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Watching the mayor of Houston give a press briefing (Original Post) Phoenix61 Aug 2017 OP
He's a good guy. Former state representative. cloudbase Aug 2017 #1
Unfortunately he discouraged people from evacuating several days ago. femmedem Aug 2017 #2
Because he knew that tens of thousands of them would wind up TheDebbieDee Aug 2017 #3
Ah. thanks. Yes, the worst is being trapped in your vehicle. n/t femmedem Aug 2017 #4
It was the 2005 Hurricane Rita evacuation tammywammy Aug 2017 #5
It was probably the longest parking lot in the world dalton99a Aug 2017 #16
It would be better if they all waited for the flooding? WinkyDink Aug 2017 #6
RIGHT !!! uponit7771 Aug 2017 #9
Better than what? I don't understand what you are asking. LisaL Aug 2017 #10
They would be easier to find they would have drowned in ther cars. jbond56 Aug 2017 #20
Yep, that's about it. LisaL Aug 2017 #8
Because you can't really evacuate Houston in that short period of time. LisaL Aug 2017 #7
Any plan to evacuate Houston on short notice would require statewide cooperation and state/federal highplainsdem Aug 2017 #11
And probably wouldn't work anyway. Too many people, too few roads leading out. LisaL Aug 2017 #12
True. Especially given the distance most would have to drive. highplainsdem Aug 2017 #14
They'd be stuck on freeways/highways, and at least some freeways appear to be flooding. LisaL Aug 2017 #15
And many would simply run out of gas. highplainsdem Aug 2017 #17
Even coordinating evacuations at that scale is problematic if you've only a few days. haele Aug 2017 #13
"Ignore unsourced weather predictions that have needlessly frightened" bluepen Aug 2017 #22
I thought the original forecast was to hit Corpus Christi MiniMe Aug 2017 #18
It did hit north of Corpus Christi TexasBushwhacker Aug 2017 #19
That makes sense, thanks MiniMe Aug 2017 #21
It didn't change course. It didn't directly hit Houston. LisaL Aug 2017 #23

cloudbase

(5,477 posts)
1. He's a good guy. Former state representative.
Sun Aug 27, 2017, 11:12 AM
Aug 2017

He wasn't my state rep, but his district covered a chunk of my school district. He and his staff were always available to discuss issues.
Although I'm not eligible to vote in city elections, I happily gave him a campaign contribution.

femmedem

(8,185 posts)
2. Unfortunately he discouraged people from evacuating several days ago.
Sun Aug 27, 2017, 11:14 AM
Aug 2017


"Please think twice before trying to leave Houston en masse. No evacuation orders have been issued for the city. #Harvey
2:49 PM - 25 Aug 2017 "

and

"Ignore unfounded, unsourced weather predictions that have needlessly frightened Houstonians. Get info from trusted outlets. @HoustonOEM"
 

TheDebbieDee

(11,119 posts)
3. Because he knew that tens of thousands of them would wind up
Sun Aug 27, 2017, 12:09 PM
Aug 2017

stranded in traffic jams on the major highways out of town just as it happened during a hurricane in 2007 or 2008...

tammywammy

(26,582 posts)
5. It was the 2005 Hurricane Rita evacuation
Sun Aug 27, 2017, 12:29 PM
Aug 2017

It took people 24 hours to get from Houston to Dallas - normally a 4 hour drive.

LisaL

(44,961 posts)
10. Better than what? I don't understand what you are asking.
Sun Aug 27, 2017, 12:42 PM
Aug 2017

If millions tried to evacuate in a short period of time, they would end up stuck on highways/freeways.
So what do you think would happen to people stuck on highways/freeways in their cars in all this rain?

LisaL

(44,961 posts)
8. Yep, that's about it.
Sun Aug 27, 2017, 12:35 PM
Aug 2017

People here keep talking how important it is to evacuate. Well, you can't really evacuate millions out of Houston in a short period of time without them getting stuck on the roads.

LisaL

(44,961 posts)
7. Because you can't really evacuate Houston in that short period of time.
Sun Aug 27, 2017, 12:33 PM
Aug 2017

Where do you think all those millions of people were going to go? They would be stuck on the road, which would make it even more dangerous for them.

highplainsdem

(48,650 posts)
11. Any plan to evacuate Houston on short notice would require statewide cooperation and state/federal
Sun Aug 27, 2017, 12:46 PM
Aug 2017

resources, available on just hours' notice.

The mayor and city government alone can't manage an evacuation of millions of people. And if they initiate it, without detailed plans and guarantees of that state and federal help, they'll just compound the disaster by clogging the highways and roads.

LisaL

(44,961 posts)
12. And probably wouldn't work anyway. Too many people, too few roads leading out.
Sun Aug 27, 2017, 12:48 PM
Aug 2017

They told Houston to evacuate during hurricane Rita and people just got stuck on highways. You basically need a lot of time to evacuate Houston.

haele

(12,566 posts)
13. Even coordinating evacuations at that scale is problematic if you've only a few days.
Sun Aug 27, 2017, 12:53 PM
Aug 2017

The best thing to do would be to stage area evacuations due to danger levels, but human nature would turn the best plans into a clusterf$** quickly as too many people who aren't facing life-threatening risks will make it all about them and demand their needs come first, and others in the danger areas will ignore plans and warnings because the last time they got hit with a hurricane or flood, it wasn't worth the effort to evacuate.

And a mass panic evacuation will be worse than no official evacuation, with people caught out in the openin gridlock when the effects first hit.

Haele

bluepen

(620 posts)
22. "Ignore unsourced weather predictions that have needlessly frightened"
Sun Aug 27, 2017, 04:21 PM
Aug 2017

Yeah. Which predictions were those?

TexasBushwhacker

(20,010 posts)
19. It did hit north of Corpus Christi
Sun Aug 27, 2017, 04:16 PM
Aug 2017

This is the rain from the outer bands of the storm. We knew it was coming. Personally, I thought about driving to Dallas, but decided to stay here with my cats.

LisaL

(44,961 posts)
23. It didn't change course. It didn't directly hit Houston.
Sun Aug 27, 2017, 04:23 PM
Aug 2017

But because Harvey is very slowly moving over land, it's bringing in a lot of rain.

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