Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

hatrack

(60,920 posts)
Sat Sep 14, 2024, 07:58 AM Sep 14

Beryl In Houston Was The Beta Test For A Disaster No American City Is Ready For - No Power, No Water, Lethal Heat

For days, residents of Houston struggled to survive as temperatures rose. They shared generators, filled buckets and bathtubs with ice, packed air-conditioned hotels and emergency rooms. The most vulnerable struggled to get the care they needed. Many died. But in some ways, Houston was narrowly spared. Temperatures rose to the high 90s, but only for a couple of days. If the heat had stayed, the human toll could have been far worse.

Experts warn this type of catastrophe — a combined power outage with a heat wave — is a scenario that cities and states are unprepared for. “I don’t think it’s likely — I think it’s an absolute certainty,” said Brian Stone, a professor and director of the Urban Climate Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “I think it’s an absolute certainty that we will have an extreme heat wave and an extended blackout in the United States.”

The Washington Post analyzed the risks of a prolonged, citywide blackout coinciding with a more severe heat wave. The results show that such a heat wave could kill between 600 and 1,500 people in the Houston metro area over five days. With the power grid working normally, the same heat wave would lead to around 50 deaths. To estimate the number of deaths, The Post created a statistical model that follows a peer-reviewed study from 2023 with some simplifying assumptions. The analysis incorporates detailed models of how indoor heat exposure would rise in a blackout, developed by Amir Baniassadi, an expert on environmental health and indoor heat at Harvard Medical School.

EDIT

When a power outage hits a city, some services immediately disappear. After Hurricane Beryl, stoplights ceased working; some gas stations, which provided critical services to anyone running a generator, lost power themselves and closed. Cell towers not equipped with their own backup power went down, severing thousands of people from communication with the outside world. At the same time, experts say, the population instantly becomes divided: Those with power — or the money and means to get it — and those without. Eric Klinenberg, a sociologist at New York University who wrote a book about the 1995 Chicago heat wave, says that for a brief time there will be a flurry of activity. People will socialize in the streets and then hunt for supplies: nonperishable groceries, gas to run their cars, ice to cool off.

EDIT

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2024/hurricanes-power-outages-heat-wave-risk/?itid=sf_climate_climate_climate-front-top-table_p001_f002

4 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Beryl In Houston Was The Beta Test For A Disaster No American City Is Ready For - No Power, No Water, Lethal Heat (Original Post) hatrack Sep 14 OP
Texas🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Blue for the win Sep 14 #1
Any costal city is at risk. IbogaProject Sep 15 #3
Gee, if only climate scientists would have warned us. Think. Again. Sep 14 #2
I was a contingency planner for the USCG. I really thought that disaster response would change after Katrina like LT Barclay Sep 15 #4
 

Blue for the win

(81 posts)
1. Texas🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sat Sep 14, 2024, 08:04 AM
Sep 14

Texas always does a great job..
Of F***ING things up... then say give us four more years and we'll straighten it out ROFL

IbogaProject

(3,645 posts)
3. Any costal city is at risk.
Sun Sep 15, 2024, 12:35 AM
Sep 15

NYC, Philly, DC, Baltimore are all at risk for this disaster. Yes GOP controlled states in the South are at grave risk but climate change is coming for us all.

LT Barclay

(2,734 posts)
4. I was a contingency planner for the USCG. I really thought that disaster response would change after Katrina like
Sun Sep 15, 2024, 01:47 AM
Sep 15

oil spill response changed after the Exxon Valdez with the passing of OPA-90.
As things stand now, disaster response is up to the state and local governments. FEMA will help them request resources, but they are a very small agency.
If I had my way, we'd have a 4-star on the Joint Chiefs in charge of disaster planning. Only the military has the resources, training and money to do this effectively. Currently all agencies in the federal government (as far as I am aware) plan on sleeping in local hotels, eating in local restaurants, and shopping in local stores. See any problem there?
The responders need to come in like an invading army with their own food, shelter, medical care and supplies and be able to provide food, shelter, medical care, search and rescue, as well as restoration to the impacted area.
It wouldn't require any re-organization of the military, just a build up of the Army Corps of Engineers, Navy SeaBees, Air Force TRANSCOM, USCG.
If this was in place, Puerto Rico could have been fixed up in a month. As it is, I'm sure the folks there are still struggling in some areas.
But gosh, if we did this, someone might get something for FREE, that isn't a billionaire, and that would just totally suck wouldn't it?

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Environment & Energy»Beryl In Houston Was The ...