A scattering of drones took to the air across Houston yesterday as the rain slowed to do some sight-seeing around the brand new 9-county disaster zone declared by governor Abbott in the afternoon. Filling up during floods is standard operating procedure for Buffalo Bayou Park, as demonstrated prior to the park’s first planned official opening last spring. That’s not part of the sanctioned protocol for all of Houston’s bayou corridors, but it’s hard to argue about it in the moment —above is the overhead view of Brays Bayou venturing out into broader Meyerland.
More footage comes from northwest Houston, circling around White Oak Bayou at N. Houston Rosslyn Rd. in Inwood Forest —  west and downstream of some the areas that got the most rainfall:
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Videos: Mark Katz (Meyerland), Phil Hill (Northwest Houston)
Damn the scale of this one was just massive. The only way to save that area from future similar events might be New Orleans-style levees and massive pump stations. Of course, history shows that those are not fool-proof either.
@Superdave: Where will you place the levees and pumps? New Orleans is between a big river and a lake. Houston just has bayous.
Dang. That Meyerland HEB just reopened after being fixed up after last Memorial Day’s flood. I’m astounded by how far the bayou came out of its banks – and I will say that I may have now changed my mind on the use of drones. Staggering aerial view and also quite sad.
I always wondered why, instead of spending millions to beautify the stretch of Buffalo Bayou between downtown and River Oaks, Houston did not invest in somehow re-digging the concrete ditch bayous (Braes, White Oak, etc.)?
I read an article years, well decades actually, ago about how these state of the art in 1950s ditches could be improved and beautified in the process. They channel more water and look like natural waterways.
I realize it would be a massive, incredibly expensive undertaking, but if this is the alternative, every year or every other year, then maybe it’s worth looking into.