September 2, 2017
Notes

The Most Powerful, Least Seen Harvey Photos: Our Roundup

Photo: Elizabeth Conley/ Houston Chronicle. Caption: A resident makes her way in a flooded parking lot to get her car to higher ground as the rain continues to fall in Houston as a result of Hurricane Harvey on Saturday, August 26, 2017.

Devastating, yes. And not over, by any means.

By the end of the week, we learned Harvey was a “1000 year” flood, not just a “500 year” one. Educated by the outstanding ProPublica-Texas Tribune project, “Hell and Highwater,” that was published in March 2016, we sensed from the beginning that Harvey would be physically, socially and politically devastating. Our weekly social media roundup usually offers a wider sweep. This week though (starting from radar maps on Thursday, August 24th, to be specific), we were fixed on this one historic event.  We tracked Harvey on Twitter and Instagram, and we did an article for Columbia Journalism Review yesterday looking at key social and political photos. Here, culled from our social media feeds and starting from the beginning, we offer you the 12 most powerful photos of Harvey you were least likely to see.

Amid the scenes of devastation, this photo asks us to consider the weight of the ordinary in extraordinary times. As we continue to witness water rescues and other efforts to aid those in Texas, it models how simple gestures of support are much more than child’s play. (@katieirwin__)⠀ ⠀ Reposting @ap.images:⠀ …⠀ “Volunteer Elizabeth Hill, 8, plays with evacuee Skyler Smith, 7, at a shelter at St. Thomas Presbyterian Church in west Houston as Tropical Storm Harvey continues to affect the area, Aug. 29, 2017. Photo @jayjanner @statesman⠀ ⠀ #volunteer #evacuee #shelter #Houston #TropicalStormHarvey #Harvey #JayJanner #AustinAmericanStatesman #TheAssociatedPress” #children #evacuee #play

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Love this because it’s so completely organized. People are consistently portrayed as helpless or victimized when, in fact, they are doing the most with their resources. Often elegantly so.⠀ ⠀ Reposting @time:⠀ …⠀ “Houston resident and photographer Keliy Anderson-Staley woke up Saturday morning to a power outage and wind damage from incoming Hurricane Harvey. But like many people in the city, Anderson-Staley believed she and her family had avoided the worst. But “that evening it rained again, and then rained harder, with inches falling per hour,” said Anderson-Staley. “There was an ominous gurgling and then sloshing under the floorboards. It sounded suddenly like being in a boat. Within minutes there was an inch of water across the floor and bubbles were coming up through the tile grout.” Luckily Anderson-Staley, her husband and their two children were able to make it to a friend’s house that had avoided flooding. And though things seem to be improving in Anderson-Staley’s neighborhood, unlike in many other areas of Houston, it will be a long time before the family can return home. Photograph by Keliy Anderson-Staley (@andersonstaley)” #Harvey #Harvey2017 #HarveyFlood #Survivor #smart #resourceful #coping #Houston #HoustonStrong #HoustonFlood #furniture #organized

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Photo: Elizabeth Conley/ Houston Chronicle. Caption: A resident makes her way in a flooded parking lot to get her car to higher ground as the rain continues to fall in Houston as a result of Hurricane Harvey on Saturday, August 26, 2017.

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Michael Shaw
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