Rains from Harvey obliterate records, flood disaster to expand

By Matthew Cappucci and Jason Samenow
28 August 2017
(The Washington Post) – The record-shattering rains behind the flood catastrophe in Southeast Texas will continue for several more days and are predicted to expand into southwest Louisiana, where double-digit rainfall totals are likely.As of early Monday, locations near Houston in Harris County had seen up 35 inches, and isolated areas to the northeast up to 40 inches. According to the National Weather Service, the forecast of more than a foot of additional rainfall “would have devastating consequences on the continuing rescue and recovery efforts.”Some areas could see storm rainfall totals exceeding 50 inches, which would break Texas state records.The Weather Service office serving Houston described the rain amounts so far “unfathomable.” The 16.07 inches that fell on Houston’s George Bush Airport on Sunday marks the single wettest day in Houston history, making up nearly a third of the 49.77 inches the city sees in an average year. More than two feet fell over the weekend, a record two-day amount.The August rainfall in Houston, largely from Harvey, shattered its record for any month by a whopping 13.47 inches.This flood disaster has easily surpassed the havoc wrought by the landmark Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, the Weather Service said.Economic damage in the many billions of dollars is inevitable, according to economists and reinsurers. [more]