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             Flood Threat in Houston is One Faced Around the World

   by Greg Flakus

   A group of west Houston residents filed a lawsuit May 25 against the
   city over commercial development projects they allege were approved
   without requiring measures to deal with storm water. Their complaint
   goes to the heart of the question about what constitutes a natural
   disaster and what constitutes a disaster resulting from failure to plan
   and prepare for natural occurrences.

   Around the world, many cities are located on seashores, lake fronts or
   on the banks of rivers for commercial transportation purposes. But as
   sea levels rise and storms grow more intense, crowded urban areas will
   be vulnerable to disasters.
   The more than $70-billion cost of Hurricane Sandy, which struck the
   northeastern U.S. coast in October, 2012, came from damage to homes,
   buildings and the infrastructure that serves the region's dense
   population.

   Houston is one of the least-dense cities in the world, but U.S. Census
   figures show the city and its surrounding area is the fastest-growing
   urban center in the United States. While that provides an economic
   boost, it also brings more roadways and buildings near rivers and
   creeks that drain into the Gulf of Mexico.

   Samuel Brody, a professor at Texas A&M University, says this
   contributes to the flood risk.

   "We tracked, over a 15-year period, a 25-percent increase in impervious
   surface coverage, pavement, in the Houston region. And that translates
   into more people and structures in harm's way, and less opportunity for
   rain water to infiltrate into the soil, and then it runs off,
   potentially into people's homes," said Brody.
   Greater risk

   Because of its rapid growth, Houston is becoming a bigger target, but
   its location has always made it vulnerable, according to Francisco
   Sanchez of the Houston Office of Emergency Management.

   "One of the challenges is where we chose to build Houston, which is
   essentially on a swamp and it is also close to the gulf coast," he
   said.

   Sanchez noted, however, that many parts of the city and surrounding
   areas did not suffer much damage in last month's storms. He said lower
   areas hit with unusually strong downpours were those that sustained the
   most damage.

   "The flood plain is an indicator that you could be susceptible to
   flooding, but what we have seen over the past few flooding incidents is
   that anytime you get a significant amount of rain in a condensed period
   of time over a very specific geographic area, that is where we are
   going to see some flooding," said Sanchez.

   ''

   Protective action

   Coastal drainage experts like Texas A&M's Brody say government
   officials on all levels need to start considering future risks related
   to climate change. Climate studies show an increased likelihood of
   strong storms, as well as a rise in sea levels that will put populated
   coastal areas at risk.

   Numerous scientific research studies project that in low-lying, heavily
   populated coastal areas in Asia, Africa and South America, storms and
   large waves could threaten millions of lives in coming decades, though
   even better off and better protected cities also could face expensive
   disruptions.

   Hurricane Sandy's cost to the U.S. economy was largely due to
   widespread power outages and the closing of tunnels leading into New
   York City, where the financial district went dark.
   In 2008, Hurricane Ike caused traffic jams and power outages over a
   large part of southeast Texas, interrupting the operations of some oil
   and gas companies for several days. People in Houston spent hours lined
   up at any gas station that had fuel to offer, and supermarkets and
   stores lost millions of dollars in sales because shipments were not
   arriving, and there was no electricity to operate lights, computers and
   other essential parts of the modern retail system.

   But the more immediate problem in cities like Houston is the
   vulnerability of houses built in areas that could flood more often than
   previous studies had indicated. Many homes are built in what is called
   a 100-year flood plain, which basically means the likelihood of
   flooding is about one percent every year. Some of those areas flooded
   last year and again this year, however, leaving home owners less
   confident in their protection from water damage.

   Brody favors a long-range plan to take many houses out of such areas
   and to protect others by building them higher.

   "We are going to have to think about elevating existing structures or
   new structures or building adaptively where we can abandon lower floors
   and add upper floors, which is being done in other countries," Brody
   said. "We need to be more adaptive and flexible to changing
   environmental conditions."

   The Executive Director of the Harris County Flood Control District,
   Mike Talbot, says such suggestions are nothing new.

   "That has actually been the criteria for the past three decades, that
   homes are built above the 100-year flood level," he said. "The Flood
   Control District and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) have
   acquired more than 3,000 homes that are hopelessly deep in the flood
   plain and relocated people to higher ground and now that is open
   space."

   Crucial planning

   Another problem facing officials in this large, sprawling urban area is
   the large number of jurisdictions. In addition to the city of Houston,
   there are more than 30 separate municipalities, along with hundreds of
   subdivisions, many of which have their own rules. Talbot emphasizes the
   Flood Control District works with all of them.

   "I think one of the good things we have is an agency like ours, the
   Flood Control District, that overlays the entire county," he said. "So,
   we work closely with all the municipalities. There is really a harmony
   between our design criteria that works together very well."

   Despite all these efforts, however, experts say lives will still be at
   risk if ordinary citizens fail to understand flood risks. They say
   people buying homes need to inform themselves about flood risks, buy
   the proper insurance and plan ahead for emergencies.
   Additionally, Talbot says the public needs to appreciate the danger
   posed by rapidly rising water. He notes that none of the people who
   died in the recent floods were at home; they all died because they were
   out in the storm and, in some cases, drove right into flooded streets
   and underpasses.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/flood-threat-houston-is-one-faced-aro
   und-the-world/3348346.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/flood-threat-houston-is-one-faced-around-the-world/3348346.html