Hurricane Harvey: Kahinahina i uka, Wai o lalo

"No hea mai 'oe?"

"Houston, Texas."

“Auē, e kuʻu mea aloha. E kala mai au. Pehea kou ʻohana?”

"Maikaʻi loa. Maikaʻi ka hopena maikaʻi.”

Ma ke ʻano he kamaʻāina Houstonian nāna i kapa iā Houston i koʻu ola a pau (pōkole), ua ola au ma o Allison, Rita, Katrina, Ike, a me Harvey i kēia manawa. Mai ko mākou home ma ka ʻaoʻao komohana o Houston, ʻaʻole mākou i kamaʻāina i nā kahawai. ʻO ka maʻamau, hoʻokahi manawa i ka makahiki ke kahe ʻana o ko mākou kaiāulu no kahi lā, ʻo ka hapa nui o ka manawa i ka wā puna.

He waʻa leʻaleʻa kahi hoalauna i ka wā o ka wai ʻauhau ma waho o ko mākou hale i ka lā 18 ʻApelila, 2016.

Akā naʻe, ʻaʻohe mea i ʻike i ka pā ikaika ʻana o ka Hurricane Harvey e like me ia. ʻO ka hapa nui o ka pōʻino i haʻalele ʻia e Harvey ma Texas, ʻaʻole ia e pili ana i ka ʻino maoli, a ʻoi aku ka nui o ka ua nui i hiki mai me ia. Ua lohi kēia ʻino ma luna o Houston no kekahi mau lā, e hāʻule ana i ka nui o ka wai no ka manawa lōʻihi. ʻO ka hopena ua hoʻopiha ʻia ka ʻehā o ke kūlanakauhale nui o ʻAmelika a me nā mokuʻāina e pili ana me ka huina o 33 trillion galani wai.¹ ʻO ka hopena, ʻike ka hapa nui o kēia mau wai i ko lākou ala e hoʻi ai i kahi i hele mai ai, ʻo ke kai.² Eia nō naʻe, ua lawe pū lākou i nā mea haumia he nui, e like me nā kemika mai nā hale hoʻoheheʻe wai, nā bacteria ʻona, a me nā ʻōpala i waiho ʻia ma nā alanui.³

Wahi a ka National Weather Service, ua loaʻa i koʻu ʻaoʻao o ke kaona ma waena o 30 a 40 iniha ka ua. ¹⁰

ʻO nā ʻāina pulu kahakai ʻo Gulf ko mākou laina mua o ka pale ʻana i nā ʻino, akā hoʻokau mākou iā lākou, a iā mākou iho, i ka pilikia ke pale ʻole mākou iā lākou.⁴ No ka laʻana, ʻaʻole hiki iā mākou ke kūleʻa i ka pale ʻana i kēia mau ʻāina pulu kahakai, a waiho ʻia lākou e wāwahi ʻia i mea e hoʻāʻo ai e hana i nā hale hana i ʻoi aku ka maikaʻi ma mua o ka haʻalele ʻana i nā ʻāina pulu ma laila no ka pale ʻana i kekahi ʻino e hiki mai ana. Pēlā nō, hoʻomaʻemaʻe nā ʻāina pulu maikaʻi i ka wai e kahe ana mai ka ʻāina, e hōʻemi ana i ka pōʻino i ke kai.

Ka wai uka e kahe ana i ke Kaikuono o Mekiko. ¹¹

Hiki ke hoʻopilikia ʻia ka ʻōnaehana pale kai e nā mea ʻino ʻē aʻe o ke kaiapuni, e like me ka ua wai mai ka Hurricane Harvey. Ke kahe nei ka wai ua mai ke kahawai ʻo Houston a i ke kahawai ʻo Mekiko, e like me ʻelua hapakolu o ka wai maʻemaʻe o ʻAmelika Hui Pū ʻIa.⁵ I kēia manawa, ʻaʻole naʻe i hui pū ka wai maʻemaʻe e Harvey me ka wai paʻakai o ke Kaiwa.⁶ ʻO ka mea pōmaikaʻi, ʻoiai ka haʻahaʻa o ka paakai paʻakai i kākau ʻia ma ke Kai Kūʻono ma muli o kēia "pūnaewele wai maʻemaʻe," ʻaʻohe mea i hoʻopaʻa ʻia i ka nui o ka make ma nā ʻaʻa koʻa, ʻo ka mahalo nui ʻia i ke ala i kahe ai kēia mau wai mai kēia mau kaiaola. ʻAʻole liʻiliʻi nā palapala e pili ana i nā mea ʻawaʻawa hou e ʻike ʻia ma nā wahi kokoke i uka a me nā ʻāina wai, i waiho ʻia ma hope o ke kahe ʻana o ke kai a hiki i ke Kai.

Sediments from Hurricane Harvey.¹²

Ma ke ʻano holoʻokoʻa, ua loaʻa ʻo Houston i ke kahe nui ʻana no ka mea ua kūkulu ʻia ke kūlanakauhale ma kahi pā kahawai. I ka hala ʻana o ka manawa, ʻo ka hoʻonui ʻana i ke kūlanakauhale a me ka nele o nā code zoning e hoʻonui i ko mākou pilikia o ke kahe ʻana i ka wā e hoʻololi ai nā alanui paʻa paʻa i nā mauʻu me ka nānā ʻole ʻana i nā hopena o ke kaohi ʻole ʻia o ke kūlanakauhale.⁷ No ka laʻana, aia ma kahi mau mile wale nō mai ka Addicks a me Barker Reservoirs, ua loaʻa i ko mākou kaiāulu ke kahe nui ʻana no ka mea ua paʻa nā pae wai. I mea e hōʻoiaʻiʻo ai ʻaʻole i kahe ʻia ke kūlanakauhale ʻo Houston, ua koho nā luna e hoʻokuʻu i nā ʻīpuka e hoʻomalu ana i nā loko wai, kahi i alakaʻi ai i ke kahe ʻana o nā hale i manaʻo ʻole ʻia e kahe i ke kahawai ma West Houston.⁸ ʻO nā mea paʻa paʻa e like me ka asphalt a me ke kaʻa e hoʻokahe i ka wai ma mua o ke komo ʻana, no laila ua hōʻuluʻulu ka wai ma nā alanui a ma hope ua loaʻa ko lākou ala i ke Kaiwa o Mexico.

(La 4) ʻO ke kaʻa kaʻa a kahi hoalauna, ʻo ia kekahi o ka miliona i hoʻopiha ʻia i ka wai ma ke kūlanakauhale. ¹³

I kēia manawa, noho mākou i hoʻokahi pule ma ko mākou hale. Kūleʻa pinepine ka Coast Guard a me nā mea waʻa manawaleʻa a nīnau inā makemake mākou i ka hoʻopakele a i ʻole nā ​​mea ʻai i ko mākou noho ʻana i loko. Hele nā ​​hoalauna ʻē aʻe i mua o ko lākou mau lau a kau i nā lole keʻokeʻo ma ko lākou mau kumu lāʻau i hōʻailona e makemake lākou e hoʻopakele ʻia. I ka emi ana o ka wai i ka la umi o keia 1,000 makahiki⁹ a ua hiki ia makou ke hele iwaho me ka auhee ole i ka wai, he mea kupanaha ka poino. Aia ka pilau o ka ʻōpala maka ma nā wahi a pau a ua ʻōpala ka ʻōpala i ke kahua. E waiho ana nā iʻa make ma nā alanui pōpō a me nā kaʻa i haʻalele ʻia ma nā alanui.

(La 5) Ua hoʻohana mākou i ka lāʻau e hōʻailona ai i ka piʻi ʻana o ka wai.

I ka lā ma hope o ko mākou hoʻokuʻu ʻana i waho, ua hoʻonohonoho ʻia wau me koʻu ʻohana e lele i Minnesota no ka wiki haumāna hou ma Carleton College. I ko mākou lele ʻana i mau tausani kapuaʻi i ka lewa, ʻaʻole hiki iaʻu ke noʻonoʻo i ke ʻano o mākou kekahi o ka poʻe laki. Ua maloʻo ko mākou home a ʻaʻole i pilikia ko mākou ola. Akā naʻe, ʻaʻole au i ʻike i ka laki o mākou i ka manawa aʻe e hoʻoholo ai nā luna o ke kūlanakauhale ʻoi aku ka maʻalahi o ke kahe ʻana i ko mākou kaiāulu ma mua o ka hana hou ʻana i ko mākou mau pale.

Hoʻokahi mea i paʻa iaʻu, ʻo ka ʻōlelo ʻana mai o koʻu makuakāne he kanaono makahiki iaʻu, "ʻAe, hauʻoli wau ʻaʻole au e ʻike hou i kekahi mea like me kēia i koʻu ola ʻana."

Ua pane aku au, "ʻAʻole au i ʻike i kēlā, e Pāpā."

“Pela kou manaʻo?”

"Ua maopopo iaʻu."

(La 6) Ua au aku māua me koʻu makua kāne i ka wai e hōʻea ai i kahi pahu hau ma ke kihi alanui. Ua noi mākou i ka holo waʻa e hoʻi i ka home a ua hopu wau i kēia ʻike nani weliweli.

He lālā ʻo Andrew Farias o ka papa o 2021 ma Carleton College, ka mea i hoʻopau i kahi internship ma Wakinekona, DC

¹https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/08/30/harvey-has-unloaded-24-5-trillion-gallons-of-water-on-texas-and-louisiana/?utm_term=.7513293a929b
²https://www.popsci.com/where-does-flood-water-go#page-5
³http://www.galvbay.org/news/how-has-harvey-impacted-water-quality/
⁴https://oceanfdn.org/blog/coastal-ecosystems-are-our-first-line-defense-against-hurricanes
⁵https://www.dallasnews.com/news/harvey/2017/09/07/hurricane-harveys-floodwaters-harm-coral-reefs-gulf-mexico
⁶http://stormwater.wef.org/2017/12/gulf-mexico-researchers-examine-effects-hurricane-harvey-floodwaters/
⁷https://qz.com/1064364/hurricane-harvey-houstons-flooding-made-worse-by-unchecked-urban-development-and-wetland-destruction/
⁸https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2017/10/16/barker-addicks-reservoirs-release-west-houston-memorial-energy-corridor-hurricane-harvey
⁹https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/08/31/harvey-is-a-1000-year-flood-event-unprecedented-in-scale/?utm_term=.d3639e421c3a#comments
¹⁰ https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/tropical-storm-harvey-forecast-texas-louisiana-arkansas
¹¹ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/29/houston-area-impacted-hurricane-harvey-visual-guide
¹² https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=90866