{"id":82228,"date":"2017-08-28T17:47:40","date_gmt":"2017-08-28T21:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=82228"},"modified":"2017-08-28T17:55:53","modified_gmt":"2017-08-28T21:55:53","slug":"huge-failure-houston-mayor-told-residents-not-to-evacuate-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=82228","title":{"rendered":"MAJOR FAIL: Houston Mayor Told Residents Not To Evacuate (Video)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Why Did Houston\u2019s Mayor Tell Residents To Not Evacuate? (VIDEO)<\/h1>\n<p><!--more-->RedState.com<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_82229\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/ap-houston-flood-harvey.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-82229\" class=\"wp-image-82229\" src=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/ap-houston-flood-harvey.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/ap-houston-flood-harvey.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/ap-houston-flood-harvey-300x155.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/ap-houston-flood-harvey-768x397.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-82229\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Residents are rescued from their homes surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo\/David J. Phillip)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Right now, as I write this, Houston, TX, is in the middle of a once-a-century catastrophe. Nearly three feet of rain have fallen in a couple of days, and there is no end in site. Houston and its suburbs could easily get four-and-a-half-feet of rain before it is all over.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This event is unprecedented &amp; all impacts are unknown &amp; beyond anything experienced. Follow orders from officials to ensure safety. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Harvey?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Harvey<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IjpWLey1h8\">pic.twitter.com\/IjpWLey1h8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; National Weather Service (@NWS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NWS\/status\/901832717070983169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 27, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Right now, a major effort is underway to try to evacuate tens of thousands of Houstonians who are stranded in areas that are flooded. Many are on the roofs of their houses awaiting rescue. The effort is being carried out by first responders from out-of-state as well as concerned Texans.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Dear God some people give me such hope:<\/p>\n<p>REPORTER: What are you going to do?<\/p>\n<p>HERO: I&#39;m gonna save some lives.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Qj2nmvCD97\">pic.twitter.com\/Qj2nmvCD97<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mikel_Jollett\/status\/901883917950631936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 27, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Did this have to happen?<\/p>\n<p>Two days ago Texas Governor Greg Abbott held a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national\/2017\/live-updates\/weather\/hurricane-harvey-updates-preparation-evacuations-forecast-storm-latest\/texas-governor-asks-people-to-evacuate-even-if-its-not-mandatory\/?utm_term=.5b1ce358de24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">press conference<\/a>. It was clear at that time that Harvey was an immense storm and that, at least according to that pustulent bag of leftwing flatulence Neil DeGrasse Tyson, was guaran-f***ing-teed to hit the Texas coast.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DfG8foxWXCY\" width=\"580\" height=\"325\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) told residents to prepare for \u201ca very major disaster\u201d in Hurricane Harvey during a Friday news conference.<\/p>\n<p>Despite no mandatory evacuations being issued, Abbott urged citizens to evacuate from low-lying and coastal areas while there is still time. Harvey, he said, \u201chas turned into a very complex and dangerous hurricane,\u201d and said the state will be \u201cdealing with immense, really record-setting flooding in multiple regions across the state of Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven if an evacuation order hasn\u2019t been issued by your local official,\u201d Abbott stressed, \u201cif you\u2019re in an area between Corpus Christi and Houston, you need to strongly consider evacuating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Abbott said mandatory evacuation orders are left up to local officials who have the best understanding of their regions.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at the afternoon news conference, Abbott said people may think they can ride out the initial storm surge, but \u201cwhat you don\u2019t know, and what nobody else knows right now, is the magnitude of flooding that will be coming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t want to put yourself in a situation where you could be subject to a search and rescue.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This was sound and measured advice which any responsible public official would have given. But then, you wouldn\u2019t be holding a position of responsibility in Harris County, TX.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Please think twice before trying to leave Houston en masse. No evacuation orders have been issued for the city. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Harvey?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Harvey<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SylvesterTurner\/status\/901154698316722176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 25, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The head of Harris County emergency services weighed in:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Local officials know best. Houston has no evacuation order. In Harris County: very limited to select communities. LOCAL LEADERS KNOW BEST. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DpW11lb1En\">https:\/\/t.co\/DpW11lb1En<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Francisco Sanchez (@F_SanchezJr) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/F_SanchezJr\/status\/901157950672293889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 25, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Let me make an observation here. Usually local official know Jack Sh** about anything during a major disaster. Local governments aren\u2019t equipped or staffed or trained to deal with a cataclysmic event like a Cat 4 Hurricane. Local officials don\u2019t have access to the same information as available to state and federal emergency management organizations. By and large the caliber of people that you find congregating to the higher levels of emergency management in local governments isn\u2019t that which you\u2019d want to make calls about risk involving potential loss of life. There is documentary evidence to prove this guy\u2019s f***ing incompetence and hubris on any television screen.<\/p>\n<p>Via\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/houston-told-people-to-stay-for-harvey-now-they-cant-get-out\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Daily Beast<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Even before Abbott\u2019s comments on Friday, it should\u2019ve been clear Houston would flood.<\/p>\n<p>Meteorologist Eric Holthaus told The Daily Beast that by midday last Wednesday there had been \u201cpretty compelling model agreement on major flooding\u201d and that the \u201cupgrade in forecast to major hurricane on Thursday morning I think made most meteorologists absolutely convinced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKeep in mind though,\u201d he added, \u201cthere\u2019s never been a mandatory evacuation based on a rainfall forecast, so I\u2019m not sure that people even knew what to do with a forecast as dire as this one.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Contrast this with the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/patch.com\/texas\/meyerland\/rockport-officials-prepared-non-evacuees-grave-advice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">advice given by the mayor\u00a0<\/a>of another Texas city in Harvey\u2019s path:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Get out now,\u201d said Rockport Mayor Pro-tem Patrick Rios prior to the storm. \u201cThose that are going to stay, it\u2019s unfortunate but they should make some type of preparations. Mark their arm with a Sharpie pen. Put their social security number on it and their name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve got first responders available, but once it gets bad, we are not going to put their lives in jeopardy. They will not get help. We will not be dispatching folks that decided to stay,\u201d said Rios.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And then the fiddle music started.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Expecting a lot of rain over the next 4 days. For areas prone to flood, take the time to reposition some of your furniture just n case. st<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SylvesterTurner\/status\/901279513610530816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 26, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I know you are watching the game\/boxing match, but tonight please be attentive to the weather reports. Rain bands will be coming thru. st<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SylvesterTurner\/status\/901604766605864960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 27, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We got a break for several hours during the day, but we could get rain of 2-3 inches\/hr over the next several hours. Please be alert. st<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SylvesterTurner\/status\/901600313190338560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 27, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>And reality set in.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I can keep telling you to stay put, but the reality is YOU CAN&#39;T GET ANYWHERE RIGHT NOW. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jcif3OnnIa\">pic.twitter.com\/jcif3OnnIa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Francisco Sanchez (@F_SanchezJr) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/F_SanchezJr\/status\/901771779995308036?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 27, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>There is no nice way of putting this. Houston in a Democrat stronghold and the urge to make Greg Abbott look like an idiot was just too big of a temptation to resist. Perhaps the fiasco of the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.chron.com\/news\/houston-texas\/houston\/article\/Hurricane-Rita-anxiety-leads-to-hellish-fatal-6521994.php\">Hurricane Rita evacuation<\/a>\u00a0caused the leadership in Houston to miscalculate. Even so, there was no defensible reason for the mayor and his minion to go public and contradict some very sound advice and put lives at risk, both of citizens who did not evacuate and of first responders who will be called upon to try and rescue them. There were all sorts of options available to the Houston mayor short of pooh-poohing the imminent arrival of a major storm. For instance, he could have agreed with Abbott and emphasized that there was no evacuation order or he could have ordered the mandatory evacuation of areas that were known to be vulnerable to flooding.<\/p>\n<p>Will there be consequences for this? Probably not. Democrats don\u2019t vote Democrats out of office for corruption and incompetence. Take a look at any major US city you wish if you desire evidence.<\/p>\n<p>What is predictable is that by Tuesday, the Houston mayor will be slamming state and federal response to the disaster and no one in the media is going to look twice at how the catastrophe happened.<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.redstate.com\/streiff\/2017\/08\/27\/houstons-mayor-tell-residents-not-evacuate\/\">http:\/\/www.redstate.com\/streiff\/2017\/08\/27\/houstons-mayor-tell-residents-not-evacuate\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why Did Houston\u2019s Mayor Tell Residents To Not Evacuate? (VIDEO)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=82228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82228\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=82228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=82228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=82228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}