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"Wow - Now experts are calling #Harvey a once in 500 year flood! We have an all out effort going, and going well!" Trump tweeted Sunday morning. In another tweet, the President remarked that there has been "great coordination between agencies at all levels of government."

"Continuing rains and flash floods are being dealt with. Thousands rescued," he added.

Trump's tweets -- ebullient, often punctuated with exclamation marks, sent in his characteristically rapid-fire manner -- showcased publicly his engagement in the devastating storm. But they left out the fact that Texas could be battered with rain and see dangerous flooding for days, and that the storm's devastation will be felt for weeks -- or perhaps years.

Both the National Weather Service and the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Sunday underscored just how unpredictable the storm has been and what a long tail it will have.

"This event is unprecedented & all impacts are unknown & beyond anything experienced," the National Weather Service tweeted Sunday. "Follow orders from officials to ensure safety."

Brock Long, the FEMA administrator, described Harvey as a "landmark" disaster event. "We're setting up and gearing up for the next couple of years," Long told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday.

Harvey made landfall on Friday as a Category 4 hurricane. An immeasurable number of businesses and homes have been damaged or destroyed. In Houston alone, more than 5,500 people are in shelters, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday morning, a number that he expects to rise "exponentially." More than 2,000 people have been rescued there, Turner said, and the water is continuing to rise.

"The word catastrophic does not appropriately describe what we're facing," Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat who represents much of Houston, told CNN. "We just don't know when it's going to end."

With the full damage wrought by Harvey still not known -- and unlikely to be known for some time -- and this being one of the first significant domestic crises the Trump White House has been met with, the President's response has been closely watched. It offered little detail as to what federal assistance could be provided to help Texas and Louisiana respond to the hurricane, nor did it acknowledge that there could be significant loss of life.

Asked whether or not the President's praise Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had been delivered prematurely, Tom Bossert, Trump's homeland security adviser, told CBS that "it's not premature if you do it the right way."

Bossert also detailed the President's involvement with the storm off Twitter -- which included but was not limited to a two-hour long meeting with the Vice President, the entire Cabinet and members of the President's leadership team. Bossert said that Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have "both called me in the last 12 hours probably a dozen times each."

Trump's White House is also trying to avoid the narrative that President George W. Bush faced when Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast in 2005, killing more than 1,800 people. Bush was criticized for a slow, bungled federal response as well as his praise of then-FEMA director Michael Brown.

On Friday, before Harvey made landfall, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican, reminded Trump to heed Katrina's lessons.

"Keep on top of hurricane Harvey dont mke (sic) same mistake Pres Bush made w Katrina," Grassley tweeted.

On Saturday, Trump responded: "Got your message loud and clear. We have fantastic people on the ground, got there long before #Harvey. So far, so good!"

As the remnants of Hurricane Harvey continued to batter Texas on Sunday, the White House announced that the President would travel to Texas on Tuesday.

The White House has yet to say where Trump will travel, but the Federal Aviation Administration advised Monday morning that flight restrictions will be in place in Austin and Corpus Christi, Texas on Tuesday due to a VIP movement. The White House stressed that Trump would visit areas where his presence would not overly strain the resources of emergency responders.

Excerpt from:
Trump strikes positive tone on Harvey before damage known - CNN International

Its important to make every minute count in meetings at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference, according to Stephen Passero, a municipal councillor from Fort Erie who attended the annual gathering in Ottawa earlier this month.

Held in Ottawa, the three-day gathering of politicians is held in a different city in Ontario each time. In 2015, AMO was held in Niagara Falls at Scotiabank Convention Centre.

It brings together thousands of municipal leaders, as well as provincial politicians and staff. Passero said because formal and scheduled meetings can be brief and to the point, its critical to focus on issues and projects that are fresh rather than pushing for action on matters that have been on Fort Eries radar for many years without much support or interest from the province.

At a certain point, you have to realize a government is not going to change its position a year and a half before an election, said Passero, who is serving his second term.

Whether its a spontaneous discussion at a restaurant or a planned sitdown with a provincial cabinet minister and their staff on the agenda for the day, Passero said there is value in both.

Its always a great opportunity to advance projects, put in a key word or two, and just raise issues to a higher profile with them, said Passero.

There were specific projects discussed at the AMO conference, such as the Canadian Motor Speedway and the Millers Creek Marina Project, two developments that have been touted in Fort Erie as potential economic drivers for all of Niagara but have not seen shovels in the ground after many years of ups and downs.

Passero said these projects were mentioned, but he feels conversations about water, wastewater and other infrastructure needs were the most valuable, also saying that most towns and cities likely had similar discussions.

Were not unique in the issues that were facing, said Passero, also saying that the representatives who travelled to AMO from Fort Erie were able to come to the table with solutions and concerns about getting policies changed at the province and that they werent just looking for a handout.

Also attending were Mayor Wayne Redekop, chief administrative officer Tom Kuchyt and Ward 6 Coun. Chris Knutt, representing Fort Eries Stevensville area.

Knutt said talks with the Ministry of Natural Resources on how the town could find a way to clean up Waverly Beach were had, as well as possible ways to alleviate Fort Eries already-expensive and ongoing battle with the emerald ash borer. He said he learned about a provincial fund that will provide for the planting of 50 million trees by 2025, and to date, has assisted more than 4,000 landowners.

Were going to investigate to see if Fort Erie could qualify for it, said Knutt.

Fort Erie has budgeted $579,000 in 2017 to combat the invasive insect that has infested more than 15,000 trees, 80 per cent of them on private property.

Another point of interest at AMO for Knutt was what he discovered about the City of Barrie and its workflow system that allows developers and property owners to track their applications for permits and inspections online, allowing them to see how far along they are in the approval process.

I was really intrigued by technologies some of the other municipalities have, said Knutt.

See the original post:
AMO conference of value to Fort Erie councillors - Times of Fort Erie

An abandoned yacht is discovered in Tokyo Bay.A sudden eruption of steam causes a partial collapse in the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line tunnels.Something is seen in the mist.

As Tokyo adapts to the impossible truth that something massive is coming ashore, soldiers, scientists, politicians and civilians alike struggle to discover just what it is theyre facing. And more importantly, if it can be stopped

Shin Godzilla is phenomenal, pretty much from the opening scene to the last. Directors Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi balance the colossal destruction caused by their biggest star with a surprising, and nuanced, human cast.

Front and centre in that teamis Rando Yoguchi (Hiroki Hasegawa), a young cabinet secretary whos the first person to realise theyre dealing with a monster. Put in charge of a task force of brilliant outsiders, hes ordered to find a solution to the Godzillaproblem at any cost. Hes aided -and sometimes hindered by characters like Hideki Askaska, an aide to the Prime Minister (played by Yutaka Takenouchi and Kayoko Anne Patterson). Meanwhile, Kayoko (Satomi Ishihara) is a special envoy for the US President and a woman with political ambitions all her own.

There are three keys to the success of Shin Godzilla and that cast is one. Hasegawa is a serious, intense lead whose fundamental idealism and belief in Japanese national character drives the movie along. His character Rando is focused to the point of humourlessness but hes never unlikable. Its the sort of role Jimmy Stewart or Denzel Washington would have played in a different time and Hasegawa excels at it. Hes not alone, with every cast member turning in good work. Mansai Nomura, who plays Godzilla via motion capture, is especially great. This version of the king of monsters, his skin glowing with nuclear fire, is nightmarish precisely because of the clear intelligence Nomura brings to it.

That leads to the second key to the movie: its realism. Strange as that sounds for a film where Japanese armed forces battle a hyper evolving nuclear skyscraper, its true. Godzillas biology, the human responses to it and the sheer scale of the problem are all given their due and all work perfectly. This plays, to Western audiences, like a grounded, modern response to an impossible disaster. It also plays, at several points, like an extended episode of The West Wing. Rando and his colleagues fierce, dogged determination and idealism is inspiring and hard won and theres the same sense of good people doing their best in impossible jobs. The closing act, cutting between the frantic efforts to perfect an anti-Godzilla weapon and desperate politicking to stop a nuclear weapon again being fired at Japan, really brings this to the fore.

The film also expertly ties itself to modern Japanese culture. Where the original was clearly influenced by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks in World War II, this film draws from closer to the present. The 2011 earthquake and the Fukushima disaster are both clear influences on the movie. The contrast between the bureaucratic senior politicians and Randos hard-charging team of misfits is also a contrast between the response that natural disasters all too often have and the responses we want. But even then the film picks no easy targets. There are moments of heroism and self-awareness among the older generation too, and the ending, for Rando and Godzilla, is pleasingly morally ambiguous again, giving the film far more weight than youd expect.

Godzilla may be the perfect organism. This may be the perfect Godzilla movie to date. Epic in scale and ambition, its an intensely confident, gripping and often beautifully shot monster movie with multiple messages. Listen to them all.

INFORelease: 4 December 2017From:Manga EntertainmentFormat:DVD &Blu-rayPrice (RRP):17.99 (DVD), 19.99 (Blu-ray)Age Rating:12

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Shin Godzilla REVIEW - MyM magazine (blog)

Frugal ideas to remodel the kitchen

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A kitchen makeover can add sparkle to a home and enhance its appeal to prospective buyers. The job doesnt have to cost thousands of dollars.

A kitchen remodel can be done on any budget, says Jaclyn Pardini Hartzell, a spokeswoman for Lowes. Conduct research ahead of time, find your inspirations, and know which projects you can complete yourself and which ones youll leave for an expert.

While there are limits to what can be done frugally, many home-remodeling experts say moderately handy homeowners with just a little cash to spend can make a big difference in their kitchen.

If the work looks good, youre adding equity to your home which you might tap for bigger projects later on, says Erin Davis, owner and lead designer for Mosaik Design & Remodeling in Portland, Oregon.

Here are eight kitchen remodeling projects that cost $500 or less.

Spruce up your walls

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If your kitchen feels old, theres no better low-cost remedy than a coat of paint.

One of my design teachers once told me that a gallon of paint is worth $500 (in terms of) the value it brings to a space, Davis says. Not only does it instantly change the feel of a space, but if you do it yourself, it will cost virtually nothing.

And, for about $100, you might add molding to the area where your cabinets meet the ceiling.

If youre handy with a table saw, it would only take you an afternoon to add a chunky piece of crown molding to the tops of your upper cabinets, says Atlanta-based DIY blogger Kelly Marzka, who runs the website View Along The Way. This is an easy way to make inexpensive cabinetry feel like custom pieces.

Freshen up cabinets

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New cabinets can be expensive, but adding or replacing the hardware on existing ones is among the easiest, most cost-effective ways to revamp a kitchen.

Hardware is like jewelry for your cabinets, says Davis, ofMosaik Design & Remodeling. Youll be surprised at how different your cabinetry looks with updated hardware.

Another, more involved option is to paint the cabinets, which will make them look new without replacing them.

Even laminate cabinets can be painted, if you use a good primer.

Supplies should run less than $100. But before you paint, its important to prep. Remove the doors from the cabinets, cover the hardware or remove it, and be sure to sand away old paint.

Float a new look for the sink

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Elena Elisseeva/Shutterstock.com

You dont have to be a plumber to give your kitchen sink a makeover, but you do have to be somewhat handy, says Jamie Gold, a certified kitchen designer in San Diego and the author of New Kitchen Ideas That Work.

You can replace the faucet on your sink rather easily in about an hour. But the costs can vary dramatically.

Depending on the quality and features of the faucet, you could spend anywhere between $150 and $500, Gold says.

A more dramatic option, and one that requires a little more muscle, is to replace the whole sink. That will take a few hoursandshould run you between $250 and $500.

Want to replace everything in your kitchen, including the kitchen sink?A home equity line of credit might help.

Update the lighting

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Hero Images/Getty Images

If youve ever thought your kitchen might look better in a different light, you may be on to something.

It is amazing what a great light fixture can do to a room, Davis says. Just swapping out new fixtures in the existing locations is the most affordable way to go. Another good idea is to add recessed can lights to a kitchen to improve the general lighting.

Most homeowners can change out fixtures pretty quickly on their own with some basic instruction.

But adding high-quality recessed lighting might get a little tricky for a novice. Hiring an electrician to do the job should run about $150 to $200, which includes materials and labor.

If you dont feel comfortable doing anything electrical yourself, Davis says its possible to hire a good electrician for up to $95 an hour.

Renew counters and floors

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The Focus Mantra/Getty Images

New counters and floors will probably test your kitchen remodel budget and your handiwork. If youre up for it, either of these changes can have a dramatic impact on your kitchens appearance.

Vinyl flooring can look great and costs only about $2 a square foot.

When it comes to countertops, you have even more budget options. Granite tile can give you a granite look without the price of a granite slab, says Gold, who adds that you can tile over existing tile if you rough up the underlying surface with a sander.

Similarly, you can install laminate countertops on top of existing counters. Hardware stores sell countertops for as little as $45 per section.

Considering new granite counters? Look into a home equity loan, which might offer a solid source of funds.

Buy (almost) new appliances

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kazoka/Shutterstock.com

Replacing kitchen appliances may exceed yourbudget. But if youre willing to accept minor imperfections, it is possible to pick up a new appliance for less than $500.

You can update appliances by going to a scratch-and-dent store where they sell new appliances at a steep discount due to minor cosmetic flaws, Gold says.

You might have a hard time seeing the flaws, and youre still getting a new product.

Still, unless youre buyinga new refrigerator, you may have to hire someone to install the new appliance, which could add a few hundred dollars to the project.

Westend61/Getty Images

The wall space behind your sink can offer a surprising amount of design potential.

One of the easiest ways to spruce up a kitchen is to change the backsplash, says Christine Tse, an interior designer in New York. This small change will instantly change your kitchen from drab to fab.

Coming from New York, Tse says shes fond of subway tiles, which can run about $350 for 12 square feet. If you want something high-end like white Carrara marble, you should plan on spending about $450. But if you want to keep costs down, you can hunt around for options in the $200 range.

You dont have to be a tile expert to put in a backsplash. A lot of hardware stores run free weekend classes.

Want to do more extensive home renovations? Check out todays best home equity rates.

Install more storage

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Astronaut Images/Getty Images

If youre running out ofstorage space in the kitchen, the room probably isnt aesthetically pleasing either.

Clear the clutter by moving cookbooks and other clutter off of the countertops and adding some floating shelves to the walls, says Dorothy Myers, an interior designer and real estate agent at Long & Foster in Washington, D.C.

You can pick up thick floating wood or glass shelves for about $40 each, Myers says. Thinner, less expensive shelves can be had for as little as $5 apiece.

A moderately handy homeowner should be able to do the project in a few hours.

Just make sure that you anchor the shelves to studs to ensure that the shelves can hold some weight, if your wall is drywall, Myers says.

Read more here:
8 great kitchen remodeling ideas for under $500 - Bankrate.com

A 60-pound stuffed beaver isnt your usual living room dcor.

But for outdoorsman Daron Smith, it fits.

His 3,700-square-foot home southwest of Beaver Lake, Nebraska, is a blend of his lifelong passion for the outdoors and his fondness for mementos from his familys past.

I really love the rustic feel of my place with the barn wood and, obviously, the animals Ive acquired over the years, Smith says. And I love the history thats reflected in the dcor.

The hunter and fisherman made the outdoors his first priority upon purchasing the eight-acre property in 2000. He replaced a barn, put in a pond and brought in a half-million pounds of rock, including boulders, to give the landscape a northern Minnesota look and feel.

He planted wildflowers in the woods behind his home and created another acre of wildlife habitat to the west, clearing a lot of trees in the process.

My career should have been in landscaping and habitatmanagement, says the 52-year-old former owner of Better Business Equipment Co., as he gazes out on the jewel of his work, a 100-by-80-foot pond.

He has since expanded the original parcel to 50 acres and added a nearby 160-acre farm, which hes turning into a mix of crops and more wildlife habitat.

Turkey, coyote, raccoon, possum and all kinds of birds are familiar visitors to his home.

Im close enough to get to Omaha, he says, but I feel like Im in the middle of the wilderness.

His focus turned inside after selling the family business in 2015. As with many home remodels, it started small.

He wanted to redo a three-season porch that had paper-thin windows and a leaky roof and walls. But he also liked the idea of opening up the area to the kitchen. Soon, the kitchen was down to its studs.

Three weeks near completion of the four-month project, he remodeled the main-floor bath.

I just decided to go whole hog, Smith explains.

He provided 30 percent of the ideas, and gave Libby Pantzlaff of Creative Interiors by Libby credit for the other 70. Mike Sassen of Advance Design and Construction also had creative input.

Smith wanted to feel like he was sitting outside, so he sought a rustic feel in the hearth room, with barn wood walls, slate flooring and a great view of the pond and woods.

Along the way the project took on an historic bent, something he hadnt originally planned.

A wall and backsplash in his new kitchen feature reclaimed Egyptian pavers used in the 1920s to build the Lincoln Highway, which snaked down Dodge Street on its way from New York to San Francisco. Smith and Pantzlaff spent a day reclaiming them from a brick pile at A&R Salvage and Recycling Inc.

The marble counters are done in what Pantzlaff jokingly calls a mossy oak pattern, because it reminds her of camouflage.

I think its just got character, Smith says.

The frames around the windows in the hearth room and kitchen feature old-growth oak from a western Nebraska barn. Smith estimates the wood could be nearly 200 years old.

In the hearth room, a wall made from reclaimed wood from nearby Murray, Nebraska, has become home to many family heirlooms. Smith points out a log chain and skillet that traveled from Illinois to Kansas in a covered wagon.

I had a pile of this stuff, and I said, Libby, make it look good.

The only time Smith balked, then relented, was when Pantzlaff suggested using reclaimed corrugated metal from a barn for the hearth room ceiling. Now hes glad he went along with the idea.

As an homage to what Smith calls the hunting that runs in his blood, racks from two deer and a 600-pound elk adorn another wall in the hearth room. A spot over the new coat closet is reserved for one of the bobcats that frequents his farm.

The beaver is homegrown, too. It lived in the creek behind his house. When it began killing off many of the smaller trees on the property, Smith trapped it and had it mounted.

It has definitely become a conversation piece with Smiths guests.

Most of them are pretty shocked, Smith says. Who has a beaver?

Originally posted here:
A rustic redo: Family's past brings unique look to outdoorsman's retreat southwest of Beaver Lake - Omaha World-Herald

At B.T.J.s Jungle in West Islip, New York your one-stop pet shop were able to take care of all your needs when it comes to pond design, including waterfalls, streams, water gardens, koi fish, filtration and more!

With more than 45 years of experience, B.T.J.s Jungle has proven to be the best choice in New York for pond and water garden maintenance, installation and design.

Thinking about putting a pond in your backyard? We have completed hundreds of the most beautiful pond installations and water garden installations in New York.

Year after year, we continue to keep our clients happy with our attention to detail and high quality of work. No matter what shape or size, we can design and build your dream pond.

Of course, your pond needs to be maintained all year round a daunting task for some of the most enthusiastic pond owners.

Dont stress, though, because we have you covered in the pond maintenance department. We offer spring clean-out services and start-ups, cleaning of filters and pumps, water quality checks, fall closings and much more!

The landscaping in your yard and around your pond is equally important. Thats why we carry a full line of pond landscaping and hardscaping products that help you complement the look of your pond.

To highlight your beautiful water gardens, ponds and streams, we offer a variety of plants, which include different types of trees and perennials. Additionally, our pond design experts can build walkways, stone walls, patios, night lighting and more!

Our expert team can design and install natural-looking streams that lead to picture-perfect waterfalls.

We make sure every installation we do balances with the surrounding landscape to create the ultimate calming sounds of natures organic waters.

Do you want to install a waterfall into your pool? At B.T.J.s, we can do that for you, too!

For those of you who are interested in the natural look and sounds of a waterfall in your yard, but would rather avoid all of the continuous pond maintenance, pondless waterfalls are perfect option for you.

Pondless waterfalls are exactly that: graciously flowing waterfalls that allow water to fall onto a bed of rocks and stones instead of into a pond. A low-maintenance pondless waterfall is an easy way to spruce up your landscape.

During the design and installation phase many of our clients choose to have Japanese koi fish added to their ponds. Koi fish are bred for their attractive coloration, and are an excellent live decorative addition to your outdoor pond.

Due to the needs of the fish, koi ponds are constructed differently in terms of depth, filtration systems and the addition of some aquatic plants. We specialize in koi fish at B.T.J.s, and our experts can recommend treatments if you have sick koi fish.

Read more:
Long Island Pond Maintenance And Koi Fish Available

Duckweed grows in ponds that are stagnant, contain fertilizer or manure runoff, or don't have enough agitation and aeration from wind, waves or running water. It can be quite a nuisance in decorative ponds and can take over the entire surface without some form of duckweed control. Options to kill it include herbicides, aeration and adding creatures that eat the duckweed.

Disturbing the water surface will make the pond a less friendly environment to duckweed. Many pond owners do this simply by raking up the duckweed as it arises with a long pool-cleaning rake. Another option is to install aerating devices at the perimeter of the pond, or adding fountains to the pond to keep the water surface moving.

Aquatic herbicides are available from pool, pond and landscape suppliers, and range depending on the season, severity and location of the duckweed. Many of them require multiple applications, and the pond will likely not be safe for use during treatment. Some pond herbicides used by pond care companies against duckweed in particular are PondWeed Defense and RedWing. These are best used in ponds with large water turnover or ones that are not contained. Another herbicide designed to work on duckweed is called Reward.

Some fish, when introduced into a pond, will clear it of duckweed. Goldfish, koi and carp will eat duckweed in some amount. Grass carp are commonly used for this purpose and work well in smaller ponds. However, putting these fish in a pond also will incline the pond toward algae blooms, as they create an organic cycle of waste and food in the pond. Note they are restricted in some areas, such as near the Great Lakes and their watersheds.

There are a few pond herbicides available that will kill off duckweed and other aquatic weeds by non-toxic treatments. These include White Cap and Sonar, both of which work by keeping the duckweed from producing the carotene it needs to survive. Without carotene, the chlorophyll in the weeds breaks down quickly and the plants will die. These products are often considered safer than harsher chemical herbicides, but work best in larger ponds.

If an overgrowth of duckweed persists, the soil in the pond bottom may be full of plant-supporting nutrients from farm runoff or animal waste. To fix the problem once and for all, consider having the pond bottom dredged up and removed.

Read more from the original source:
Things That Kill Duckweed in Ponds | Garden Guides

California Water Gardens is based in Newburgh, NY and our service area extends through most of the lower Hudson Valley. We ServiceOrange County, Rockland County, Ulster County, Dutchess County, Putnam County and Westchester County in the New York area and Bergen County New Jersey.

We will design and install any koi pond or water garden that fits your needs. Whether its a small back yard pond or a Natural swimming Pond, Commercialor residential. Your pond can be built using concrete or an EPDM liner, which has a 20-year manufacturers guarantee.

As well, California Water Gardens doesrestoration work on pre-existing ponds and fountains. And we offer year round pond maintenance. For more information on the many services we offer please visit our servicepage.

We carry an assortmentof pond and water gardens supplies needed to build or restore any pond. Aquatic plants such as, Water Lilies, Irises, and Hardy Lotuses, Marginals and Bog plants are also available. We also stockgold fish and select Japanese Koi.

Read the original:
California Water Gardens California Water Gardens

Floods cause greater property damage and more deaths than tornadoes or hurricanes. And Houstons flood is truly a disaster of biblical proportions: The sky unloaded 9 trillion gallons of water on the city within two days, and much more might fall before Harvey dissipates, producing as much as 60 inches of rain.

Pictures of Harveys runoff are harrowing, with interstates turned to sturdy and mature rivers. From Katrina to Sandy, Rita to Thoku, its easier to imagine the flooding caused by storm surges wrought by hurricanes and tsunamis. In these cases, the flooding problem appears to be caused by water breaching shores, seawalls, or levees. Those examples reinforce the idea that flooding is a problem of keeping water outeither through fortunate avoidance or engineering foresight.

But the impact of flooding, particularly in densely developed areas like cities, is far more constant than a massive, natural disaster like Harvey exposes. The reason cities flood isnt because the water comes in, not exactly. Its because the pavement of civilization forces the water to get back out again.

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There are different kinds of floods. Theres the storm surge from hurricanes, the runoff from snowmelt, the inundation of riverbanks. But all these examples cast flooding as an occasional foe out to damage human civilization. In truth, flooding happens constantly, in small and large quantities, every time precipitation falls to earth. People just dont tend to notice it until it reaches the proportions of disaster.

Under normal circumstances, rain or snowfall soaks back into the earth after falling. It gets absorbed by grasslands, by parks, by residential lawns, by anywhere the soil is exposed. Two factors can impede that absorption. One is large quantities of rain in a short period of time. The ground becomes inundated, and the water spreads out in accordance with the topography. The second is covering over the ground so it cannot soak up water in the first place. And thats exactly what cities dothey transform the land into developed civilization.

Roads, parking lots, sidewalks, and other pavements, along with asphalt, concrete, brick, stone, and other building materials, combine to create impervious surfaces that resist the natural absorption of water. In most of the United States, about 75 percent of its land area, less than 1 percent of the land is hardscape. In cities, up to 40 percent is impervious.

The natural system is very good at accepting rainfall. But when water hits pavement, it creates runoff immediately. That water has to go somewhere. So it flows wherever the grade takes it. To account for that runoff, people engineer systems to move the water away from where it is originally deposited, or to house it in situ, or even to reuse it. This processthe policy, planning, engineering, implementation, and maintenance of urban water systemsis called stormwater management.

According to my Georgia Institute of Technology colleague Bruce Stiftel, who is chair of the school of city and regional planning and an expert in environmental and water policy governance, stormwater management usually entails channeling water away from impervious surfaces and the structures built atop them. In other words, cities are built on the assumption that the water that would have been absorbed back into the land they occupy can be transported away instead.

Like bridges or skyscrapers designed to bear certain loads, stormwater management systems are conceived within the limits of expected behaviorsuch as rainfall or riverbank overrun events that might happen every 10 or 25 years. When these intervals are exceeded, and the infrastructure cant handle the rate and volume of water, flooding is the result.

Houston poses both a typical and an unusual situation for stormwater management. The city is enormous, stretching out over 600 square miles. Its an epitome of the urban sprawl characterized by American exurbanism, where available land made development easy at the edges. Unlike New Orleans, Houston is well above sea level, so flooding risk from storm surge inundation is low. Instead, its rainfall that poses the biggest threat.

A series of slow-moving rivers, called bayous, provide natural drainage for the area. To account for the certainty of flooding, Houston has built drainage channels, sewers, outfalls, on- and off-road ditches, and detention ponds to hold or move water away from local areas. When they fill, the roadways provide overrun. The dramatic images from Houston that show wide, interstate freeways transformed into rivers look like the cause of the disaster, but they are also its solution, if not an ideal one. This is also why evacuating Houston, a metropolitan area of 6.5 million people, would have been a terrible idea. This is a city run by cars, and sending its residents to sit in gridlock on the thoroughfares and freeways designed to become rivers during flooding would have doomed them to death by water.

* * *

Accounting for a 100-year, 500-year, or million-year flood, as some are calling Harveys aftermath, is difficult and costly. Stiftel confirms that its almost impossible to design for these maximal probable flood events, as planners call them. Instead, the hope is to design communities such that when they flood, they can withstand the ill effects and support effective evacuations to keep people safe. The Houston event seems like an illustration that we havent figured it out, Stiftel says.

Many planners contend that impervious surface itself is the problem. The more of it there is, the less absorption takes place and the more runoff has to be managed. Reducing development, then, is one of the best ways to manage urban flooding. The problem is, urban development hasnt slowed in the last half-century. Cities have only become more desirable, spreading outward over the plentiful land available in the United States.

The National Flood Insurance Program, established in 1968, offered one attempt at a compromise. It was meant to protect and indemnify people without creating economic catastrophe. Instead of avoiding the floodplain, insurance allowed people to build within it, within management constraints recommended by FEMA. In theory, flood-hazard mitigation hoped to direct development away from flood-prone areas through the disincentives of risk insurance and regulatory complexity.

Since then, attitudes have changed. For one part, initial avoidance of floodplains created desirable targets for development, especially in the middle of cities. But for another, Stiftel tells me that attitudes about development in floodplains have changed, too. Its more about living with water than it is about discouraging development in areas prone to risk.

Sometimes living with water means sidestepping the consequences. Developers working in flood zones might not care what happens after they sell a property. Thats where governmental oversight is supposed to take over. Some are more strict than others. After the global financial crisis of 2008, for example, degraded local economies sometimes spurred relaxed land-use policy in exchange for new tax bases, particularly commercial ones.

In other cases, floodplains have been managed through redevelopment that reduces impervious surfaces. Natural ground cover, permeable or semi-permeable pavers, and vegetation that supports the movement of water offer examples. These efforts dovetail with urban redevelopment efforts that privilege mixed-use and green space, associated with both new urbanism and gentrification. Recreation lands, conservation lands and easements, dry washes, and other approaches attempt to counterbalance pavement when possible. Stiftel cites Chinas sponge cities as a dramatic examplea government-funded effort to engineer new, permeable materials to anticipate and mitigate the flooding common to that nation.

* * *

But Thomas Debo, an emeritus professor of city planning at Georgia Tech who also wrote a popular textbook on stormwater management, takes issue with pavement reduction as a viable cure for urban flooding. We focus too much on impervious surface and not enough on the conveyance of water, he tells me. Even when reduced in quantity, the water still ends up in in pipes and concrete channels, speeding fast toward larger channels. Its like taking an aspirin to cure an ailment, he scoffs. Houstons flooding demonstrates the impact.

Instead, Debo advocates that urban design mimic rural hydrology as much as possible. Reducing impervious surface and improving water conveyance has a role to play, but the most important step in sparing cities from flooding is to reduce the velocity of water when it is channelized, so that it doesnt deluge other sites. And then to stop moving water away from buildings and structures entirely, and to start finding new uses for it in place.

That can be done by collecting water into cisterns for processing and reusein some cases, Debo explains, the result can even save money by reducing the need to rely on utility-provided water. Adding vegetation, reclaiming stormwater, and building local conveyance systems for delivery of this water offer more promising solutions.

Though retired from Georgia Tech, Debo still consults on the campuss local stormwater management efforts. In one case, the institute took a soccer field and made it into an infiltration basin. Water permeates the field, where it is channeled into pipes and then into local cisterns.

In Houstons case, catastrophic floods have been anticipated for some time. The combination of climate change, which produces more intense and unpredictable storms, and aggressive development made an event like this weeks almost inevitable. The Association of State Floodplain Managers has called for a national flood risk-management strategy, and the Houston Chronicle has called flood control the citys most pressing infrastructure need. A lack of funding is often blamed, and relaxed FEMA regulations under the Trump Administration wont help either.

But for Debo and others, waiting for a holistic, centralized approach to stormwater management is a pipe dream anyway. Just as limiting impervious surface is not the solution to urban stormwater management, so government-run, singular infrastructure might not be either. Its much more difficult, and a much bigger picture, Debo insists to me. There is no silver bullet for stormwater management.

* * *

One problem is that people care about flooding, because its dramatic and catastrophic. They dont care about stormwater management, which is where the real issue lies. Even if it takes weeks or months, after Harvey subsides, public interest will decay too. Debo notes that traffic policy is an easier urban planning problem for ordinary folk, because it happens every day.

So does stormwaterit just isnt treated that way. Instead of looking for holistic answers, site-specific ones must be pursued instead. Rather than putting a straight channel through a subdivision, for example, Debo suggests designing one to meander through it, to decrease the velocity of the water as it exits.

The hardest part of managing urban flooding is reconciling it with Americans insistence that they can and should be able to live, work, and play anywhere. Waterborne transit was a key driver of urban development, and its inevitable that cities have grown where flooding is prevalent. But there are some regions that just shouldnt become cities. Parts of Houston in the floodway, parts of New Orleans submerged during Katrina, parts of Floridathese places never should have been developed in the first place, Debo concludes. Add sea-level rise and climate-change superstorms, and something has to give.

Debo is not optimistic about resisting the urge toward development. I dont think any of its going to happen, he concedes. Until we get people in Congress and in the White House who care about the environment, its just going to get worse and worse.

Even so, theres reason for optimism. If good stormwater management means good, site-specific design, then ordinary people have a role to play, too. Residential homeowners who install a new cement patio or driveway might not even realize that they are channeling water down-grade to their neighbors, or overwhelming a local storm drain. Citizens can also influence stormwater issues within their municipalities. Many folks know that they have a local city council and school board, but local planning, zoning, and urban design agencies also hold regular public meetingsunfortunately, most people only participate in this aspect of local governance when they have an axe to grind. For the average American concerned with the deluge, the best answer is to replace an occasional, morbid curiosity with flooding with a more sophisticated, long-term interest in stormwater management.

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Houston's Flood Is a Design Problem - The Atlantic

Hello everyone and welcome to another Touchstone Tavern, our roundup of last week'sbest news stories and videos from the world of Hearthstone [Free]. As was to be expected, there's a lot of talk about the current power levels of Druid and the effects that has on the meta (and the game as a whole). So, we have stories both about getting on the Druid bandwagon and trying to beat Druid decks. Thereare also stories about the new short Blizzard has unveiled, which is lovely, as well as the results of the Global Games finals. Overall, the world of Hearthstone seems to be all about Druid issues at this moment, and it remains to be seen whether the Druid-mania will soon subside or whether it will continue until Blizzard does something about the current state of the meta. Let us begin.

Decks Designed to Beat Druid

If you've been having Druid issues, check out this story. The writer put together a list of decks specifically designed to take out that pesky Druid decks. Decks include Pirate Warrior, Exodia Quest Mage, Mill Rogue, and others, and they come with dekclists and short guides. So, if Druid is getting on your nerves, check out this story.

Frozen Throne Legend Decks

This story is all about super-powerful decks that have hit Legend, although not all of them are "interesting." There's a Murloc Paladin that's hit #1 Legend, a Jade Druid (of course), a Pirate Warrior, a Finja Aggro Druid, a Mage Highlander Priest, and many more. If you have the cards, this is a great list to check out, although you'll still need the skills to pilot these very powerful decks.

Token Druid Guide

If you can't beat them, join them, right? If you want to play around with Token Druid, this is the guide you'll need to read. It updates the old archetype with Frozen Throne cards and guides you through putting the deck together and piloting it properly. The guide goes into detail on what each card's purpose is and even what cards to replace in case you're missing some. A detailed guide that's definitely worth a read if you feel like going the Druid way.

Blizzard Responds to Druid Issues

As we wrote about last week, Iksar (aka Dean Ayala) went on Reddit to talk about the Druid issues in the game and how the team is thinking of moving forward on this issue. He talks about how early it is in the meta cycle to be talking about dominance and about nerfing, and how there have been stronger decks in the past. He then went on to talk about specific problematic cards and how the team sees them. Go read the whole story and let me know in the comments if you agree with Blizzard's position.

First Multiplayer Raid Pits Players Against Arthas

Gamescom 2017 saw the first ever multiplayer raid that felt more like an MMO than a card game. As this story discusses, this brawl set everyone at Gamescom against a one-million hit points Arthas. Every player tried to do as much damage as possible, and the more damage, the higher the rank the player would earn. The raid-like brawl is part of the new Fireside Gathering Brawls that are meant to make Fireside Gatherings more fun. Let me know if you had a chance to play this Brawl and what you thought of it.

After Frozen Throne, Matches Are Taking Longer

As this story points out, the latest expansion seems to have slowed down matches quite a bit, and that makes it less fun for casual players who want quick games. Although he can't say for sure, the writer of the storydoes believe that Frozen Throne has disrupted the usual Aggro dominance we usually see when new cards are infused into the game. The dominant decks now have strong anti-aggro options that allow them to go to the late game, which gives us matches that last from 20 to 30 minutes each. He even has stats to back that up. While he knows some players like a slower, control-leaning meta, it's challenging to only get through 3 games an hour, especially if you're trying to climb the ladder. Do you like the slower meta, or would you prefer a faster, more aggro-oriented one?

First Animated Short 'Hearth and Home' Is Lovely

Blizzard went all Disney last week and gave us a really nice short called Hearth and Home. This isn't a one time thing either; Blizzard is planning a whole series of comics and shorts (and, of course, merchandise) starring the cast of the short, and I'm all for that. I hope future expansions get the comics and shorts treatment because that would really help build up the game's lore. Check out our full story here.

Czech Republic Wins Global Games

After a long and fun tournament, the Czech Republic Team is the Global Games Champion, defeating the Ukraine in the final. Given that the Ukraine has players like Kolento and Neirea in its roster, beating them wasn't an easy task for the Czech Republic, but they did it. pokrovac, CzechCloud, and StanCifka managed to surprise their opponents with some interesting deck choices and take the title. Go here to see how each match in the finals went down.

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Read more from the original source:
Best 'Frozen Throne' Decks, Decks to Beat Druid, and More 'Hearthstone' Weekly News in 'Touchstone' #110 - Touch Arcade