Tuesday, August 29, 2017

9 Trillion Gallons And Counting...!

There is no way I can explain how totally devastating the storm called Harvey continues to be. I found the best article in the Washington Post that puts it in much better perspective than I can. Here is an excerpt from them, with a link to the whole article.

Putting this much rainfall into perspective is challenging; after all, the sheer volume of water is incredibly tough to visualize. Fortunately, we crunched the numbers — here’s how they stack up.
So far, just the rain that has already fallen across the greater Houston area and Southeast Texas tallies to 9 trillion gallons. That’s only what has already come down, and keep in mind that 5 trillion to 10 trillion additional gallons could fall before things wrap up midweek.

The 9 trillion gallons of water dispensed so far is enough to fill the entire Great Salt Lake in Salt Lake City — twice! It would take nine days straight for the Mississippi River to drain into Houston and equal the amount of water already there. If we averaged this amount of water spread equally over the lower 48 states, that’s the equivalent of about 0.17 inches of rain — roughly the height of three pennies stacked atop each other — occupying every square inch of the contiguous United States. Imagine one downpour large enough to cover the entire country!

This amount of water could fill 2.3 percent of the volume of the mountain range containing Mount Everest in Nepal and is enough to occupy 33,906 Empire State Buildings, from basement to penthouse.

But here’s the kicker: Just how unprecedented is this? Well, remember the flooding that New Orleans experienced with Hurricane Katrina? Most places saw about 10 to 20 feet of water thanks to levee failure, inundating about 80 percent of the city. Now, if we took the amount of rainfall that Texas has seen and spread it over the city limits of New Orleans, it would tower to 128 feet in height — roughly reaching as high as a 12-story office building.

So there ya have it. A LOT of water has fallen, with more on the way. Pretty damn scary, for sure!

Coffee in the kitchen this morning. You may have to swim to get here, though.

9 comments:

linda m said...

That really is scary. I can't even begin to imagine what you are going through. I have had my basement flood; but I also knew I was safe on the first floor and it wasn't going flood. My heart goes out to all of you living in that area and I pray God keeps you safe.

Unknown said...

I'm glad you got computer service back. Any luck with the air conditioner? I'm guessing if the water had gotten to the door you would have mentioned it. Are your kitties ok? Stay safe. Prayers are with you. Love you, Bubba.

JO said...

This so frightening even to read. I also pray that you stay safe and I pray for all others in this horrible storm. Do you still have the same e mail address? I doubt you have mine as it changed.

Judy said...

While swimming in keep an eye out for alligators! Saw an article where they had gators in the backyard. My grandparents moved because every time the Neosho flooded they had snakes sunning on the back porch and I thought that was scary enough.

Made browned-butter shortbread cookies to go with our coffee.

Dizzy-Dick said...

Glad to see your post and that you are not treading water. Yep, that was an unimaginable amount of water.

blondie said...

I don't swim so getting to your place would be a problem for me, lol

Hopefully it's still dry all around your structure. Or at least, not leaking in.

Be safe and keep us updated :)

HermitJim said...

Hey Linda...
High water is always a little scary. So far it has stayed outside, so that's a good thing.
Thanks for stopping by today!


Hey B...
TV and 'puter are both back on. AC...not so much. I have a box fan, though.
Kitties are on the car, so they are good.
Thanks for coming over, sis!


Hey Jo...
It does read like a horror story, for sure. Email is still hermitjim @gmail.com.
Thanks for dropping by today, sweetie.


Hey Judy...
So far no snakes or gators here. That's always a good thing, I reckon!
Thanks for the visit today!


Hey Dizzy...
Looks like on the news that you have some water over towards your place. Are you and the wife doing OK?
Thanks for stopping by today, my friend!


Hey Blondie...
Always glad to see ya, CC! Didn't think I'd ever forget that nickname, did ya? No leaks yet, thank goodness.
Many thanks for checking on me, dear.

Dizzy-Dick said...

Yes, we are OK. I am so ugly that the flood waters ran away from me. . (grin). Seriously, we did get a lot of rain, but most of the water runs off into my ponds and if they overflow, it runs off the other side of my property. But, the ground is getting all squishy.

Anonymous said...

I read your blog regularly. I enjoy the stories you dig up. Take care of yourself! The midwest is keeping all of you in our thoughts and prayers!!