Houston is flooding again. In a situation reminiscent of that wrought by Hurricane Harve two years ago, large portions of the city and its surrounding area are underwater. Multiple deaths have already been confirmed, with more likely to be announced. The source of the water—a system briefly named Tropical Storm Imelda but quickly downgraded to a tropical depression—dropped over 40 inches of rain in at least one location, making it one of the ten wettest cyclones to hit the United States since measurements began (according to a National Weather Service tweet).
It isn’t getting a lot of attention. Whether that’s because it was never named a hurricane, because it was a relative surprise (Houston schools were even open yesterday, causing a disastrous situation in which public officials were telling citizens to stay off roadways but parents had to drive to pick up their children), or because of some other reason is unclear. But no matter the cause, when visiting the front pages of major American news outlets today, you’re more likely to see stories about a soap opera in Washington than a natural disaster that’s unexpectedly claiming the lives of American citizens.
These sorts of events are important news. Sad news, but important news. News worth keeping in mind and keeping an eye on. Hopefully, it does not get as bad as Harvey was everywhere in Houston. But for some, it’s already much worse.
