Houston Grand Opera Closes Due to Flooding From Hurricane Harvey

By Logan Martell

As Texas grapples with its fourth day of Hurricane Harvey, Houston Grand Opera has reported via twitter that the basement of the building is completely flooded, causing power outages and taking down their website until further notice.

Harvey first landed in Texas on Friday, after quickly escalating into a category 4 hurricane, and forcing Houston Grand Opera to cancel their 24th Annual Transcanada Theater District Open House event. Since then, a number of unusual factors have contributed to the difficulty Harvey poses for the people of Texas. Scientific American reports that two high-pressure wind systems of roughly equal strength, blowing in opposite directions, are causing Harvey to be stuck primarily over the city of Houston. Furthermore, the water dumped as heavy rainfall is being pulled back into the storm due to the high degree of heat and moisture. Forecasts have predicted that these pressure systems may change and lighten Harvey’s impact later this week.

So far, an estimated five people have been killed due to Hurricane Harvey, and dozens have been injured. While an evacuation of the city was not initially called for, many have gathered in the Houston convention center and it’s estimated that tens of thousands of citizens have spent the weekend within a shelter.

As emergency dispatchers struggle to aid as many as possible, President Trump has filed a federal disaster declaration as of Friday, which will allow federal funds to be allocated to Texas, where it can assist in the process of rebuilding and recovering. While the storm is predicted to begin letting up by the end of the week, the battle is far from over for the people of Texas.

 

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