Harvey news - on Accuweather site - damage report from Rockport

[NRaleighLiberal]

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/reports-conditions-deteriorating-across-coastal-texas-as-harvey-nears-landfall/70002563

9:50 p.m. CDT Friday: Several buildings have collapsed in Rockport, Texas with people trapped inside, emergency managers report.
The eye of Harvey is beginning to move over Rockport, allowing winds to temporarily decrease. However, winds will pick up once the eye wall moves back over the town.

[uppityperson]

1. I just checked wa post, found this. :(

Link to tweet

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2017/live-updates/weather/hurricane-harvey-updates-preparation-evacuations-forecast-storm-latest/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_liveblog-110p%3Aprime-time%2Fpromo&utm_term=.a12c8675b058

[malaise]

2. Yes they appear to have got the worst of the initial landfall

Sadly many people refused to evacuate

[sheshe2]

3. 65% refused.

I posted earlier tonight that CNN reported that officials told those that refused to evacuate write their name and SS# on their arm so they could be identified.

Now people are going to risk their life to save them. Why did they not leave? They knew this was going to be bad.

[Roland99]

4. Why did many not leave New Orleans?

[sheshe2]

11. Well, Roland?

Why do you not tell me?

Many went to shelter in the Superdome. We all no how well that worked out.

Why was Bush unprepared.

Read this.

Five Days at Memorial: Book Chronicles Euthanasia of Patients During Hurricane Katrina

https://www.amazon.com/Five-Days-Memorial-Storm-Ravaged-Published/dp/B00HMVX8VS/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_0/134-4993452-3266923?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4HF2D833B2C9FRQ65Y23

[malaise]

5. I saw your post

Selfish Aholes

[elehhhhna]

23. Poor people. Disabled. Elderly.

Plus the homeless.

Ain't no rich sportsman oilman dudes and their fams saying hey let's just stay here in Rockport.

[malaise]

25. My bad

Many probably didn't have the resources

[elehhhhna]

26. We should do it like Cuba but we don't.

I forgot to mention the addicts, drunks, and plain crazy folk.

Sugar land here (s w Houston suburb), so far so good. We have some peeps in Corpus - they've evacuated. The whole campus of A&M Corpus was evacuated - the campus is on its own barrier island. My baby's alma mater 2015. They bus the kids out. Some stayed though.

[malaise]

29. Stay safe

I'm glad they evacuated the campus - better to be safe than sorry.
Cuba has the best model for hurricane evacuations across our hemisphere but they understand community.

[femmedem]

7. omg. I didn't know that many people stayed.

This is heartbreaking.

I don't understand the psychology of staying, either. Afraid of losing their jobs? Afraid of being stranded and not able to get back? Nowhere to bring their pets? Gas stations out of gas by the time they realized how bad it would be? No money for lodging and food on the road? (That's probably a big one.)

But most likely they'd never been through a major hurricane before and didn't understand how terrifying and dangerous they are.

[sheshe2]

8. Part may be that dumps ice team were going to demand their papers.

How ugly is that? That does not account for all, some to stubborn to leave. This is a Cat4 with 40 inches of rain...5 days duration and they are on the damn coast!

[elehhhhna]

24. What was the logic of checkpointing people fleeing to Mexico?

Utter venom

[Not Ruth]

32. If you get check pointed fleeing to Mexico, don't you still end up in Mexico?

Not understanding the logic

[elehhhhna]

34. Private detention companies have quarterly profits to meet

[Hangingon]

9. Wonder where the 65% number came from.

We evacuated yesterday and it then became mandatory. The stay-behinds we know have all left. I am sure dome did but I don't believe 65%.

[sheshe2]

15. Take it up with CNN

[jpak]

17. Evacuation is expensive - and you get nothing from FEMA

But if you have an expensive beach house that's damaged?

FEMA throw you bags of cash all day long.

yup

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. "Now people are going to risk their life to save them"

No, they are not, during the storm, nope.

Back in 1994 or so, when Mobile got hit by a hurricane, the mayor and the Sheriff broadcast that evacuation was required, and went to door to door as much as they could and said the same thing to people near the shore, told them to write their names and SS#, even that did not make them leave.
and then, at night, at height of the storm and wind and rain, the 9-11 calls came in, people demanding the sheriff etc come out and get them.
Of course they could not go out and get people, the streets were flooded.
Mobile floods easily in certain parts of town and even more floods during a hurricane.

a lot of folks who survived said they shoulda evacuated and next time they would.

[Takket]

13. i saw a older woman on TV today...

said she was not evacuating because most people don't know what they are doing, but she knows what she is doing, so she is going to stay.

I... I don't get it... the very fact you would stay s every indication that you do NOT know what you are doing.

I don't know what she plans on doing if he roof gets torn off or a wall of water comes through her door.

[Not Ruth]

31. They had 20 years warning!

Should have listened to Al Gore

[femmedem]

6. Even after their mayor told them to write their social security #s on their arms if they stayed.

That was the most serious call to evacuation I've ever heard.

I'm a coward. I keep multiple cat carriers in my closet so if I ever need to, I can evacuate all the critters with me. (I live in a coastal city in Connecticut.)

[malaise]

22. I don't think you're a coward

I think you listen to experts.

[unc70]

10. Three storm chasers in Rockport when building collapsed

Jeff P was streaming live on Periscope from Rockport as eyewall came ashore. Building where they were parked sort of blew up. I think they are ok, but scary video

[Ilsa]

14. Unconfirmed report that thd rockport high school had been

Badly damaged by high winds and debris.

[herding cats]

20. Partial collapse is what is being said.

It was originally reported as a total loss but then a person who saw it says a portion collapsed.

This is the hotel the media and storm chasers were staying in in Rockport.

Link to tweet

They've since evacuated in an attempt to find a safer place before the eye passed. They were afraid the building would collapse once the back wall hit.

Video of some of the news crews before they knew the extent of the damage.

https://m.

[jpak]

16. They are now in the eye - the wind returns in 20 minutes

[haele]

18. A lot of people don't evacuate because they can't afford to.

If Rockport is a typical small coastal town supporting fishing or the shipping, there's probably a lot of old timers without reliable vehicles and no place to go even if they had one. Their lives are wrapped up in their (most likely) uninsured home and small pension or Social Security to support them.
They stay and take their chances because there's nothing else for them but returning to nothing if they do leave.

Sad, but it's the tragedy of their life, and they see the rest of the country doesn't care enough to elect people who would provide a safety net for them.

Haele

[herding cats]

19. Jeff Piotrowsk (emmy winning storm chaser) is posting periscope vids from Rockport.

This one was around an hour ago. He mentions some of the damage and people calling for help.

https://www.pscp.tv/Jeff_Piotrowski/1MYGNXLlaYQxw

Edit to add his twitter with all his posts from tonight.

https://mobile.twitter.com/Jeff_Piotrowski

[Saboburns]

21. Sustained winds over 130 mph, gusts to 150 mph

This is a killer storm. It strengthened very quickly and very, very late.

And the flooding is supposed to be the worst part. Historic flooding that is to last weeks. Yes plural. Weeks.

I got a bad feeling regarding deaths and damage.

This could be as bad as Katrina. Or worse.

[CCExile]

27. In Corpus Christi...

Hey, I'm alive! No coffe, but alive!

[Tanuki]

28. Thanks for checking in! Glad you are ok.

[Achilleaze]

30. Hang in there

[smirkymonkey]

33. How are you doing? What is it like down there?

Also, welcome to DU! And stay safe!