Reports that Katy, Texas is getting hit hard by flooding; they need more rescue boats.
UPDATE 11 PM EDT
Information in an AP 'live blogging' report (last entry 7:35 PM) fills in some of the blanks in the Chron report below
[...]
6:15 PM
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to begin releasing water into Buffalo Bayou from two flood-control dams on the western outskirts of the city.
Col. Lars Zetterstrom is commander of the Galveston District of the Corps of Engineers. He says water will be released from the Barker Reservoir and Addicks Reservoir very slowly on Monday morning to prevent uncontrollable flooding of downtown Houston and the Houston Ship Channel.
Downtown Houston is 17 miles (27.36 kilometers) downstream from the dams, which were built during the 1940s in response to a 1935 flood that inundated much of downtown area.
Zetterstrom says the water contained by the dams is “unparalleled in the dams’ history.” The waters are rising about 4 inches per hour.
Zetterstrom says the dams will impound water for one to three months as water is gradually released. He adds that some neighborhoods on the fringes of the reservoir are likely to see some floods.
END UPDATE
By John D. Harden
Published 5:57 pm, Sunday, August 27, 2017
Col. Lars N. Zetterstrom with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced late Sunday afternoon that rising levels in the Addicks and Barker reservoirs will force authorities to release water from both dams. Based on the corps data, the rising waters will place residents and their home in dangerous situations.
"We will have to release water to reduce the risk of flooding in the Houston metropolitan," he said. "Until we realize the actual rise we can't predict how many homes would be impacted."
[Pundita note: good grief, haven't they seen footage of the flooding in the city? Or are they talking about Houston environs?]
Homeowners near the reservoirs will likely have water seep into their homes prior to the release. Some of the released water will flow into the Buffalo Bayou and increase the already bulging water levels. This will lead to officials issuing a voluntary evacuation for residents living along bayou.
The corps plans to release water by 2 a.m. Monday at Addicks and 11 a.m. at Barker.
All roads around the dams will be closed prior to releases.
Zetterstrom said the water taken in by the dam from the storms is unparalleled and will exceed records set in 2015 and 2016.
He said weather models show that water would begin rising 4 to 6 inches an hour by early tomorrow morning.
[END CHRON REPORT]
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