The Brazos River crested Friday night and today we see Oyster Creek is finally beginning to recede. The creek looks to be down some 6 to 9 inches. The flooding at the west end of our street is also subsiding and the flooding two blocks east of us has disappeared.
Oyster Creek Photos
Below are three photos of what the creek looks like this morning - Sunday, September 3. You may think you are looking up a lazy river, but no. You are looking at a little creek that is about 10 feet above its banks.
This first photo shows today's level compared to what it was Saturday morning - see the yellow lines. The next two give you a look both ways from the bridge. Finally there is a picture of what Oyster creek looked like last Saturday. This photo was taken by Linda during a sunny break in the rain. The creek is already over its banks by a foot or two. The boy and dog in the picture would be underwater today.
Remember, you can click on a photo to make it larger.
Harvey - The Social Media Storm
That's what they are calling Harvey - the Social Media Storm. Today's newspaper is filled with wonderful human interest stories of people helping each other. A major theme in most of them is what a huge part social media has played in the coordination of rescue efforts.
Almost every story I have read involves some touch with social media. Facebook, Twitter, Nextdoor, and something called Zello have all been major assets to getting rescuers where they need to be. There is the guy who Facebooked that he was four days without his needed dialysis. His boss saw his post and sent a buddy with a boat. Then there is the nursing home where the wheelchair residents were up to their waists in water and were saved by a Twitter photo posted by the owner's son-in-law. He lives in Florida! A Houston food blogger was stranded in San Diego, but she used her social media contacts to link restaurants with hungry evacuees and rescuers. Who knows how many stories like this there are.
Linda and I don't Facebook or Twitter or Nextdoor. I always thought of them as basically empty and banal, but maybe the time has come. Maybe old folks like us should have these things for a safety net. I don't know. We'll see.