Some emergency officials concerned residents aren't taking Harvey seriously

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - You say 'Harvey' and Cade Sudduth gets goosebumps. You really can't blame him. The Woodland Heights resident has seen some stuff when nearby White Oak Bayou misbehaves.

“The biggest flood got to the edge of the porch, an ominous flow of water that's very scary. It puts you on edge. You never get over it,” he says.

He and his wife lost two cars that time. Never again.

“Every time it rains or sprinkles, we move our cars to higher ground,” Sudduth says.

But not everyone has the same reaction. Emergency managers worry that some longtime Houstonians may have gotten pretty blase about the whole thing. After all, once you've lived through something like Hurricane Ike, a tropical storm watch might not make you shiver in your rain boots.  It's also been a long time since then, and memories fade.

Speaking of Ike, since then a lot of people have moved to the Houston area, roughly 1.5 million.

That’s more than the population of Phoenix. Many of these  newcomers have no frame of reference so here's what they want everyone to know.  Yes, storm surge should be minimal. Yes, so should wind damage. But the real danger will be flooding. Mayor Sylvester Turner acknowledged as much in front of City Council as he warned Houstonians to stay off the roads.

“Starting Friday, Friday night going into Saturday, the weekend. Try to minimize your travel. I think people know of certain areas or certain streets, intersections that are prone to flooding So please exercise a lot of common sense,” Mayor Turner said.

As for Cade, he and his wife plan to stay somewhere else for the duration of Harvey. Head for high ground and hope for the best.

“But it's never gotten into the house,” he says nervously. And hopefully his luck will hold.

For everything you need know about preparing for the storm, visit the FOX 26 Houston Hurricane Toolbox.