7/1/2023 0 Comments Houston rain totals 2015![]() The Houston Chroniclereported a year ago: The city did try banning development in floodways, but retreated in the face of lawsuits.Īs is often the case, flood planning has been based on some idea of the “normal” flood, with eyes closed to the reality of more serious events. Local flood control officials pooh-poohed the importance of this kind of flood protection and concerns about impervious surfaces. Those surfaces immediately add to the gush of water in the city. That has led to an excess of floodwater during storms that chokes the city’s vast bayou network, drainage systems and two huge federally owned reservoirs.”įor instance, the “Katy Prairie northwest of Houston was once about 600,000 acres of flood-absorbing land recent development has reduced it to a quarter of that capacity.”Īs development has destroyed those natural flood protections, the city has added vast amounts of impervious surfaces in the form of roads, buildings, and parking lots. As millions have flocked to the metropolitan area in recent decades, local officials have largely snubbed stricter building regulations, allowing developers to pave over crucial acres of prairie land that once absorbed huge amounts of rainwater. “Scientists, other experts and federal officials say Houston’s explosive growth is largely to blame. But bad urban planning has made things worse, as the Texas Tribune explained in a story last year, Houston’s geography - flat and only fifty feet or so above sea level - makes it flood-prone to begin with. For instance, two floods in 20 killed a total of 16 people and caused a combined $1 billion in damage. ![]() Not only did Houston fail to plan for anything as bad as Hurricane Harvey it hasn’t taken seriously the lessons of its own repeated floods within the past thirty years.įlooding is no surprise in Houston. Houston failed to learn a key lesson from Katrina: the most important disaster response is done years in advance through risk mitigation. But it’s also true that Houston’s flood control efforts have been badly managed. The torrential rain in Houston would have caused bad flooding no matter what. ![]()
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