It’s The Corps of Engineers

Precisely. Didn't coordinate with local officials at all. It is beyond frustrating that the Army Corps of Engineers simply said "yes, sir" and dumped the water. https://t.co/l3M2yd5Xbm

— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) February 6, 2025

It’s what they do. C’mere, lemme tell you a story. 

In the 1930’s, the Corps of Engineers built a reservoir far to the west of Houston, for flood control. When full, it was designed to drain overland to Buffalo Bayou and from there to the Gulf.

After Harvey dumped acre-feet of water on Houston, the reservoir was full. But the area around the reservoir was no longer prairie, it was Houston. The reservoir was no longer west of town, it was in town. And the watercourse from the reservoir to the bayou ran through neighborhoods, as well as neighborhoods all along the bayou down to the Gulf.  Neighborhoods undreamt of in the ‘30’, but certainly known to all and sundry 80 years later.  But the Corps was monitoring the reservoir, had responsibility for the reservoir, cared only about the condition and capacity of the reservoir, and at 11 pm decided they had to open the gates of the reservoir. Without so much as a warning that floodwaters would be coming soon to a neighborhood known to you. 

Houses and neighborhoods untouched by the inundation of Harvey were drowned by the Corps. People who survived Harvey died in the flood caused by the Corps. And nobody higher up had to tell them to do that. They did it in their own.

So believe me when I tell you: it’s what the Corps does. They follow orders (or the plan), no matter what.