Realcent.org

With a storm like Hurricane Harvey and the many calls for places that are predicted to get 25"-50" plus of rain over the next 3-5 days, there are a number of things to consider and questions to ask. Here are just a few:

1) Remembering that the Fukushima disaster in Japan (March, 2011) was caused by water, how well fortified is the nuclear plant located near Bay City (about 90 miles southwest of Houston)? I realize that there was a tsunami in Japan, so we don't have to be concerned about that. Nonetheless, the sheer amount of rainfall to be unleashed on this part of Texas in a short amount of time might have the potential to cause problems. I haven't seen any mention of how well prepared this facility is for such a huge volume of water. The only other nuclear power plant is located near Ft. Worth (several hundred miles away) and should be just fine.

2) When will mosquitoes become a problem? I'm guessing a week to ten days after the rainfall stops there may be (even then) a lot of people who still haven't returned. So the amount of water pooled in fountains, etc. could be a problem of sizeable proportions. Who is going to have the time to go around to check for pooled water that isn't circulating in their neighbor's houses when they are super busy just attending to their own homes?

3) Not to be too "insensitive" (if that is the proper word), but will may be a lot of coins with water damage being sold on eBay, etc. Fortunately, junk silver and silver bars shouldn't be too much of a problem since people don't pay big premiums over melt for these like the premiums they pay for rare date coins and coins graded MS-65 and up. (I remember seeing a coin that was worth over $3k selling for less than $1k in the days after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. I tried reaching out to the New Orleans based dealer with no luck in reaching him and was left to wonder about the state of the coin. I never did bid.)

4) Are any of you in the stock market trying to play certain stocks (long or short) as hurricane plays? Refiners are an example of companies with heavy exposure to the Houston area and coastal Texas. That said, they could be complicated to trade. How long will they be offline? How much damage will they occur? How much will be covered by insurance and will the insurance companies raise their rates when it comes time to renew their policies?

And of course there will be insurance companies and reinsurance companies that might be affected. Also, what about companies that make emergency power generators? What other types of publicly traded companies might be affected?

5) Are there any members of this great website that are located in the affected area and how are they doing?

That is enough to get us started, but there is probably quite a bit more that I haven't considered. What else should we consider?

Finally, God bless the people of Texas.

Another item to consider... What about cars? People can often times move to higher ground to escape floodwaters more easily than automobiles can. I imagine that garages with open spaces above the ground level will be in high demand until waters recede.

I am north of Houston about 60 miles. We have had about 12" of rain in about 12 hours. No issues yet but I have not ventured out. Watch for snakes as they are seeking higher ground and beware of flooded vehicles that are refurbished and sometimes sold to people who might not be able to detect. This is just an incredible amount of water in such a short time span. Be safe and take care.

I am smack in the middle of all this. 31.75" since Friday morning. We got 22.5" in 3.5 hours last night, finally the water started to recede about 02:00. No water in our house but we can't get out of our 'hood. We can hear the Coast Guard helo's doing roof top rescues.

Could be some good deals soon on repairablly damaged 40' sailboats on the Texas coast.

Not to sound cold about the situation, but this could present a great opportunity for scrappers. Of course, they have to be careful not to appear to be burglars and not to get in the way of insurance claims adjusters.

Recyclersteve wrote:Not to sound cold about the situation, but this could present a great opportunity for scrappers. Of course, they have to be careful not to appear to be burglars and not to get in the way of insurance claims adjusters.

Scrappers need to stay away, these people have enough to worry about. Before they can get rid of anything as stated insurance companies must come out first. Most of the people don't have flood insurance so they are not goanna get much, that scrap metal may make the homeowner a few needed dollars...

hobo finds wrote:

Recyclersteve wrote:Not to sound cold about the situation, but this could present a great opportunity for scrappers. Of course, they have to be careful not to appear to be burglars and not to get in the way of insurance claims adjusters.

Scrappers need to stay away, these people have enough to worry about. Before they can get rid of anything as stated insurance companies must come out first. Most of the people don't have flood insurance so they are not goanna get much, that scrap metal may make the homeowner a few needed dollars...

+ it's a good way to get yourself shot.

I'd imagine scrap might be cheap in Texas for a while .

Point of clarification on the scrapping comment- I don't mean to suggest doing anything right now or even for likely several weeks. But at some point there will be piles of stuff that needs to be disposed of and overflowing dumpsters. Why not take advantage of it at that time?

Another area that will be of interest in the months and years to follow... housing. When homes that had severe water damage (and upcoming potential mold issues) go up for sale will others be stepping in to buy on the cheap knowing they may have to do a teardown, perhaps add dirt to raise the level of the foundation and start all over? I imagine this will be very interesting for real estate professionals and others in the area to watch over the upcoming years.

Thogey wrote: I'd imagine scrap might be cheap in Texas for a while .

This too will be interesting to watch. I can see scrap prices going down in the short-term as people will be desperate to unload what they have. However, with the tremendous amount of scrap that can be used for new construction over the next six months to several years, those who are patient and don't mind stockpiling scrap for six months to 1-2 years may be able to make some decent money.

Also, it makes me wonder about this- at some point really cheap scrap in the Houston area might be worth transporting to Austin, San Antonio or even Dallas to fetch a better price.

made it through this rainfull nightmare...no major water/damage issues at my house. I live south of Ellington Airport which was an Air force base in the past....heard/saw probably a dozen C130 and Coast Guard aircraft flying supplies in yesterday once they opened up the airspace. We were prepped well. 'cept for bread it goes fast with a houseful. we could have gone another 5 days maybe 8 without a resupply. Will update the prep list this weekend....first on the list floatation devices and more life jackets.

fasteddy wrote:made it through this rainfull nightmare...no major water/damage issues at my house. I live south of Ellington Airport which was an Air force base in the past....heard/saw probably a dozen C130 and Coast Guard aircraft flying supplies in yesterday once they opened up the airspace. We were prepped well. 'cept for bread it goes fast with a houseful. we could have gone another 5 days maybe 8 without a resupply. Will update the prep list this weekend....first on the list floatation devices and more life jackets.

Good news

fasteddy wrote:made it through this rainfull nightmare...no major water/damage issues at my house. I live south of Ellington Airport which was an Air force base in the past....heard/saw probably a dozen C130 and Coast Guard aircraft flying supplies in yesterday once they opened up the airspace. We were prepped well. 'cept for bread it goes fast with a houseful. we could have gone another 5 days maybe 8 without a resupply. Will update the prep list this weekend....first on the list floatation devices and more life jackets.

Good to hear, Texas and Louisiana are on the Prayer List.

We have a Cousin and his kids in the Houston area but no word as to their status.
Will call His brother tomorrow.

fasteddy wrote:made it through this rainfull nightmare...no major water/damage issues at my house. I live south of Ellington Airport which was an Air force base in the past....heard/saw probably a dozen C130 and Coast Guard aircraft flying supplies in yesterday once they opened up the airspace. We were prepped well. 'cept for bread it goes fast with a houseful. we could have gone another 5 days maybe 8 without a resupply. Will update the prep list this weekend....first on the list floatation devices and more life jackets.

Glad to hear you didn't have any damage.

fasteddy wrote:made it through this rainfull nightmare...no major water/damage issues at my house. I live south of Ellington Airport which was an Air force base in the past....heard/saw probably a dozen C130 and Coast Guard aircraft flying supplies in yesterday once they opened up the airspace. We were prepped well. 'cept for bread it goes fast with a houseful. we could have gone another 5 days maybe 8 without a resupply. Will update the prep list this weekend....first on the list floatation devices and more life jackets.

Nice to hear that you are ok.