Hurricane Harvey raged across southern Texas throughout the weekend, causing apocalyptic flooding. What's worse is that the heavy rains are forecast to continue for several more days, while Harvey will first gradually retreat back out to sea before making landfall again in a day or two. Several deaths have already been confirmed, and meteorologists say up to 130 millimeters more rain will fall in the worst-hit areas.

The current devastation represents a window into a climate change future. This is exactly what will happen if humanity fails to significantly reduce emissions into the atmosphere. greenhouse gases, or will not be prepared for the damage that will undoubtedly be caused in the future.

And before the pedantic brigade inevitably gets involved, it should be said that this does not mean that Harvey was definitely caused by climate change. Global temperatures increase markedly in just a few decades, while extreme weather events are rare and by definition unpredictable. It will take many more years to collect enough data before we can talk about the causes.

However, we can already say that climate science predicts with great confidence that the likelihood of extreme weather events caused by rising temperatures will increase.

This will cause the hurricanes that form to be more powerful. There may also be an increase in the number of hurricanes, although this is more difficult to predict with any certainty. But that doesn't matter either of great importance. A storm does not need to be defined as a hurricane for it to pose the same threat. In simple severe storms, winds may increase, tornadoes may occur, as well as flooding, and this is main danger for the Gulf Coast.

And when it comes to attributing the trend of increased flooding directly to climate change, we're on steadier ground (so to speak).

As highlighted in the 2014 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, existing models suggest that rising temperatures are causing more severe precipitation extremes in both droughts and floods, although areas are more likely to with heavy rainfall there will be more. “Hurricane Harvey was likely more powerful than it would have been in the absence of human-caused warming,” says climate scientist Michael Mann.

Context

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The situation is seriously deteriorating due to extreme low level preparedness in America—especially in the South, where drainage and other flood-control infrastructure is often poorly designed and even poorly maintained. South Texas is notorious in this regard - it's not as bad as New Orleans, which still hasn't fully recovered from Hurricane Katrina, but it's still bad. Flood vulnerability is increasing in Houston as construction continues to increase, ProPublica/Texas Tribune reports. Prairies absorb water to a certain extent, while concrete and pavement allow water to move quickly. That is, building roads increases the speed and volume of water, and as a result, flooding occurs (The head of the local flood control authority and a member of the Republican Party naturally denies that such things happen, and he has no plans to study whether how climate change may affect this region).

Moreover, the Houston area contains some critical infrastructure that would be highly vulnerable in the event of a direct hit from a major hurricane. Among them are the Lyndon Johnson Space Center and the Houston Ship Channel with its largest oil refining complex in the country. At the time of writing, the Space Center remained closed but operating, while the million-barrel-per-day oil refineries were closed, and more reports of this nature are still to come.

Houston suffered some of its worst flooding in 100 years—a torrential storm with a reported 1 percent annual risk—in 2015 and 2016. And today, in 2017, we are likely to experience the worst flooding in this city's history (All of this, plus the suggestive science about accelerating climate change, suggests that the odds ratios need to be updated).

This brings me to talk about President Trump. It is not yet clear what actions will be taken to eliminate the consequences natural disaster, although I certainly don't expect high performance in this regard. Just days before Hurricane Harvey, Trump announced that he would rescind President Obama's order requiring buildings that receive federal funding to take climate change into account and be built in locations above extreme flood levels.

Since there is a large federal program for issuing flood insurance to a significant number of such buildings (which, by the way, is on the verge of bankruptcy due to the huge number of damage claims received in Lately), this essentially means introducing government subsidies to build houses in flood-proof areas.

This is the whole Trump - colossal, almost unimaginable idiocy in every situation. But in in this case It must be understood that failure to act on climate change poses the threat of physical devastation to the United States. If the Islamic State ( organization banned in Russia - approx. ed.) planned to blow up the country's largest oil refinery, this would provide immediate justification for unlimited funding and unlimited war. But since in this case we are talking about an abstract and slow scientific process, it should be added that one of our two political parties today is experiencing intellectual problems, then we sit here with folded hands until a catastrophe happens.

But it has already happened—and the longer we wait, the more expensive and relentless our efforts to prevent and protect will be. It's time to take action.

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial staff.

The hurricane, which has already claimed five lives, seems to have hit Texas with renewed force with powerful downpours. Airports and roads are flooded. Most houses, shops and social services can only be reached by boats. The authorities are now even afraid to name the extent of the damage. And the peak of the elements is ahead. According to forecasters, it will be reached by Wednesday, August 30.

Streets, squares, parks, houses are flooded. Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, is going under water. This is a historic flood, authorities say. And, the worst thing is, this is not the end. The critical level is expected to be reached on August 29-30.

“We're in a hurry. We residents here have 10-12 boats on which we transport our neighbors. Non-stop, around the clock. I personally saved about 40 people,” says Ismaeo Fernandez.

Hurricane Harvey, the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in half a century, brought unprecedented rain. Water in the Gulf of Mexico has been warmer than average this summer, causing strong evaporation. The almost complete absence of wind on the eve of the hurricane allowed gigantic masses of steam to accumulate in the atmosphere. All this resulted in record rainfall. The annual norm of precipitation fell in one day. And the rain continues to fall.

The water in two city reservoirs rose 18 meters, threatening to break through the floodgates and destroy several neighborhoods with a powerful flow. At night, authorities were forced to carry out a controlled descent. This added water to the streets. We'll probably have to open the floodgates again.

Hundreds of thousands of people left on their own before the hurricane. 30 thousand had to be rescued; now they are in temporary shelters. People were taken from roofs and caught from the stream.

“I was bedridden, and the water flowed into the house and rose higher and higher. I got to the mattress. All the furniture in the house was destroyed,” Colin Houston worries.

This man did not have time to leave - the water blocked his way. The footage was taken by an external surveillance camera. The man held on to his car for several hours until rescuers came to his aid.

Helicopters are sent to places where watercraft are unable to reach. But the technology is not enough. Authorities are pleading with citizens to call 911 only if their lives are truly in danger. But the 911 phone is ringing off the hook.

“Even though the strength of the hurricane winds has subsided, this is not the end, far from the end. Harvey is still a dangerous, historic storm. Houston alone received two feet of rain. Life-threatening flooding is expected across much of south and southeast Texas in the coming days,” said Elaine Duke, head of the Federal Border Patrol.

The death of five people has been officially confirmed. The fate of dozens is unknown. The Russian consulate in Houston reports that the Russians have not yet asked for help. The building of the diplomatic mission itself was flooded.

A nursing home in Dixon had to wait several hours for help. A shocking shot: old people confined to wheelchairs are unable to even move, and the water is already chest-deep. It is reported that not everyone has yet been able to be transported to a safe place.

During a live broadcast, a journalist noticed a man stuck in a sinking van. Fortunately, he was saved. And here are some shots from one of the editorial offices. The report could be filmed right at the workplace. True, in Houston itself, perhaps no one would have seen it - the city is almost without power.

But people share information on social networks. This photo became a hit: a dog named Otis escapes with a bag of dog food. People do not lose their presence of mind. Here, despite the fact that there was knee-deep water in the house, they were laughingly chasing after a big fish - it was swept away by the stream. In the end, they caught him.

Oil and gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico are forced to suspend operations. Oil production decreased by 22%, gas production by 26%. The damage from the disaster will be enormous. Meanwhile, rainfall is shifting toward neighboring Louisiana. State authorities have already declared a state of emergency there.

Moscow, August 28 - "Vesti.Ekonomika". Hurricane Harvey has already dealt a major blow to Texas, but the worst could still be ahead, forecasters warn. Meanwhile, a year ago possible problems and the damage was known.

Photo of Hurricane Harvey from the ISS

ProPublica published a report in 2016 that detailed all the shortcomings in protecting Texas from a possible major hurricane. Experts warned of thousands of deaths, a blow to industry and shipping, and the flooding of hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses.

The Republican congressman said such a storm would "kill the American economy."

"Harvey" is very much like this "perfect storm." The disaster has already claimed the lives of 5 people, and 40 are missing, Houston was left completely without electricity, and airports were closed. The bad weather will continue in the next 2-3 days, and over the entire period up to 1 thousand mm of precipitation will fall in the state, which is five times the monthly norm.

The director of FEMA (US Federal Emergency Management Agency) has already called Harvey the worst disaster in the history of Texas.

No one is even talking about possible damage yet, but it is already clear that we will be talking about tens of billions of dollars.

First, the hurricane itself reduced oil production in the Gulf of Mexico by about a quarter, and refinery capacity decreased by 5%. Secondly, experts talk about a sharp rise in fuel prices in the near future. Thirdly, the calculation of damage to agricultural enterprises and personal households will take several more weeks.

A typical traditional hurricane would cost the economy $2-3 billion, but Harvey is the worst storm to hit the US since 2004.

Texas authorities took the threat rather lightly, but observers had talked about this before. In 2008, most forecasters said Hurricane Ike would bypass Texas, but they were wrong.

And now the authorities have again believed in favorable forecasts, without providing the necessary level of protection for the population and business. Meanwhile, the death toll will rise as emergency crews have yet to reach the hardest-hit areas.

Harvey is also the first natural disaster of President Trump's administration, so the actions of the head of the White House will be very important in terms of his ratings.

At the same time, in fact, Barack Obama can be blamed for many of the troubles, since Trump did not replace the leadership of the relevant departments.

For example, the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was appointed by Obama, and two of the three leadership positions in Federal agency Emergency management is also occupied by the former president's people.

But for the general assessment of the situation and problems, it will be Trump who will be blamed.

The economic consequences will be felt for years to come

The greatest damage could be caused to oil refineries. Although Harvey has been downgraded to a tropical storm, it could still have a long-term impact on the Texas economy and America's energy sector.

The Texas Gulf Coast is home to key facilities that account for nearly a third of the country's refining capacity.

While refineries are typically back online a week or two after a hurricane, some remained closed for months after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

If it happens in Texas, it "would be devastating not only to our economy but to the U.S. economy," said Jim Blackburn, co-director of the storm research center at Rice University.

The main threat is a sharp rise in unemployment. Unemployment in the state rose markedly last year following the decline in oil prices, and the situation has only recently begun to show signs of improvement.

If refineries do not resume operations quickly, unemployment will rise sharply again and will remain high for 12-18 months.

Another blow would be a significant increase in pressure on the Texas budget. According to the analytical company CoreLogic, more than 200 thousand houses are in the path of the tropical storm.

Map of Hurricane Harvey's path

Their recovery from the hurricane will cost up to $40 billion. Most of the costs will be in Houston, home to 6.5 million people.

Most homes in Texas do not have insurance that protects against flood damage, so Insurance companies people will not be paid, which means the authorities will have to take the help themselves, since it is simply impossible to leave thousands of residents without a roof over their heads.

Flooded roads in Houston

And given Texas' budget problems, that could prove fatal. It is not yet clear from which sources the authorities will take money, since for the next budget cycle the deficit is planned to be larger than the initial forecasts. The state's spending will be about $8 billion more than its revenue in 2018-19, but now that figure could be even more significant.
Read more: http://www.vestifinance.ru/articles/90152

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Before the United States had time to recover from the impact of Harvey, Hurricane Irma, which is called the most powerful hurricane in the Atlantic in the last decade, began to approach the southeast coast.

The hurricane has already reached the fifth, maximum category - it is stronger than Hurricane Harvey, which previously hit the Texas coast and led to catastrophic flooding.

Meanwhile in Atlantic Ocean Storm Katya has formed off the coast of Mexico, moving at a speed of 65 kilometers per hour and is likely to accelerate.

What to expect from Irma

A hurricane of this magnitude tears off roofs and uproots trees, turning them into projectiles capable of killing people. Moreover, as it moves towards the mainland, the hurricane will only gain strength.

As of September 6, Irma has already reached the coast of Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean Sea and is now moving northwest at a speed of about 300 kilometers per hour.

The hurricane is expected to pass through Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Haiti. Irma will reach the coast of Florida before the weekend.

US President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency in the state of Florida and the US overseas territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Many airports in the Caribbean islands are closed, with airlines either canceling flights or making decisions based on the actual weather at their destination.

Florida authorities announced the mobilization of all military personnel national guard, and also began evacuating tourists from the islands off the southern coast of the state.

“We don't know exactly where the hurricane will pass, but the weather can change quickly. While we hope for the best, we must be prepared for the worst,” said Governor Rick Scott.

Hurricane warnings prompted huge lines at stores across Florida as people went to buy water, groceries, fuel and other supplies. As a result, some store shelves quickly became empty.

One supermarket in Miami Beach visited by an AFP correspondent was almost out of basic necessities.

“It’s because people are going crazy and buying everything. There is no water, no milk, there is some canned food, but no cat food,” says a local resident.

Irma could also bring serious consequences for the US energy sector, paralyzing oil production in the Mexican Basin.

Apocalypse from Harvey

All last week, a powerful storm, Harvey, raged in Texas, flooding the most... Big city Houston State.

According to the latest data, the storm claimed the lives of 60 people. Most people died in Harris County, Texas, the death toll there has reached 30.

Aftermath of Hurricane Harvey / Getty

Harvey became the most powerful hurricane to hit the United States in 12 years. The wind speed at the center of the hurricane reached 200–208 kilometers per hour, and about 100 thousand houses were damaged.

As a result of the disaster, vast areas were flooded, transport was paralyzed and power lines were cut, leaving about 155 thousand people without electricity.

Harvey caused serious damage to America's energy sector, paralyzing a fifth of the country's oil refining capacity.

Texas authorities reported damage from Harvey at more than $180 billion. The damage is a third greater than that caused by Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the city of New Orleans in 2005.

A cat unhappy with the flooding due to Harvey has become a meme.

Trump has already asked the US Congress to allocate $7.85 billion for emergency expenses to deal with the consequences of Hurricane Harvey.

Besides, American President announced that he would donate a million dollars of personal funds to a fund to combat the consequences of the hurricane.

However, the public's attention was drawn to the high-heeled shoes that US First Lady Melania Trump wore when she arrived in damaged Texas after the hurricane.

The Daily Mirror, in its headline, called the shoe "the most unsuitable shoe imaginable" for such a trip.

Daliy Beast also ridiculed the first lady's "inappropriate" outfit, noting that she would have benefited from "waterproof" shoes on the trip.

Trump's office commented on the media reports as follows: "It is sad that while the country is suffering from a natural disaster, people are worried about its shoes."

During her second trip to Texas, Melania also wore heels, despite criticism.

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