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[smjjames]

True, the impact is a hell of a lot bigger than Katrina, but it's the optics that Bush ran into that they're trying to avoid.

As per http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/27/trump-hurricane-harvey-texas-242082
"Trump's office gave no details on his trip set for Tuesday; press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the White House was “coordinating logistics with state and local officials.” The president had at times expressed a desire to visit even sooner, and he told advisers he was determined not to bungle the federal response to the storm, mentioning President George W. Bush's handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, according to one person who spoke to Trump."

He's keenly aware of how Bush screwed it up.

[inteuniso]

Not exactly sure what the federal response to this can be, besides dumping billions of dollars into rebuilding texas over the next 5-10 years.

This is going to take forever and a day to recover from.

[smjjames]

The problem with Katrina is that the Federal response was slow and sometimes inadequate. Compunded by Bush's appearance of being detached from the whole situation.

It was so bad that they had to set up a commission to manage the recovery.

[Frumple]

This is going to take forever and a day to recover from.

Ho yes, yes it is. Not so cheerful reminder that the population of new orleans still hasn't recovered to pre-katrina days. Which was back in '05. Twelve years and counting.

And the impact of harvey is pretty certainly going to be worse

[smjjames]

At least they don't have to contend with the pumps keeping them from becoming a modern day Atlantis constantly breaking down.

[misko27]

On the other hand, that region produces a lot of oil & gas, which carries its own risks...

The projection I'm seeing seems to imply that Harvey - after it goes out to sea - will not hit Houston as it turns back and goes inland. That's good news if it lasts.

[Frumple]

At least they don't have to contend with the pumps keeping them from becoming a modern day Atlantis constantly breaking down.

It'd help. Conceptually a lot is (likely to end up being) better condition wise for recovery for SE tex than it was for louisiana. But, y'know. Better =/= good, and all that.

Will say, one thing this has definitely drove home for me is that us folks out here around the gulf... we can't really afford to keep fucking around. Once a decade storms of this magnitude of impact are apparently more than this general area can particularly rally from before the next hits, and there's better than even odds that rate is going to maintain or get more frequent.

If we don't get to the point we can handle cat 4+ hurricanes and historic flooding without needing recovery efforts like katrina's aftermath had, or harvey's is looking to have, we're going to attrition out with variable degrees of speed over the next two or three or so generations... couple hundred years, whatever. Or at least get to where we can recover in a much shorter time period. And/or, really. Both is good.

But... as is, we're not going to be able to get away much longer with flood control reservoirs that aren't built expecting shit we've never seen before, or regional flood insurance rates around 15%, or road conditions that can't manage to transport tens(/hundreds) of thousands without trouble even during heavy flooding, or coastal buildings that get knocked down by mere 140+ mph winds and multi-foot storm surges, and all the rest of it. Basically, the window for where not building what effectively are fortress cities geared for natural disaster is an option is shrinking. And, like. Single generation/lifetime shrinking, which is fucking terrifying if considering an environmental time scale.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Climate scientists have been telling them so for decades, but as the saying goes, a man believes whatever his job requires him to believe. Hundreds of billions in flood prevention is impossible to believe, hundreds of billions in disaster relief and resettlement less so.

[Frumple]

Realistically... yeah, probably. It's been said for a while now, as y'say, but I'd probably say this is the first time it's actually really been hammered. Decade later major storm coming in and even worse, decade old major storm still not recovered from. You'd hope it might actually finally goddamn sink in to some degree.

Still. Basically just means that this area's probably going to effectively be deadlands in another century or three. Maybe less depending on exactly how the atmosphere shifts about. Somehow we're going to have to figure out how to move or bury(/let rot) a few tens of millions of people.

[Aklyon]

They'll be too busy trying to look better than bush did to listen to climate science telling them they're wrong about things not changing.

If they aren't, it'll be a surprise.

[RedKing]

We should probably shunt the political bits into Ameripol and keep this for just discussing the nuts and bolts of the storms.

Oh, and the NC coast is now under a tropical storm watch thanks to a new system which will be named Irma if it intensifies.

[smjjames]

Yep, the carolinas are gonna get soaked. Looks like it'd move pretty quick though, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at5.shtml?cone#contents

And there's whatever is brewing off the coast of Africa.

[Frumple]

I swear to whatever gods may or may not exist, if you people around florida sink before it does I'm not forgiving any of you.

... also stay safe and all that. Hopefully there's not going to be some kind of unholy amalgamation event in complete defiance of current forecasts.

[RedKing]

Here's what'll happen -- a third storm (Jose) will pop up out of nowhere and buzz right up along the shaft of Florida, converging with the remnants of Harvey and Irma to form SuperHurricane Katia, spawning gatornadoes and snakespouts across the Mid-Atlantic, before demolishing Washington DC and "flooding the swamp" for good.

Remnants of the Federal government relocate to Chicago, and the Confederate flag issue is over as most of the South is now a corpse-laden sunken wasteland. Democrats win bigly in 2018.

EDIT: No actual politics were intended by the above post. Honestly, I'm more interested in seeing the gatornado.

[helmacon]

Houston is literally reverting to swampland.

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