HURRICANE HARVEY - ONE OF THE WORST HURRICANES EXPERIENCED IN THE LAST 12 YEARS - CONTINUES TO CREATE HAVOC - POINTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE - ARE WE REALLY PREPARED - NATIONWIDE?

Hurricane Harvey played havoc all night long -

and continues to be a force to be reckoned with -

Climate Change - has created challenges -

Nationwide - are we really - prepared.

Hurricane Harvey has been an eye opener - one of its striking features - it was very wide - 100 of miles long - and as it twirled - and got closer to the eye.  The centrifugal  force - created over 150 miles winds - and with the rain - made the situation -  very, very - dangerous.

The meteorologist, the weather persons, the gurus that purport to know some about these hurricanes - never, ever predicted a powerful hurricane - but in the last 72 hours or so - before Hurricane Harvey - began to develop - the experts knew - that the prevailing conditions - " the perfect storm " - this hurricane had the potential to adverse impact millions - and cause a lot of damage - and it did.

Each Hurricane is different - 

this one just stayed in one place -

with gusty winds over 130 miles -

and very heavy rain - bending many palm trees -

dumping  4" - 6" inches of rain in an hour -

 causing severe floods and damage.

It is a times like this that - we value the information put out there - by those that are trained to address Emergency Services.

Agencies like - the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Corps of Engineers who manage the water ways - and the unique situation we have in New Orleans and other locations - that are below sea level - and have to have water pumped - very huge generators - that recently - had problems and were fixed just in time - before Hurricane Harvey was declared a Hurricane.

Houston which is a " concrete jungle " - where there are serious problems - moving large amounts of water pools.

More - through the drainage systems - that can be tax the system - too much rain in too short a time. Houston will experience severe flooding - that is a given.

Galveston, Texas has its own problems - Corpus Christi was in the news - the eye at first was closest to Corpus Christi - but the Hurricane did not take aim at Corpus Christi.

We still are waiting for - the " search teams " to get back to us - and report casualties one of kind - in this one of a kind hurricane - that created havoc - all night long - and still continues to rain - the winds - have subsided.

Rockport that attracts many tourists - and has been heavily affected by Hurricane Harvey and this Hurricane rated level 4 - has adversely impacted Rockport. 

We hope that no deaths are reported - we are still waiting for the reports to come in.

As of 12 noon Pacific Time - August 26, 2017 no deaths reported from Rockport - the entire area has no electricity. Search teams - will have a report in a couple of hours.

Here you get some semblance -

of the height of the waves hitting -

the shoreline - some as high as 12 feet.

The experts can now - predict these surges - and these predications can save lives.

 There are so many variables - homes, vehicles, facilities, structures, - infrastructure linked to clean drinking, sewage plants, power lines - shelters and other emergency amenities -  so many factors that can impacted by floods - on top of the impending strong winds and rain.

Houston for example could see over 24 inches of rain in a couple of hours.

Texas has some of the largest cities one of them being Houston - millions of people have been adversely impacted - and President Donald Trump - did declare an " Emergency " - before Hurricane Harvey - hit the mainland. 

This one action -  helps those that have address " emergency situations " easier. Time will tell.

An important fact - when Hurricanes strike -

is Electricity  - POWER -

the very strong winds take down power lines -

and with power down - most everything slows down.

At times like this our Nation - has to evaluate our Electrical GRID - and we notice almost instantly - once the power lines go down - most everything has to be evaluated.

It is not about generators - but distribution - of electricity - often times the - singular problem - connectivity - homes far apart make " search operations " - difficult.

Right now over 300, 000 do not have power -  it is these people  - more the fragile - senior citizens - infants, children, youth,  others with compromised health - the physically challenged the mentally challenged - are most vulnerable. 

More so when the " search teams are cognizant " - that many have stayed put - rather than evacuated.

That is their prerogative. This makes " search operations " all the more difficult - and we may - see this more of these incident - people need emergency help - in Rockport.

Our Nation has some well trained " search teams " - much as we are proud of California - who send " search teams with trained dogs and one of a kind equipment  - worldwide ".

It is the same with Texas - and some other States too.

 However, Hurricanes with heavy down pours - always add to the difficulty - and hopefully in a couple of hours -  it is about 10 am Pacific Time here - and I have been following this Hurricane - and admiring the many volunteers - the Army - the Corps of Engineers, FEMA, the Red Cross - all doing their very best.

We can do better - and what really counts - is when people lose everything and have to start from scratch.

Some disasters in the past have taken us years to bring some needed help to the victims - 10 years - 12 years - hopefully the citizens who have suffered linked to Hurricane Harvey - will get some quality succor - as soon as possible.

Victims of Hurricane Sandy - are still waiting and bidding their time - and many have - given up.

I have been involved with Earthquakes and logistics linked to Emergency Services - linked to smaller calamities.

I have never been involved with Hurricanes - have been keenly interested - with logistics and Emergency Services - provided - to those impacted badly - need help - as is in this case with Hurricane Harvey.

Mother Nature has a way to teach us a lesson - even the best prepared person or entity - cannot deal with the " Eye of the Hurricane ".

More when it stays in one place - and continually bombards the area - with heavy rain and gusty wind over 130 miles. 

This one singular factor - in this case - and how the hasty preparation were made -  how those that prepared themselves and face the difficulties - is to be commended.

Here is one area - leveled down -

later today thousands of photographs -

will reveal the extent of the damage .

This storm is moving at only one mile an hour - pounding the area with heavy rain - in places two and three feet - and more rain all these days - projected to Friday to September 1, 2017.

Today is Saturday - August 28, 2017 -

tomorrow Sunday and Monday -

and all thru to Friday.

Hurricane Harvey is predicted to adversely impact large areas.

We pray and hope the innocent do not suffer - more infants, children, youth, seniors, and those with compromise health.

The mentally and physically challenged - we pray - united as a Nation. God Bless.