WASHINGTON (AP) – As floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey keep rising, some Houston-area residents must decide between two dangerous choices: staying in homes with water coming in or venturing out on potentially deadly flooded roads.
It’s a no-win situation. There’s nowhere for the rain or these people to go. And it matters, because water kills. Even though wind is fierce, water is responsible for nearly 90 percent of the deaths in hurricanes, according to a 2014 study by acting U.S National Hurricane Center director Ed Rappaport.
In general, if people are safe, they shouldn’t move. In their updates on the storm’s progress Sunday, the Hurricane Center underscored in capital letters its warning to “not attempt to travel … if you are in a safe place.”
Yet some New Orleans residents who decided to stay put in their homes during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 ended up dying in their attics, while others were trapped there for days awaiting rescue.
Former National Hurricane Center directors Neil Frank and Max Mayfield fear casualties from Harvey could rise over the next few days if stir-crazy residents decide to venture outside of their homes and into the high waters.