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  • 1.  What Happening in Houston on Getting Ready for The Next Big One ?

    Posted 21 days ago
    Edited by Tirza Austin 21 days ago

    Lived in Houston for about a year and sure we will have a major Hurricane event . Going there next week . What as engineers doing going forward to control loss. 



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    Len Andersen 
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  • 2.  RE: What Happening in Houston on Getting Ready for The Next Big One ?

    Posted 21 days ago

    Lots of stuff is happening.

    1. Voters approved a $2.5 billion flood mitigation bond.  https://www.hcfcd.org/2018-bond-program
    2. City and county have strengthened already very strict floodplain development rules that include freeboard and "no adverse impact" floodplain modeling.   https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH19FL
    3. Local engineers won a lawsuit that requires the City of Houston to spend streets and drainage utility revenue on that type of infrastructure.  https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/city-of-houston/2025/04/16/518969/city-of-houston-slashes-budget-deficit-as-mayor-reaches-deal-with-plaintiffs-in-streets-and-drainage-lawsuit/
    4. Harris County Flood Control District continues to partner with USACE on flood mitigation infrastructure planning, including an evaluation of deep, large diameter tunnels.   https://www.hcfcd.org/Activity/Projects/Countywide-or-Multi-Watershed/Countywide-Capital-Projects/Z-08-SAFER-Study
    5. The State of Texas just adopted its first ever state wide flood plan.  https://www.twdb.texas.gov/flood/planning/sfp/index.asp
    6. The Federal government has authorized a coastal protection project that includes sea gates similar to those in Holland.  https://coastaltexasproject.com/
    7. The State of Texas created the Gulf Coast Protection District to serve as the local sponsor and maintenance entity for the coastal protection project.  Gulf Coast Protection District

    Hope this helps!



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    Michael Bloom, PE, AICP,
    ENV SP, BCEE
    Sustainability Practice Manager
    5engineering, LLC
    Houston TX
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: What Happening in Houston on Getting Ready for The Next Big One ?

    Posted 19 days ago

    Michael – your list shows the multi-institutional awareness and approach – in mitigating the Houston Storm Surge and storm induced intense rain-flooding problems. It is encouraging. When diverse thinking are given a chance to flower – there appear clarity and convergence of solution options, and thoughtful screening of them.

    About the USACE-GCPD partnership project with others – it's interesting to note that the concept of Flood Barrier Systems – in entirety or in adaptation of some sort, is in action. I remember attending a session of the 2006 Coastal Engineering Conference in San Diego, where Dutch experts presented their approach to mitigating the 2005-type Hurricane Katrina storm surge devastation of New Orleans. At that time, the response to the Dutch polder-type water management solutions of coastal flat low lands – was rather muted, although this management philosophy and technology have been there with success for over 5 decades.

    Dilip

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    Dr. Dilip K Barua, Ph.D

    Website Links and Profile


    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: What Happening in Houston on Getting Ready for The Next Big One ?

    Posted 20 days ago

    Expanding on your question, one can take a number of steps as an individual homeowner for storm preparedness. I used the term storm as much of Jouston is at risk of flooding and structural inundation from random rain events. Individual mitigations not in any order include

    1. Know the risk of flooding to your property. The FEMA maps are only a starting point
    2. Carry federal flood insurance insurance regardless of your risk zone.
    3. If your house is at risk of structural inundation, have a plan to protect valuables and items susceptible to water damage. 
    4. Ensure that your property has adequate drainage to prevent ponding that coild lead to structural inundation. 
    5. Keep the stormwater catch basins near your house free and clear of debris. 
    6. Follow the https://fortifiedhome.org/guidelines when rebuilding or making improvements. 
    7. Subscribe to notifications from the Harris County Flood Control District. 
    8. Keep your trees trimmed by professionals who know what they are doing. 
    9. Participante in your local HOA, to stay informed. 



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    Mitch Winkler P.E.(inactive), M.ASCE
    Houston, TX
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    Original Message


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