Category Archives: Hurricane Katrina

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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The Harvey effect on marine research

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s tough being on the coast sometimes. Jagged splinters of wood stick out of the shoreline – all that’s left of a pier that once stretched 100 yards into the Gulf of Mexico. White plastic tarps flap in the whipping … Continue reading →

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The Harvey effect on the Waugh Street Bridge bat colony

Posted on December 26, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It was bad, but we hope they will recover. Tens of thousands of bats perished or were displaced from their home at the Waugh Bat Colony when Hurricane Harvey swept through the city this summer, according to bat experts. “Pre-Harvey, … Continue reading →

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The climate change effect on storms like Harvey

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

More likely and more extreme is the tl;dr version of this. The research presented Wednesday began soon after Harvey dumped feet of rain on the Houston area. World Weather Attribution — an international effort to analyze the potential influence of … Continue reading →

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One small piece of relief for Harvey-affected school districts

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not much, but it’s something. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath is not changing state standardized test dates for students affected by Hurricane Harvey, but he is waiving some requirements for certain students, his agency said Thursday. Students across the … Continue reading →

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Thinking big about fighting flooding

Posted on December 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Christof Spieler, on behalf of the Greater Houston Flood Mitigation Consortium, comments on a proposal to move forward post-Harvey. On Oct. 25, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett released 15 recommendations for mitigating damages from future flood events. The researchers collaborating … Continue reading →

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HISD proposes to rebuild four schools damaged by Harvey

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Seems reasonable. Students at four storm-damaged Houston ISD elementary schools wouldn’t return to their home campuses until at least 2020 under a district proposal for replacing the structures announced Monday. The $126-million plan calls for the four campuses — Braeburn, … Continue reading →

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The dolphins in the bay

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Dolphins in Galveston Bay are having health issues. Kristi Fazioli first spotted the pair of dolphins swimming behind a shrimp trawler near Morgan’s Point, eager to get a mouthful of breakfast. They appeared healthy as they popped in and out … Continue reading →

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The Harvey effect on the state budget

Posted on December 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

You know what the solution to this is, right? Senate leaders warned Tuesday that Hurricane Harvey could put a billion-dollar hole in Texas’ budget, an ever-growing number that could affect how much money is available for other state programs. Only … Continue reading →

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Harvey’s lingering health effects

Posted on December 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s going to be a long time before we can really say we have put Hurricane Harvey behind us. Three months after Hurricane Harvey, local health officials now are beginning to see the storm after the storm. In Harris County … Continue reading →

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County approves floodplain regulation change

Posted on December 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Five hundred is the new one hundred. The Harris County Commissioners Court voted unanimously on Tuesday to make significant changes to the way the county regulates new development, including a slew of new restrictions in Hurricane Harvey’s wake that officials … Continue reading →

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Cleaning up Buffalo Bayou

Posted on December 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This is a big job, and it’s going to take a long time. Three months after flood torrents from Hurricane Harvey submerged Buffalo Bayou Park under almost 39 feet of water, scars left by the storm are still evident. Mounds … Continue reading →

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Golf courses against flooding

Posted on December 3, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Washington Post looks at how Clear Lake made it through Harvey. Like many parts of Houston, Clear Lake City has a history of flooding. The area got an unexpected break when Hurricane Harvey dumped record rainfall, thanks to its decision years ago to … Continue reading →

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Organizing the guys with boats

Posted on December 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Remember all those volunteer rescuers who got in their boats to get flood victims during Harvey? Harris County remembers, and they would like to formalize that a bit for the next time. With emergency responders across the Houston area overwhelmed … Continue reading →

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The 100-year-storm isn’t what it used to be

Posted on November 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

They’re bigger. More than three months after Hurricane Harvey battered southeast Texas with unprecedented and costly flooding, an analysis of rainfall trends across Texas suggests the standards used to develop floodplain regulations, map flood zones and design flood control projects … Continue reading →

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Harris County to consider floodplain regulations change

Posted on November 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like a good idea to me. Nearly three months after Hurricane Harvey, Harris County is proposing using 500-year floodplains instead of 100-year floodplains for new development, the first significant overhaul of county elevation requirements in nearly two decades. The … Continue reading →

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Texas v the feds, disaster recovery funding edition

Posted on November 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This would be quite entertaining to watch, if the stakes weren’t so high. Texas Republicans on Friday panned the White House’s latest disaster aid request, with Gov. Greg Abbott calling it “completely inadequate” for the state’s needs in the wake … Continue reading →

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Harris County sues Arkema

Posted on November 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Harris County filed suit Thursday against Arkema over chemical fires at its Crosby plant in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, saying the company violated a long list of environmental, safety and building regulations and put first responders at risk. … Continue reading →

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More Harveys

Posted on November 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, climate change. The extreme rains that inundated the Houston area during Hurricane Harvey were made more likely by climate change, a new study suggests, adding that such extreme flooding events will only become more frequent as the globe continues … Continue reading →

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Harvey-related good news and bad news

Posted on November 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. An additional $90 million was approved Thursday to help expedite debris removal from Hurricane Harvey along Texas’ devastated Gulf Coast regions, including Houston. Gov. Greg Abbott and House and Senate leaders announced that the additional “emergency funding” from … Continue reading →

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School districts affected by Harvey ask for a break on testing

Posted on November 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

One way or another we’re going to have to reckon with this. Leaders of school districts heavily affected by Hurricane Harvey told a legislative panel on Monday that they would like to see Texas’ accountability and testing requirements relaxed in … Continue reading →

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Improving how animals are rescued

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

One of the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina was the need to rescue pets along with their owners, and to do everything possible to keep them together afterwards. This Texas Monthly story describes how that went with Harvey. There are … Continue reading →

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Is this development really necessary?

Posted on November 3, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Boy, the optics of this sure are lousy. The Houston City Council has indefinitely postponed a proposal to build hundreds of homes in a west Houston floodplain amid questions about whether city leaders’ actions would match their rhetoric about mitigating … Continue reading →

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A big ask for hurricane recovery

Posted on November 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck with that. I mean that mostly sincerely. Texas needs an additional $61 billion in federal disaster recovery money for infrastructure alone after Hurricane Harvey’s devastation, according to a report from the Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas that was … Continue reading →

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School districts don’t need gift registries

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

They need to have their needs met by the state. Texas school districts ravaged by Hurricane Harvey still need thousands of textbooks, dictionaries and other instructional resources, so the state’s education agency is borrowing a page from the wedding industry … Continue reading →

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JJ Watt announces his plan for Harvey relief funds

Posted on October 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This had been much anticipated. Hurricane Harvey victims, nonprofits and Texans fans alike have been on the edge of their seats to hear what J.J. Watt planned to do with the $37 million he raised for storm relief. As of … Continue reading →

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