Harvey's Lesson: Always Be Prepared

Texas National Guard members rescue survivors from Harvey on August 27, 2017. Photo by 1st Lt. Zachary West, 100th MPAD) CC-by-2.0 The biggest news right now is the devastation caused by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey. It wasn't the arrival of the storm itself but rather the long and intense rains that have done the damage -- and really, the flooding that the Houston area is experiencing right now is some of the most stunning and devastating in the last century for the United States. I'm not going to go through all the details here but you can read the ongoing updates on Buzzfeed or check out the Twitter feeds of Eric Holthaus, Brian Kahn or Marshall Shepherd. Some of the video and images I've seen from Houston are astounding. The stream gauge at Buffalo Bayou crested at over 5 meters (17 feet) above the maximum flood stage. Yes, you read that right -- we're experiencing a flood that is truly catastrophic (and it is likely going to get worse).