Flood

A man helping strangers remove flood-damaged items from their home in a suburb of Townsville, in the Australian state of Queensland, on Thursday.  Credit Dan Peled/EPA, via Shutterstock

nytimes.com - by Livia Albeck-Ripka - February 7, 2019

. . . Community support is the biggest predictor of how well people recover from disasters, “over and above the horrors of the trauma” . . .

As climate change makes it likely that disasters will become more intense and frequent, researchers are studying how communities respond, and what they need to be resilient. Being part of a community response can be “protective” . . .

. . . the real danger zone is six to 12 months after a disaster strikes. It is then, experts agree, when the news coverage fades and others seem to move on, that residents who are still struggling with practical issues, like insurance claims, and emotional trauma, can feel abandoned.

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Hurricane Harvey was only the latest storm to flood many residents in the Memorial City area, and numerous other Houston-area neighborhoods, such as these homes near Interstate 10 East. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )  Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff / Houston Chronicle

houstonchronicle.com - by Mike Morris - January 19, 2019

In Texas’ first legislative session post Hurricane Harvey, lawmakers have filed bills aimed at better alerting homeowners to their flood risk, lessening the damage of future storms and lowering disaster victims’ tax bills.

Whether these or similar proposals pass, a key question confronting lawmakers is whether to allocate cash for disaster recovery and prevention from Texas’ so-called rainy day fund, which is projected to reach $15 billion at the end of the coming biennium if not touched.

A routine Senate bill providing supplemental funding for the 2018-2019 biennium proposes to draw $1.2 billion from the Economic Stabilization Fund to cover various state agencies’ Harvey expenses. The bill also includes seven placeholder allocations to several agencies, with appropriations for Harvey costs to be filled in later.

Graphic of Texas shows the updated rainfall values in inches that define certain extreme events, such as the 100-year storm. Courtesy of NOAA

CLICK HERE - ENLARGED TEXAS MAP (1 page .PDF file)

New topographic and predictive rainfall data means more people in Harris County will be mapped in floodplains.

houstonpublicmedia.org - by Davis Land - November 26, 2018

When Hurricane Harvey left so much of Houston underwater, it highlighted a problem that’s been getting worse for years: Harris County’s existing floodplain maps just don’t work.

In the year since the historic storm, flood control officials have promised to change that, and they already had plans to redo the maps, but new data on the geography of the area and the amount of rainfall forecasters expect in the future means the new maps could look drastically different.

It’s crucial the maps are done right, as people are using the maps, meant to set flood insurance premiums, for more than they are intended . . . 

The flood maps don’t factor in sea level rise or changes in extreme weather, and many are years out of date. In Mexico Beach, 'minimal-risk' homes were swept away.

insideclimatenews.org - by James Bruggers - November 1, 2018

The official map laid it out for more than 200 homes within the community of Mexico Beach, Florida: the federal government had characterized their flooding risks as minimal, despite their near-beachfront locations.

That meant for them there were no requirements to buy flood insurance, and local residents say many did not.

When Hurricane Michael and its 155-mile-per-hour winds slammed into the town on Oct. 10, with a storm surge of perhaps 19 feet, the result was devastation. An analysis by coastal geologists from Western Carolina University has found that 70 percent of the homes were demolished. Another 10 percent were severely damaged.