Dance of the Butterfly

I live in the Houston area, and Hurricane Harvey just passed through. A storm that was not so long ago said to possibly be reforming proved to be the strongest to hit the USA in many decades, coming ashore as a Category Four. It also decided to linger, saturating the region with nigh-unceasing rain for four days. Needless to say, this caused major flooding, and my heart goes out to those who suffered this. I was lucky.

I never lost power. The water ended up covering the street I live on, and it crept up over the sidewalk. That was it. I had plenty of supplies and only myself to directly take care of. As I mentioned, I was lucky.

This is not the first hurricane I have been through, having lived nearly my entire life in this area. It was certainly the strongest. We avoided a direct hit, but being on the dirty side of the storm, we took in a great deal of rain. I heard of friends who lost their cars; their houses took on water. It is undoubtedly a catastrophe.

It will take some time for things to get back to normal. Some rivers will not achieve normal levels for days if not weeks. I heard of a chemical plant that lost power, thus losing refrigeration for volatile product. They are experiencing multiple explosions, and an evacuation of the immediate area has been issued.

This may not have been my first big storm, but they are never easy. One toils with the decision of staying or evacuating. If you choose to stay, you deal with so many others as you all clamor to gather supplies. If you go, you may be stuck in traffic that could exhaust your fuel supply. Fill your tanks, the signs on the freeway suggest, and it is good advice.

I know the area has been hit hard. I have seen the pictures, heard the stories. I hope those of you still dealing with this get through it as quickly and painlessly as possible. My thoughts are with you.