The Chron's Mike Snyder provides an
update on the condition of West Harris County residents who are struggling to rebound from the latest floods....
In a preliminary damage assessment, county officials identified $12.6 million in damage to 713 houses and a few businesses that flooded when as much as 11 inches of rain fell within a few hours April 27 and 28. In a letter to Gov. Rick Perry, County Judge Ed Emmett said the flooding created health and safety hazards requiring state or federal assistance.
It remained unclear this week whether such help would be provided. Perry’s spokeswoman, Katherine Cesinger, said the governor would review Emmett’s request after damage assessments were complete.
Until a decision about state or federal assistance is made, there is little the county can do to assist the flooded home- owners, said Lori Bear, a spokeswoman for Commissioner Jerry Eversole, who represents many of the affected neighborhoods.
Residents who call Eversole’s office seeking help are referred to appropriate county departments, Bear said.
The foul mixture of water, sewage, oil and who-knows-what-else contaminated everything it touched as it rose through the houses around the cul-de-sac at the end of Thornbrook Drive. A week later, the trash piles at the curb contained treasured memories along with sodden mattresses and carpets.
I live near, but not in, the affected areas. I've seen first hand how much damage 11 inches of rain can do to a neighborhood. I've also paid close attention to some of the comments coming from the residents of
preferred areas toward their Harris County neighbors:
If you are inside that box, you are living in the retention pond. The mission of the dam is to protect downtown from flooding. You bought a house behind a dam that is designed to retain water.
First, it should be noted that not everything you read on chron.comments is true. The mission of the Addicks resivior is NOT to 'prevent downtown Houston from flooding'. Also, many of the houses that flooded are not even located in the 100 year flood plain.
News flash- don't buy a home in an area that used to be rice paddys!
Which eliminates most of the Houston area.
What's really illustrated here is the ability of many Houstonians to use the misfortune of others to attempt to trump up their chosesn residential location as "correct". There's just no room for compromise any longer. Not only has it become unpopular to live outside of Beltway 8 but some people, in a sad attempt to pump up their egos, are dead-set on making it a shoddy moral decision as well. Society, and especially Americans, have devolved to the point that many are unable to even consider that some portion of the population does not share their exact goals and dreams, whatever they may be. We've become nothing more than a sad Nation of toss-pots throwing out invectives at one another while each of us struggle to complete our daily tasks without getting horribly offended by our fellow man to a level that we need to pen a missive about how 'angry' the other side has turned out to be.
Where did it all go wrong? How did we move from a society that allowed for social differences without anger and bile to a society where home location and transportation choice is a sign of moral failure?
I, for one, blame our politicians and opinion-makers, and there's plenty to go around to all parties. I'm not being picky.
Republicans: Yes, I'm looking at
you John Culberson, and those like you in the Houston area that portrayed public transportation as some great evil in order to win support from a dedicated base. The application of moral values to a transportation system (trains) and a system of finance (socialism) led us down the path to statements such as "Liberalism is a social disease" and other disparaging remarks toward those of other political ideologies.
Democrats: It all went south when Chris Bell, desperate to try and breathe life into his flagging campaign for Governor, had the temerity to suggest that budgets were moral documents. By granting moral weight to what are essentially financial decisions Bell opened us up to the current reality where where one chooses to live and what one chooses to drive are viewed as accurate reflectors of one's moral compass.
Media: As I stated, there's plenty of blame to go around. Media outlets who covered almost every big local issue as "inside the Loop vs. outside the Loop" dropped the ball on big ticket local issues such as transportation (where was the media discussion about whether or not Metro Rail should extend to the suburbs), flood control (there is no discussion, and what we have largely occurs outside of the public discourse) and housing (If there's been a media story on the effects of 4 Million people moving inside the Loop -as some call for- I haven't seen it).
Bloggers: Yes, I'm navel-gazing here. As the Houston blogging community has grown, its also failed to mature. Most blogs are nothing more than power to the party echo chambers who use auto-generated blog-rolls to ensure that every link they provide is ideologically in sync. Issues-related discourse on most blogs is typically limited to whatever talking points are handed down to party bloggers, who squeal with glee when a local elected official from their preferred party pays attention to them. Wanna see a blogger blush? Watch the first time they're placed on an 'insiders e-mail' list.
The end result? People are anonymously
disparaging their neighbors, many of whom are currently living outside of their homes due to flood damage. Our first response hasn't defaulted to charity, instead we've become Nelson of the Simpson's, laughing at the pain of others to mask our own insecurities. What we've forgotten in all of this is that, but by the grace of God, there go we.
11 inches of rain.
I don't care where you live in the Houston area, if you get 11 plus inches of rain in less than 12 hours chances are you're neighborhood, or someone around you, has a flood coming their way. Odds are adults, children, the elderly and pets are going to be displaced, lives are going to be temporarily disrupted, and a group of people are going to look to charity and the giving spirit of others to help them through a rough patch. Yes, its true, in times such as these they'll especially look to the Government for help.
When the system works best, the Federal government provides funding and resources that are deployed by local authorities to provide immediate aid and triage. Once the worst is past, then charity and the support of the community is counted on to aid in the long-term process of rebuilding. In Houston, we've removed the lynch-pin of community in order to make a transient point about the superiority of our decisions over those of other people who are now struggling daily to survive. Sitting in air-conditioned comfort, behind the anonymity of computer screens we spend part of our day chastising them for not having flood insurance (this despite the fact that many of us outside of the flood plane don't have it either), and for not living in an area of town that's currently high & dry. As if the whim of nature is somehow evidence of our moral and intellectual superiority.
That all of this is a folly seems to be beyond us. Sustained winds of 5 MPH in an easterly direction moves this system 20 miles East, and the flooding problems are being dealt with by many of the people who are currently pointing and laughing. Ike moves East and Pasadena and all those refineries take a direct hit instead of Galveston. Katrina moves west and Beaumont gets two hurricane hits during the year.
Which really makes all of our laughing and finger pointing at those with misfortune look silly.
You want to really help? Stop lecturing and volunteer or donate to organizations such as the
American Red Cross or
Bear Creek Assistance Ministries on a local level. Do something that elevates the discussion instead of wallowing in the mud of false morality.
And, for goodness' sake, stop electing officials who's sole path to victory is a weak attempt at giving false weight to one lifestyle over another. We all have choices to make in life, its imperative that we be allowed to make the ones that work best for us, while respecting those that others are making which work best for them.
OTHER EYES:
Swamplot - Who finds
another aspect of Houston real-estate to disapprove of.
