Sorry theyre in this sitiation TW ,its a very personal feeling when your family is involved and your many miles away.
I seriously think Houston should consider concrete rivers like LA has in place ,when water needs to move out fast it makes sense to straighten its course and let it run its path,not pretty but practical.The meandering of rivers and creeks just slows the process .To tame a river , creek or lake is THE JOB of a reservoir but its currently now adding to the water problem we already have ,a plan B would help right now.
Sometime ago city planners decided to put retention ponds in place as an added help to water issues for Houston .If you decided to build on a commercial property here in Houston you have to dig a concrete hole in the ground x amount of sq ft depending on the size of land and structure.This cost nothing to the city and actually makes money for the city.This cant help in this type of flood ,planners need to get back to the drawing board and spend some money .
A challenge for leaders would be to build something substantial to rid the city of its flooding mistike ,challenge the corp of engineers without politics involved would be a start.