Rain Swamps Houston

Persistent rain swamps Houston; "Don't roam, stay home," officials urge

The aftermath of Hurricane Patricia swept through the Houston area over the weekend, with persistent rainfall that dropped from four to nine inches of water. While there were pockets of flooding, most roads remained passable as official urged residents, "Don't roam, stay home."

The Harris County Flood Control District reported that the rain gage on White Oak Bayou at Heights Boulevard registered the highest rainfall amount at 9.2 inches. The channel went out of banks overnight, but crested and dropped two to feet in the past few hours on Sunday morning.

Brays Bayou flowed out of it banks at Lawndale for a few hours, but is back within its banks, the Flood Control District reporterd. The bayou was high near neighborhoods that were affected during the Memorial Day storm, but remained within banks and is falling in that area of southwest Houston.

Several streets and roadways are still flooding throughout the county, and many will continue to hold water until bayous and creeks recede. Residents are urged to avoid roads with high water and to drive cautiously while going about their business Sunday.

As of 6:30 am on Sunday, Flood Control District officials reported the following out of their banks:

• South Mayde Creek in west Harris County near Interstate 10 and Greenhouse Road
• Cypress Creek at Cypresswood Drive in north Harris County
• Taylors Bayou at Shore Acres Boulevard east of SH 146 in far southeast Harris County

The following are near bankfull, but falling:
• Buffalo Bayou at Shepherd Drive near downtown Houston
• Buffalo Bayou at Milam Street in downtown Houston
• Brays Bayou at Lawndale in southeast Houston
• Hunting Bayou at Lockwood Drive in east Houston
• Halls Bayou at Jensen in northeast Houston
• Armand Bayou at Genoa-Red Bluff in southeast Harris County
• Clear Creek at Interstate 45 in south Harris County
• Clear Creek at Mykawa on the south Beltway 8
• Clear Creek at FM 528 near Friendswood
• Clear Creek at Bay Area Boulevard in south Harris County
• Cedar Bayou near SH 146 in far east Harris County

All other Harris County bayous and creeks are responding, but remain within banks.

Another two inches of rain is predicted for Sunday. Many events in the area have been cancelled due to the inclement weather.

The Flood Control District urges all residents to monitor rainfall and bayou water levels on its Harris County Regional Flood Warning System website (desktop and mobile versions) at www.harriscountyfws.org. The website features color-coded icons on an interactive map to indicate if a bayou or creek is close to, or out of its banks.

Flooding a Memorial and Waugh.

Photo by Shelby Hodge

Flooding a Memorial and Waugh.

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asked and answered

Houstonians want WNBA and NHL franchises, new survey finds

Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Bring back the Comets!

Harris County residents really want a WNBA team but are less excited about a F1 track. Those are just two of the results of a new survey that gauged local residents’ attitudes about a range of sports-related topics.

Conducted by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston between July 9 and 18, 2,300 people who are registered voters in Harris County responded to the survey. It has an error rate of +/- 2.04 percent.

The first question related to plans to renovate NRG Stadium, which is owned by Harris County and used by both the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. A majority, 51 percent, think the county government should contribute either up to 20 percent or 40 percent towards the cost of those renovations. Only 26 percent responded that the county should not contribute any money to the project.

On a related note, 62 percent are in favor of using county money as part of a public-private partnership to renovate the Astrodome into an entertainment venue. The topic has been in the news recently courtesy of a lengthy article in the New York Times that examined the building’s status.

As for the tenants at NRG Park, an overwhelming majority hold a favorable of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (81 percent) and the Texans (73 percent). It’s easy to speculate that favorable view of the Texans would been considerable lower a couple of years ago, prior to the team’s success under the leadership of coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Houstonians continue to miss having a local theme park, with 68 percent saying they would be “enthusiastic” about “a destination theme park, water park, and resort for all ages like Disney World or Universal Studios being opened in Houston?” Not surprisingly, that number is even higher for families with children under 18, 75 percent of whom want a theme park. Similarly, 36 percent said they’d visit more than once a year and another 25 percent would visit at least once a year. Only 18 percent said they’d never visit.

Houston is home to teams from the major men’s sports leagues, the NFL, NBA, MLB, and MLS, but we’re missing teams that play in the WNBA and the NHL. Roughly the same number of Houstonians would like to see that changed, with 64 percent in favor of the WNBA’s return and 61 percent in favor of the NHL.

However, Houstonians are less interested in joining the ranks of cities like Dallas and Austin in having a motor speedway that could host a NASCAR or F1 race. Only 52 percent are in favor of such a facility being built in the Houston area.

Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Bring back the Comets!

survey reports university of houston