Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) spending data on right-of-way acquisition and construction for the first half of 2022 shows that, once again, the San Jacinto watershed has been ignored. Thus, the largest watershed in the county received virtually no help in terms of flood-mitigation funding. Brays, where Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis lives, received […]
Ever wonder why so many hurricanes track like boomerangs? They don’t all follow this pattern, of course, but when you look at the 1370 hurricanes between 1851 and 2006, a pattern clearly emerges. Interaction of Complex Systems In my research, I found several possible explanations for the pattern above. Harris County Meteorologist Jeff Lindner provided […]
This Friday, September 2, 2022, I will give a talk at Lone Star College Kingwood. It will summarize what I have learned since Hurricane Harvey about flooding and flood mitigation while researching more than 2000 articles. The title of the talk: How Far We’ve Come, What We Still Need to Do. And it will focus […]
On the fifth Anniversary of Harvey, the law firm McGehee ☆ Chang, Landgraf, Feiler issued updates on both its upstream and downstream cases in the Addicks-Barker lawsuits against the Army Corps of Engineers. Final Arguments Scheduled in Upstream Case The upstream Addicks-Barker lawsuit is finally drawing to a close. Earlier, Judge Charles F. Lettow ruled that […]
Montgomery County (MoCo) Commissioners voted on 8/23/22 to update the County’s Drainage Criteria Manual and its Subdivision Rules and Regulations. Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley made the motion (item 16.C on the 8/23/22 Commissioners Court agenda). See the discussion in the MoCo Commissioner’s Court video. Select Item 16. The discussion starts at 3:12. The previous […]
Five years after Harvey, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) still haunts many of the victims. Readers have written me about how hard they find it to shake painful memories. Some complain about periodic flashbacks, often related to a trigger event, such as looking at a photo of a cherished possession they lost in the flood. […]
Tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Harvey. Many in the Lake Houston Area have asked, “Are we safer now?” The answer is yes, but we have a long way to go to achieve all our goals. Here’s a five-year flood-mitigation report card. It describes what we have and haven’t accomplished in 29 areas. So […]
Why do we flood? To clarify the obvious: Too much rain … creates too much runoff … in too little time … over terrain that’s too flat. Now, dig a little deeper. Ask a slightly different question: “Why do we experience so much flood damage?” You get slightly different, but related reasons. Based on what […]
In their 8/23/22 meeting, Harris County Commissioners discussed proposed budget priorities for the next fiscal year. Dr. Tina Petersen, PhD, PE, Harris County Flood Control District’s Executive Director, presented her goals for next year. And once again, they revolved around “equity.” See page 64 of the proposed budget for Petersen’s priorities or the summary below. […]
Last week, I posted about the possibility of heavy rain early this week. Last night, Dallas experienced torrential rains and they’re headed this way. One amateur weather gage on Londonderry Lane reported more than 14″ of rain! Dallas/Fort Worth officially received 9.46 inches of rainfall in 6 hours and 7.8 inches in 3-hours. Significant flash […]