Hurricane Harvey

I may go on a rant later about the twin dangers of deregulation and ignoring manmade climate change, and how millions of people in south and central Texas will be paying for those governmental, industrial, and institutional mistakes.

Flag tangled in power line, image courtesy Mark Ralston / AFP /Getty

But right now, let’s consider the sheer power behind this ‘historic’ storm, made immeasurably worse by warm Gulf waters and a weak Jet Stream. Harvey, now a tropical storm, hit the Texas coast at between 130 and 140 miles per hour. Its slow progress northeastward means that trillions of gallons of rain will be unleashed in the next few days to a week. That’s rainfall totals in feet, not inches. 

Entire counties are underwater. As of an hour or so ago, there were no safe routes out of Houston.

There have been confirmed fatalities. There will be many more. If you have loved ones in Texas, try to keep in contact with them. Emergency services will be in urgent need of blood donations, food, clean water, and money over the next weeks. Here are some ways to help.

What was President Trump doing while the dire news came out of Texas? Pardoning Joe Arpaio and pitching Sheriff David Clarke’s book.