Category Archives: Hurricane Katrina

One year out from Harvey

Posted on August 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. One year after Hurricane Harvey slammed the Texas coast, 8 percent of the people impacted by the disaster have not been able to return to their … Continue reading →

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Flood bond election day is today

Posted on August 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a Trib story about the bond. Flood experts say the bond is a good start — and indicative of an unprecedented shift in the collective mindset of local leaders and residents — but that it won’t come close to … Continue reading →

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A better match from FEMA

Posted on August 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Federal officials have agreed to count volunteer work hours and donated materials toward the local match required for disaster recovery grants to repair streets, buildings, utilities, parks and other public facilities — a national policy change, initiated in … Continue reading →

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Arkema indictments

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This will cause a stir. A Harris County grand jury on Friday indicted the French chemical company Arkema and two executives for the “reckless” release of toxic chemicals during Hurricane Harvey last August, a move that alarmed industry leaders and … Continue reading →

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Lots of Harvey waivers out there

Posted on August 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

And good for the school districts that got them. The vast majority of Houston-area school districts will be eligible for academic accountability waivers this year due to Hurricane Harvey, meaning they will be labeled “not rated” unless they score an … Continue reading →

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Two views of the flood bond referendum

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

View One, from Joe B. Allen and Jim Blackburn: Vote for it because there’s no real alternative. Proposition A — the proposal to allow Harris County to issue $2.5 billion in flood control bonds — will be on the ballot … Continue reading →

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On campaigning for the flood bond

Posted on July 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is good, but I don’t know if it will be enough. The Harris County Flood Control District’s summer barnstorming tour of county watersheds to seek public input on its $2.5 billion flood bond proposal is getting officials exactly what … Continue reading →

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Houston Flood Museum

Posted on July 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds like a good idea. [Lacy] Johnson, a published author and Rice assistant professor, started writing to process the post-disaster “dissonance” she observed. The resulting essays published on Facebook quickly garnered hundreds of reactions and shares. It wasn’t long before the Houston Endowment approached her about … Continue reading →

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More on flood tunnels

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

They’re a thing, I swear. While it’s far from clear whether it will ever happen, the concept almost immediately generated widespread response when it was announced earlier this spring. Local officials told the Houston Chronicle it’s outside-the-box thinking with benefits that could outweigh … Continue reading →

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More on the latest Harvey funds

Posted on July 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the full Chron story regarding that allocation of federal Harvey recovery money from Thursday. It wasn’t clear from the Trib story I quoted from, but that levee system is, at least in part, the Ike Dike. Jim Blackburn of … Continue reading →

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Feds approve $5 billion in Harvey aid

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Almost a year after Hurricane Harvey dumped historic rains on Texas, the state will receive more than $5 billion for a range of flood control projects, repairs and studies, the Trump administration announced Thursday. […] [About $1 billion] will … Continue reading →

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Council approves initial Harvey housing aid

Posted on June 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. Houston City Council has approved a plan to direct how the first long-term federal housing aid headed this way after Hurricane Harvey will be spent, targeting $600 million to repair or build single-family homes and $375 million … Continue reading →

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County officially puts flood bond referendum on the ballot

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday unanimously agreed to place a $2.5 billion flood infrastructure bond before voters on Aug. 25, the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey. If passed, the bond would be the largest local investment … Continue reading →

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Final county report on Harvey

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It was what we thought it was. In the weeks and months after Hurricane Harvey, the evidence of its historic scope and intensity trickled out bit by bit: Record rainfall totals. Record reservoir levels. Record destruction. Now, nine months after … Continue reading →

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Who’s willing to tell Trump he’s all wet?

Posted on June 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not Greg Abbott or Dan Patrick. During a visit to Pinkerton’s Barbecue on Friday afternoon, gubernatorial candidate Lupe Valdez said Gov. Greg Abbott failed to forcefully refute the president, who said on Wednesday that some Texans “went out in their … Continue reading →

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If I had a boat…

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

…I wouldn’t have used it to go Harvey-watching. Where does he get this crap? President Donald Trump praised the Coast Guard for its heroics during Hurricane Harvey Wednesday, but credited the high number of water rescues to people taking their … Continue reading →

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The criteria for Harvey accountability waivers

Posted on June 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here they are. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath on Wednesday released the criteria he will use to decide how to waive state ratings for schools affected by Hurricane Harvey, more than nine months after it made landfall. Schools impacted by … Continue reading →

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The Cornyn Ike Dike bill

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Credit where credit is due. With hurricane season right around the corner, Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said Wednesday he is introducing legislation to expedite a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study on a coastal barrier to mitigate storm damage … Continue reading →

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Abbott versus Houston on Harvey funds

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Gov. Greg Abbott blasted the city of Houston for its response to Hurricane Harvey Wednesday, critiquing what he described as a lack of sound financial planning and sluggish progress repairing flooded homes. … Continue reading →

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We’ll be voting on flood control bonds in August

Posted on May 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not my first choice, but it is what it is. Harris County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to seek a special election on Aug. 25 for what likely will be a multi-billion-dollar bond package that, if approved by voters, would be … Continue reading →

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The timing of a Harvey bond referendum

Posted on April 30, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

How does August grab you? Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday will consider calling a special election for August 25 — the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey — to ask voters to OK a massive bond referendum for flood control … Continue reading →

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There will never be a hurricane named Harvey again

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Or Irma or Maria or Nate. Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate were so destructive and deadly during the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season that the World Meteorological Organization’s Hurricane Committee decided this week to retire those names from future Atlantic Basin … Continue reading →

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Harvey-affected schools may get a break on the STAAR test

Posted on April 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Texas school districts hit hard by Hurricane Harvey may not have to worry as much about how well their students fare in this year’s standardized tests, Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath announced Wednesday at a meeting of the … Continue reading →

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Greater Houston Flood Mitigation Consortium report

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: “Strategies for Flood Mitigation in Greater Houston, Edition 1”, a report released today by the Greater Houston Flood Mitigation Consortium, calls for accelerating the paradigm shift underway in how the Houston area plans for and recovers from flooding … Continue reading →

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The Harvey effect on fire ants

Posted on April 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Possibly another reason to curse that storm. Rice University ecologists are checking to see if Hurricane Harvey’s unprecedented floods gave a competitive boost to fire ants and crazy ants, two of southeast Texas’ least favorite uninvited guests. Extreme weather events … Continue reading →

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Council approves new floodplain regulations

Posted on April 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve been waiting for this. Starting this fall, all new homes built in Houston’s floodplains must be elevated higher off the ground after a contentious debate and narrow vote by City Council on Wednesday to adopt the Bayou City’s first … Continue reading →

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Flood tunnels

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s so crazy, it just might work. The Harris County Flood Control District is exploring the possibility of building several massive, deep tunnels aimed at keeping storm water out of flood-prone neighborhoods and carry it underground for miles to the … Continue reading →

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Houston’s flood mitigation priorities

Posted on March 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The sooner the better with this. Converting a defunct golf course and dormant landfills into detention basins, digging new channels and buying out or elevating scores of homes are among Houston leaders’ key priorities as Hurricane Harvey recovery funds begin … Continue reading →

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How about we excavate those reservoirs?

Posted on March 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Okay by me. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is quietly exploring the possibility of excavating dirt from Addicks and Barker reservoirs, reviving an oft-discussed proposal that would allow the reservoirs to hold more storm water and keep it out … Continue reading →

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Will we ever get an Ike Dike?

Posted on February 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We will when it gets funded. When might it get funded? Ummm… If the Houston-Galveston region continues to boom for the next 60 years and sea level rises as scientists predict, a direct hit to Galveston from a massive hurricane … Continue reading →

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So where are we on Harvey response?

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Stuff is happening. Local and state leaders are moving toward a major, lengthy and costly overhaul of the region’s flood defenses that includes regulating development, massive buyouts of flood-prone properties and flood-prevention projects that have been discussed for decades but never built. Few of the … Continue reading →

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Will we or won’t we get a county bond election for flood control?

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Answer unclear, try again later. In an interview with the Chronicle, [Harris County Judge Ed] Emmett described the various factors that are at play as the county grapples with the possible bond referendum, which would be one of the biggest … Continue reading →

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Don’t hold your breath waiting for Harvey aid

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Your Republican Congress, ladies and gentlemen. Republican lawmakers were hammering out a stop-gap deal Wednesday to avert a weekend government shutdown of the federal government this weekend, setting aside a long-sought disaster aid package for the victims of Hurricane Harvey … Continue reading →

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County will try to repair criminal court building

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck with that. After twice closing the 20-story downtown criminal courthouse due to flood damage since it was completed in 2000, Harris County leaders are planning to repair the shuttered building so the next time it floods it can … Continue reading →

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