Investigation Finds 65,000 Homes Built in Region’s Floodplains Since Harvey

10/5/25 – A Houston Chronicle article last month by investigative reporter Yilun Cheng found that 65,000 homes were built in Houston area floodplains since Hurricane Harvey. This six-minute ABC13 interview with Cheng captures the highlights of her research.

Cheng’s Key Findings

Cheng found that builders have constructed more than 65,000 new properties in flood zones since Harvey. They spread across Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend, Galveston and Brazoria counties.

She kept hearing from people who bought homes in brand new neighborhoods. They later realized that their property was prone to flooding. So, that made her wonder, “Is this part of a bigger pattern here?”

“Texas has no statewide flood-building code,” she said. “As a result, a patchwork of local regulations has really left large parts of the region exposed.”

Families that have moved here since Harvey may not be prioritizing flood risk when looking for new homes, she said. They get seduced by spacious floor plans and suburban lifestyles only to find out months later that their house can flood every time a big storm hits.

Some of the biggest names in the Houston-area homebuilding industry kept popping up again and again in her research. They seem to rely increasingly on flood-prone land.

“We seem to be repeating the same development patterns that made Harvey so devastating in the first place.”

Yilun Cheng, Houston Chronicle Investigative Reporter

She added, “Unless we change course, the devastation and the displacement are only going to get worse.”

For a transcript of her entire interview with ABC13, click here.

Putting 65,000 in Perspective

Sixty-five thousand represents almost as many homes as flooded in floodplains during Harvey in Harris County. However, keep in mind that the 65,000 homes Cheng found were spread across multiple counties. Still, that’s a large number.

Harris County Flood Control District estimates that, based on house flooding assessments, the total number of homes that flooded within Harris County was 154,170.

But 68% of those were outside the FEMA 1% or 100-year floodplain. That alone should raise eyebrows about homes being built inside the region’s floodplains. Of the 154,170 Harris County homes flooded, 48,850 were within the 1% (100-yr) floodplain and 34,970 within the .2% (500-yr) floodplain. Total: 83,820.

So since Harvey, we’ve built almost as many homes in the region’s floodplains as flooded in Harris County floodplains.

And keep in mind, that FEMA has not yet issued new flood maps since Harvey. And when they do, floodplains should expand by 50% to 100%.

The lesson? Even Harvey didn’t teach us any lessons.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/5/2025 based on an investigation by Yilun Cheng

2959 Days since Hurricane Harvey