[ElkinFencer10]

I don't know how bad flood damage is for our folks all together, but since we do a charity auction every year anyway, how would folks feel about the proceeds for that going to our hardest hit flood victims? Just spitballing here as the idea just randomly came to me.

[Jmustang1968]

Hobie is good, he is on 3rd floor of his apartment. The road just north of him was really bad (Eldridge where the creek crosses) and still is flooded. He road his bike around the other day and snapped some pics.

[Ack]

Yeah, I did get a chance to catch up with Hobie last night. So long as the levees hold, he says he should be ok.

[Jagosaurus]

Checking in. It's now officially the worst recorded rainfall in US history. We have areas with over 51 inches

Happy to hear everyone is ok!

@StrangeNova, your family still ok? Orange, TX is now under a mandatory evac. My wife's family reportedly has 6 foot of water. They're only about 20 mins from you man. Their house is roughly 30 years old and that area has never flooded through all the hurricanes.

Looks like I took on roughly 1/4 inch just on the back of my house which is over 1/2 mIle from the nearest creek. I was lucky. My living room and a downstairs guest bedroom were all that were impacted. The remainder of downstairs (kitchen, appliances, breakfast nook, bathroom, & dining room) is fine. All of upstairs is all fine... because this Racketboy... gameroom/upstairs media area is good ! I'll be using the gameroom as our family living room for the evenings. All main bedrooms are upstairs. We're just going to be living upstairs except for kitchen/dining. I have flood insurance. I'm staying positive & thinking of this as a remodel . There are folks who lost their home & cars with no flood insurance. We honestly fared well. My kiddos are both fine. My parents live roughly 80 miles inland so we're commuting back & forth until we're settled.

Yesterday we ripped out flooring in 2 rooms impacted and cut drywall 10 inches up (it had soaked up the drywall & insulation quite a bit) Making progress. Today has been cleaning. So happy my AC turned on. No power after Hurricane Rita for 2.5 weeks was terrible. The cool air luxury made a rough day tolerable!

I took a photo today I will never forget. I was wanting to capture my demo-ed wood flooring & my A&M flag flying in the same shot.

As I took the picture, I could hear neighborhood kids laughing in the background, the streets were full of volunteers, & a complete stranger offered me sandwich. Seriously... a sandwich!

I was a little shocked & didn't know how to answer the new neighborhood sandwich man. Apparently he was a big hit after speaking with my neighbors. My small area is a microcosm of us all pulling together. I can honestly say it was contagious. We brought a bunch of the neighborhood kids donuts this morning (from out of town as many places are closed still) & I could tell they loved it. Sometimes it's about the little things during big events.

Appreciate the kind words and prayers, happy to hear everyone is safe, & hoping Stangenova's family is still ok. They're experiencin rapidly riding water there.

[strangenova]

Yeah Jag for the most part we are ok, so far with all the rising waters. My mother-in-law is in the flood zone from the dam though, last summer when they opened the dam the water got all the way up to her back door. Combined with all the rain and flooding that's already been going on though, i'm not sure how she's going to fair this time. Most of my family is within the town and that's about four to five miles from hwy 109, that's where the flood waters got to last time. I'm really sorry to hear that your family has gotten six foot though, this really is crazy....i've seen pictures of the main drag through Orange and it looks like a river instead of a road. I'm glad to hear that all the people are coming out in support though. It takes a community to rebuild after something like this.

[Jagosaurus]

Well... reallyyyyy jinxed myself. Main central AC went out right after I posted that I was so happy to have air . Danggit. I have a backup small window unit to cool a single room tomorrow while I wait on the AC tech to arrive. Need that central AC to ensure all the humidity from flooding is pulled out!

Staying positive, had the AC ran all night, it would've causing ceiling and attic damage due to drain pain overspillng. Turning the AC off & some time in the 130 degree attic with a shop vac alleviated the immediate threat!

BC it's Racketboy ... AC went out around 5p. I put a box fan on my game racks/shelves with the ceiling fan on. Assuming the AC is fixed tomorrow... won't have any issues with humidity/heat and my collection thanks to fans & blackout curtains in gameroom . Mrs. Jago couldn't stop laughing at what I was worried about keeping cool until tomorrow....

@strangenova, good to hear man. I'd keep an eye on your grandmother's place tomorrow to be safe. Estimates are 3 foot additional flooding. I'm more familiar with the Sam Rayburn dam on 255 and which areas flood vs the Toledo side going into LA. Odd there has been non official time/date of release yet. Most expect it to be tomorrow. Y'all be safe.

Yes, Orange is just nuts. I lived there for 19 years and went through some crazy hurricanes and floods. This one is just incomprehensible. I have family going 5 miles by boat tomorrow to reach dry land.

Again, happy all our TX/SWLA folks are ok! Appreciate the kind words all. It's just a little water for me and I'm one stubborn guy. Takes more than that to bring me down!

[Jagosaurus]

Well... a little Cajun engineering and a cold drink kept me moving cool today.



Concrete floors are in style anyway , I should just stain them. Tried to better get the label in there for the brewery buffs.



Luckily the house only reached 80 degrees (F) before the AC tech arrived. He was able to save the main central AC unit outside. Nothing wrong with the indoor portion which is in my attic. Temps are slowly starting to rise outside and having the AC on pulls out humidity so a big win there.

[Xeogred]

Glad you guys are hanging in there.

Steve Austin's newest podcast from Thursday was with his buddy, Ted Fowler down in Rockport Texas whom decided to sit it out, but almost regrets so saying "it was the scariest moment of my entire life". It was a very serious and heartfelt episode with a lot of intricate details onto what Ted's seeing there first hand. Damn...