They were.
Even though the Mayor did not call mandatory evacuation the weather channel had been building this storm up for 5 days before it hit. I don't have to be told to evacuate. With that being said I understand the last mandatory evacuation they had resulted in people being stranded on the highways for weeks. Been watching on tv and fb live feeds all morning, it is devastating.
For some, health reasons impact the ability to evacuate; others money, and transportation. Was Houston forecast to receive two FEET of water?
Yes, they were-
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Houston/Galveston TX
627 PM CDT Thu Aug 24 2017
.AVIATION...
A bit more coverage across SE TX this afternoon/evening as act-
ivity associated with Hurricane Harvey begins to move into the
region. Timing these bands will be the main issue for the over-
night hours, but did try to incorporate a brief break in spots
for most sites except for GLS. Otherwise...did go with prevail-
ing TSRA and increased winds/gusts by tomorrow afternoon. 41
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 559 PM CDT Thu Aug 24 2017/
..Devastating and life-threatening flooding expected from a
prolonged heavy rain and flash flood threat from Harvey...
The outer rain bands of Hurricane Harvey were already affecting
Southeast Texas at 5:00 PM. These will continue to affect the
area tonight and Friday. Squalls with heavy rainfall are expected
to become more numerous along the coast Friday morning and then
spread inland during the day. Squalls and rain bands will then
become more numerous and spread inland Friday night and Saturday
as Harvey moves onshore down the coast--somewhere on the middle
Texas coast.
Models continue to show the circulation of Harvey caught up in the
weakness in the upper subtropical high pressure ridge over the
weekend and into early next week. With the storm or its remnants
persisting near or over the area, a prolonged heavy rainfall and
flash flood threat could lead to devastating flooding. There is a
potential for five-day rainfall totals between tonight and Tuesday
morning of 15 to 25 inches with even higher isolated amounts.
Needless to say, persons throughout Southeast Texas should monitor
the latest bulletins and forecasts regarding the storm.
Upped rain chances across the area during the middle part of the
upcoming week. The models show upper levels point conducive for
an unstable and moist airmass overhead of Southeast Texas through
Wednesday and Thursday.
NHC_
Tropical Depression HARVEY
Key Messages:
1. Harvey is likely to bring multiple hazards to portions of the
Texas coast beginning on Friday.
2. Several days of heavy rainfall are likely across portions of
eastern Texas, Louisiana, and the lower Mississippi Valley from
Friday through early next week. This rainfall could cause life-
threatening flooding. Please refer to products from your local
National Weather Service office (
www.weather.gov) and the NOAA
Weather Prediction Center (
www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov) for more
information on the flooding hazard.