CAUSES OF THE RECENT FLOODING IN HOSUTON: THE WORST THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED IN THE LAST 12 YEARS
Recently, a storm hit Houston, which caused the city’s worst flooding in 12 years and left five people dead, officials said.
Over a thousand residents of apartment complexes in the northern Greenspoint area flee the rising floodwaters that covered nearby streets, floating to refuge with their children in rafts constructed from storage tanks and a refrigerator.
Traffic cameras exposed that two of the people killed in the storm drove around barricades preventing a flooded underpass, stated Michael Walter, a spokesman for the city’s emergency operation center.
The other three were found in cars on flooded roads since the storm began late Sunday, including one in nearby Waller County, explained the local sheriff’s chief deputy, Brian Cantrell.
Houston’s Harris County Judge Ed Emmett signed an impasse declaration that over 1,000 homes had flooded. That number was assumed to increase as area bayous swelled with runoff Tuesday.
“This is the second most devastating rainfall event in this area’s history after Tropical Storm Allison” in 2001, Walter said, “based on the volume ?f r?in th?t f?ll and wh?r? it fell.”
Alli??n l?ft 41 ????l? d??d, $5 billion in d?m?g?? and about 40 in?h?? ?f r?in. Thi? week’s storm dr????d m?r? th?n 17 in?h?? in 24 hours in some areas.
“W? n??d to b? careful and concerned about continuing rising water,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at a Monday afternoon briefing, announcing a state of disaster in the nine affected counties and advising residents to avoid flooded roads in coming days.
Houston ?m?rg?n?? crews got at least 700 high-water rescues, about d?ubl? what they n?rm?ll? d?, Walter ??id.
“We’ve had destruction ??r??? the ?it?,” h? ??id, from Greenspoint t? th? n?rth, down to A?r?? Homes ?nd M???rl?nd.
Tw? univ?r?it? ?r?f????r? ?nd th? U.S. Army C?r?? of Engineers say m?n? f??t?r? have led to th? recent flooding in Houston. H?w?v?r, th? bigg??t cause is the l?rg? extent ?f d?v?l??m?nt in H?u?t?n over the ???r?.
“When we put ??n?r?t? d?wn, wh?n w? build dr?in?g? ?h?nn?l?, w? ??n??ntr?t? th?t water ?nd dum? it ?n th? l?nd wh?r? it u??d t? b? ?t?r?d, w? push it downstream ?n ?ur??lv??. Th?t’? b??n th? story of H?u?t?n development,” ??id Ri?? University civil ?ngin??ring professor Jim Blackburn.
H? ???? th?t before development, ?r??? w??t ?f H?u?t?n in th? C??r???, Addi?k?, ?nd Barker watersheds h?ld large v?lum?? ?f w?t?r that n?w i? ducted into ?tr??m? ?nd th? m???iv? impeding ???l? of Addicks and Barker r???rv?ir?.
“Th?r? u??d t? be natural ?r?iri? h?r?. It w?? full ?f small w?tl?nd? ?r??? th?t w?r? d??r???i?n?. We pounded tr?m?nd?u? ?m?unt? ?f water,” Bl??kburn said.
Over d???d??, those ?r?iri?? h?v? disappeared.
In the 1930s, ?r??-l??d?r? kn?w H?u?t?n h?d a problem with wh?r? t? h?ld w?t?r after l?rg?-???l? r?in?.
Th? g?v?rnm?nt bought u? l?nd, mostly f?rml?nd, n?rth ?nd south ?f th? ?r???nt-d?? Katy Fr??w?? n??r Highw?? 6. Tw? gi?nt reservoirs w?r? ?r??t?d: Barker ?nd Addi?k?.
“Wh?n Congress authorized these projects, th? g??l w?? t? r?du?? th? ??t?nti?l f?r flooding along Buffalo B???u ?nd ?ll th? w?? t? the ship channel,” Ri?h?rd L?ng, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers f?r G?lv??t?n and H?u?t?n, said.
L?ng say th? B?rk?r ?nd Addi?k? ?r?j??t? ??rf?rm?d ?r???rl? during the ?t?rm ?n A?ril 18.
“W? ?r?v?nt?d ?v?r $5 billi?n d?ll?r? in damage, ?nd 24,000 h?m?? ?nd bu?in????? w?r? n?t fl??d?d ?? a result ?f th??? projects,” h? ??id.
Long ???? n? h?m?? w?r? flooded ?? a r??ult ?f h?lding water b??k in Addi?k? ?nd Barker reservoirs.
H? says h?m?? th?t fl??d?d in Bear Cr??k Villages ?b?v? th? reservoirs, f?r example, did ?? b???u?? n?w d?v?l??m?nt f?r??d water int? fast-moving ?tr??m?.
“The problem th?t occurred on th? day ?f th? storm w?? w?t?r tr?ing t? get into r???rv?ir? vi? th? streams: L?ngh?m, H?r????n, Bear Cr??k, M??d? ?r Buff?l? B???u. Th?? were ?v?rt?x?d by the amount of water that f?ll fr?m the ?k?,” Long ??id. “It’? n?t m?gi? that it happened. It were ju?t a matter ?f tim? wh?n it w?? g?ing t? h????n.”
M???rl?nd, built ?l?ng a bayou, w?? ?l?? ?m?ng th? h?rd??t-hit areas fl??d?d during a M?m?ri?l D?? ?t?rm l??t ???r, ?nd some residents h?d ju?t fini?h?d r?building, M???r Sylvester Turner n?t?d ?ft?r canceling hi? state ?f th? ?it? ?ddr???, ?l??ing ?it? ??urt? ?nd ?th?r ?ffi???.
Turner ?urv???d th? d?m?g?, vi?it?d a shelter ?nd di?tribut?d w?t?r in Greenspoint, wh?r? those ?v??u?t?d fr?m three flooded ???rtm?nt ??m?l?x?? ?t???d first ?t a nearby mall, th?n a ?h?lt?r.
“W?’r? going t? d? ?v?r?thing w? ??n on the ?l??nu? ?nd h?l? th?m put th?ir lives b??k together again,” Turn?r ??id.
Many ?f th? ?r??’? m?j?r highw??? ?kirt bayous that ?v?rfl?w?d during th? storm, ?nd r??id?nt? were ?till coping with high water Tuesday. S?m? ??h??l? r?m?in?d ?l???d.
“B???u?? th? watershed in the n?rthw??t ?nd n?rth are ?? slow to dr?in, the ?r??k? will ?t?? u?, ?nd the water in the r??dw??? will ?t?? high,” said Kim J??k??n, a spokeswoman f?r Harris County Flood C?ntr?l District. “W? didn’t ?x???t th? m?gnitud? ?f storm th?t we received.”
