Flash Floods

On Monday, January 9, black clouds loaded with rain and wind moved across Houston from southeast to southwest. These same clouds had flooded Katy and Richmond, Texas.  In Westbury, 5-1/2 inches of rain fell in less than 4 hours.  At the medical centers, staff rushed to shut the flood doors in the basements.  Streets, garages and parking lots in the area were flooded.  In Montrose, stranded motorists stood on the median in the rain, waiting for the water to recede. Flash flood warnings were issued for several counties.

The City of Houston conducted 20 to 30 high-water rescues, including sending dump trucks to evacuate two elementary schools that were cut off due to flood waters.  In the afternoon, South Loop 610 between Beechnut and Bellaire flooded as storm drains, blocked by fallen leaves, were unable to drain into Braes Bayou.  Braes Bayou came close to leaving its banks.  Meyerland flooded and several residents had to be evacuated.  Most vehicles were in the water until it receded and tow trucks could haul them off. Over 20,o00 homes were without power until the waters went down and repairs could be made.

Turn Around . . . Don’t Drown

At Highway 288 and the South Loop, traffic was stalled by rising flood waters. Drivers who braved the water found their cars, trucks and 18-wheelers almost completely submerged.  The video below shows why Texans always say, “Turn Around. Don’t Drown.”

Bobbing for Cars

If you cannot see the roadway for the water, turn around!  Two feet of water will float most cars. However, a car can be washed away in less, depending on the speed of the current, the design of the car, whether the car is sideways or end-on to the current, and the type of bottom. ]]

Where the current is swift and the bottom hard and smooth (like concrete roadway) and the car sits low to the ground, as little as one foot of water with a speed of 6 mph will move most cars. If the car is heavy and has plenty of clearance, the bottom is sand or gravel (like riverbed) and the current slow, it may take deeper water to move the car. (cfspress.com/carwater.htm).

Cars and trucks are not waterproof. A car or truck will quickly fill with floodwater.  How quick?  After Hurricane Alicia, they found cars in underpasses. The occupants were still in seatbelts, the keys were in the ignitions and the cars were in gear. There was no time to even attempt to flee.

Tornadoes

A tornado touched down along Highway 6 in Sugarland, southwest of Houston, damaging several businesses and flipping four mobile homes. Meanwhile, in Texas City, roughly 40 miles southeast of Houston, a tornado damaged the roof and wall of the Mall of the Mainland.  Several reports of tornadoes were made, but these two incidents were verified.

Could be Worse

No lives were lost on Monday, which is a miracle. The scenario could have been much worse. The front causing this weather dumped nearly 11 inches of snow on Midland in West Texas!  Is this Texas?  Sure!  Never be surprised by the weather.  Be prepared.

Last year gold-buying companies were trying to purchase our gold. I guess those people knew something we did not. I am also guessing that some people wish they had held on to the gold for a little while longer. In fact, as a hedge against a looming currency crisis, you may want to purchase gold. I believe that it is possible we are at the beginning of a global currency crisis.

I am not an economic guru, but some signs of pending global economic crisis are hard to miss.

• George Soros, a billionaire investor, recently stated that the U.S is already in recession. Back in October of 2009, he had recommended that the U.S. dollar be replaced with an IMF currency unit (MoneyNews).
• The United Nations recommended that gold replace the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency (Business Insider, June 2010).
• China, Iran and Russia have dropped the U.S. dollar for gold (Pakalert Press, November 2010).
• The president of China said that our current dollar system is a thing of the past (WSJ, January 2011).
• Pimco, the world’s largest bond investor dumped U.S. Treasuries in April, predicting the U.S. would default (UK Guardian, April 2011).

Gold, silver and other precious metals may not be as negotiable as a dollar bill, but these metals retain value and the dollar may be worthless.  I hate to say that, but with the U.S. dollar being dumped as the choice of trade currency, it is hard to stay optimistic.  Meanwhile, the Chinese Yuan is gaining steadily against the dollar, Europe is having its own debt crisis meltdown and the U.S. is almost $15 trillion in debt.

Sponsored post by Goldline. Visit their website for information on buying and selling gold.

I just finished the series on Preparing for Disaster. One thing I should have expanded upon is the importance of tarps in any emergency.

I will never forget standing at the door to my home, watching hail smash all the windows and skylights in my travel trailer. We ran around trying to find something to keep the water from coming into the trailer. Finally, we put opened umbrellas in the skylights and cardboard in the windows. A good tarp would have made the job so much easier and efficient.

I had the same problem when my roof started leaking, I had nothing to put on the roof to keep the rain out. In fact, I tried to put plastic on the inside of the roof and wound up falling through the ceiling into my bedroom. Lesson learned.

I have learned that a good tarp can save your roof, travel trailer, car, motorcycle, and riding lawnmower. You can use tarps for covering pools, lumber stacks, hay bales, open construction sites and even to provide a fire-resistant barrier for your tent when camping.

Roofs Covered Before Hurricane

Think of tarps as problem solvers. I had no idea there were fire-resistant tarps, snow-fence tarps, gym floor-covering tarps, sports field-covering tarps or lightweight backpacking tarps.  If you have always purchased your tarps at your local hardware store, you may want to take a look at what you are missing.

Tarp Surfing

While looking at tarps, I discovered a new sport!  Tarp surfing is the ultimate answer to the “I’m bored”  litany that children always sing when the parents are all set to put their feet up and relax. All you need is the tarp, a level surface, a slight breeze and a skate board. Set it up and prepare to be the most popular parents on the block.