Just A Car Guy: Hurricane Harvey flooding Houston

Showing posts with label Hurricane Harvey flooding Houston. Show all posts

Monday, September 27, 2021

Back in 2017, Texas-based engineer Rahel Abraham lost her car in the floodwater of Hurricane Harvey, so she invented a flood-proof enclosures for cars! ClimaGuard!

The ClimaGuard enclosure works similarly to a zip-close bag for vehicles. When the enclosure is in use, the zipper line sits above the line of floatation so the vehicle inside it stays dry and protected during hurricanes.

It took Abraham and her team the better part of a year to find the right military-grade material they needed for an affordable, light, and durable product.

https://thenewswheel.com/engineer-invents-climaguard-flood-proof-enclosure-for-cars/

Saturday, August 04, 2018

Car and Driver magazine says that Hurricane Harvey destroyed about a million cars, more than any other single event in history

Houston, the 4th most populous city, was hit with nearly 52 inches of rain. At least 88 people were killed, and thousands lost their homes.

Houston has 2.3 million residents and spreads out over 627.5 square miles. Throw in the suburbs, and the metro region expands to 6.3 million residents and almost 1300 square miles.

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles had more than 3.5 million cars registered in Houston’s Harris County during 2016

In fact, there were so many cars floating (or sinking) that tow trucks were coming in from out of state to reap the harvest. Insurance Auto Auctions, a major player in the U.S. auto-salvage game, alone contracted with a reported 1000 wreckers.

McRee Ford is owned and run by the family who started the business in 1947, it’s physically the sort of dealership that Ford would want all its stores to be. At least when it’s not submerged. “The water came in everywhere,” recalls Dale, McRee’s great-grandson. “We had to destroy $61,000 worth of new tires. Drilled holes in all of them. The insides of tires aren’t made to get wet.”

Just days after the storm ended, the dealership was back in business selling new cars again. In addition to the post-Harvey demand for new vehicles, Ford’s “Texas Is Family” promotion, which offered employee pricing to anyone who lost a vehicle to the flood, made September the best month yet for new-car sales at McRee—385 units.

How many vehicles were destroyed or damaged during Harvey is easy to speculate about, but tough to pin down. And it depends on who is counting. Insurance companies seemed quick to total out cars touched by water. But not everyone carries comprehensive insurance, and no one knows how many flooded cars were simply abandoned or how many are being kept on the road by owners who can’t afford anything else.

How many vehicles were destroyed or damaged during Harvey is easy to speculate about, but tough to pin down. And it depends on who is counting. Insurance companies seemed quick to total out cars touched by water. But not everyone carries comprehensive insurance, and no one knows how many flooded cars were simply abandoned or how many are being kept on the road by owners who can’t afford anything else.

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/hurricane-harvey-destroyed-more-vehicles-than-any-single-event-in-america-this-is-the-aftermath-feature

Now... that part about drilling holes in 61 thousand dollars worth of tires. Not a joke.

"Due to the likelihood of damage to the inner structure of a tire by contaminants, un-mounted tires that have been immersed in flood water should be discarded. All other un-mounted tires should be inspected for debris damage by a qualified tire professional before being placed in service. Inner tubes that have been exposed to flood waters should also be discarded." http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/tech-bulletins/tires-and-tubes-affected-by-flood-waters

Tires that have been submerged in salt water would not likely be damaged, however, if the tire is not thoroughly cleaned before installation, the rim can become corroded. If there are other contaminants in the salt water, such as oil or other petroleum products, this could damage the tire and render it unsalable, depending on the concentration of the contaminant and time of exposure. Continental Tire the Americas, LLC recommends that a tire that has been exposed to unknown or high concentrations of petroleum products, beyond USTMA (formerly RMA) repair guidelines, be scrapped.

http://generaltire.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/863/~/psib-09-17-tires-exposed-to-salt-%2F-flood-water

So, pure water isn't what's the problem with new tires in stock, it's the unknown factor of what contaminants and the unknown trouble that might happen, and no tire maker will take a risk on getting sued. Not for what costs a tire maker 30 or 40 dollars to replace. A car owner will pay 130-200 for that tire, because of the profits that keep the industry going, but the tire makers can replace new tires fast, easy, and cheap. So, they say destroy any tires that were in a flood.

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Car and Driver just did a pretty thorough article on the aftermath of Harvey on Houston's cars, it's a good read

There were so many cars floating (or sinking) that tow trucks were coming in from out of state to reap the harvest. Insurance Auto Auctions, a major player in the U.S. auto-salvage game, alone contracted with a reported 1000 wreckers.

The state of Texas wasn’t paying Liggio to store the uninsured cars. After two registered letters were sent from the state to the owners without any response, a salvage title would be issued and Liggio could claim the hulls and send them to auction. “We were lucky if we got $200 a car,” Liggio laments. He retrieved about 100.

But the water that corroded the electronics in those abandoned cars was tough on his Ford F-650 trucks, too. Down to one tow vehicle after the flood destroyed three of his rigs, Liggio was looking to borrow another when I spoke with him. “I have the drivers, but I don’t have trucks. By the time I fix my trucks and stuff, I’m going to lose money.”

McRee Ford lost 1100 new, used, and customer vehicles. They saved the family owned showroom centerpiece '65 convertible.

“The water came in everywhere,” recalls Dale, McRee’s great-grandson. “We had to destroy $61,000 worth of new tires. Drilled holes in all of them. The insides of tires aren’t made to get wet.”

By September 7, just days after the storm ended, the dealership was back in business selling new cars again. In addition to the post-Harvey demand for new vehicles, Ford’s “Texas Is Family” promotion, which offered employee pricing to anyone who lost a vehicle to the flood, made September the best month yet for new-car sales at McRee—385 units.

State Farm says it had settled 38,300 auto claims worth approximately $400 million by the middle of December. That’s one company, albeit the biggest one. The Insurance Council of Texas reports an industry-wide figure of 250,000 cars and just shy of $4 billion paid out.

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/hurricane-harvey-destroyed-more-vehicles-than-any-single-event-in-america-this-is-the-aftermath-feature

Tuesday, October 03, 2017

Flood damaged cars in Houston, this is just one lot, at one storage facility

Authorities turned two area racetracks—the disused Texas World Speedway, and the very-much-used Royal Purple Raceway—into massive open-air storage pens, trucking in cars by the thousand on flatbeds in a mammoth logistical operation.

Monday, September 25, 2017

the 2017 season of Burning Man ended 3 weeks ago, and about 5000 bikes were left behind. But they are getting sent to Houston and the Caribbean

thousands of perfectly useable bicycles were abandoned by Burning Man attendees, they are the most common form of transportation around Black Rock City, and they are tossed aside at the end of the festival.

Burning Man partners with local charities to take, refurbish and sometimes donate the bikes to needy families, but this year, the sheer number of bikes overwhelmed even these partners. An estimated 5,000 bicycles were left behind.

Matthew Rockwell, a Burning Man contractor and founder of the charity start-up Disaster Hack, immediately made the connection between the abandoned bikes and the hundreds of thousands of dead cars in Houston.

The photo of the bikes also caught the attention of Meg Kiihne, who lives about four hours from the site. Kiihne once lived and ran a bike shop on Turks and Caicos, and saw pictures all over Facebook of her friends' and family's collapsed homes. She says she knew bicycles could be useful in the recovery effort after Hurricane Irma.

"There are parts of the island which will not have power for months," she says. "Bikes can enable somebody who may have lost their home and staying with a friend, they can get to their job at a resort so they can continue to make money to help rebuild their home... they can get around on a bike and get to food."

After a hastily arranged Go Fund Me, Kiihne and some friends rented a truck and a storage unit in nearby Reno, Nevada, and headed for the playa. They managed to harvest 110 bicycles.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41312810
https://swarfs.tumblr.com/

Friday, September 22, 2017

Phillips 66 has taken advantage of the U.S. Department of Homeland Securities’ temporary Jones Act waiver applying to tankers in response to fuel shortages in the southeast United States in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma,

Phillips 66 is believed to be the first company known to use the administration’s limited Jones Act waiver.

The waiver was first approved by DHS acting secretary Elaine Duke on September 8 in response to severe disruptions in the oil supply system resulting from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. It is specifically tailored to the transportation of refined petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel in hurricane-affected areas.

The Jones Act requires that cargo shipped between points in the U.S. be transported on vessels that are built in the United States and owned and crewed by American citizens. However, the temporary waiver allows oil and gas companies to use foreign-flagged vessels to move petroleum cargoes within the stated areas.

News of Phillips 66’s charter comes as U.S-flagged Jones Act tankers descend on Florida ports to relieve gasoline and diesel fuel shortages since the voluntary mass-evacuation of Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma. The shortages have been compounded by closed ports following the storm, as well as clogged roadways that led to the Florida Highway Patrol to start providing tanker truck escorts, not to mention remnant supply issues due to Hurricane Harvey in late August.

http://gcaptain.com/phillips-66-uses-jones-act-waiver-to-charter-foreign-flagged-tanker/

Sunday, September 17, 2017

During Hurricane Harvey, the flooding was so bad, there was a small craft advisory on the interstate

http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2017/09/highway-east-of-houston-last-week.html

without a hurricane.
https://www.reddit.com/r/HeavySeas/comments/6ww1jb/interstate_10_at_the_jeffersonchambers_county/?st=j73hvps6&sh=96c498c0

Take a moment to appreciate that the storm winds, currents, and new made rivers etc all are so powerful, they moved the linked Jersey Barriers. They weigh 4700 pounds a piece.... and that's why it's not too safe to try and drive through flooded areas with moving water. It can easily move your car or truck and put you in a bad situation... and really, what's your insurance company going to say when they see your car on the news, as you drive through the flood?

https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/6x5eax/this_is_the_freeway_after_the_water_receded/

Monday, September 04, 2017

For a look at just how much the flood in Houston destroyed, a drive through a residential neighborhood shows the piles and mounds of stuff outside houses gives you a look.

If you've been through a disaster like this, or the fires, you know just how bad it gets when nearly everything is wiped out and burnt away, of water damaged and must be thrown away because of the bacteria and black mold.

John's (single mom) daughters were able to get out, but a lot of their stuff wasn't. If you can, and wish to help, he has a GoFundMe for them https://www.gofundme.com/harvey-relief-fund-4-pfeifer-ladies and their kids.