Hurricane Harvey's Lasting Impact on Houston

 Published Aug 26, 2022 by Brina Morales

Five years ago, Hurricane Harvey ravaged Greater Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast. Harvey hit our region as a storm, dumping as much as 60 inches of rain in some areas over four days, producing $125 billion in damages, and killing 36 people in Harris County alone. Harvey's devastation transformed Houston, bringing the community and leaders together to plan for a better tomorrow. Here are four takeaways as we reflect on the anniversary.

Since Harvey, the City of Houston has launched several initiatives, including Resilient Houston, a framework to focus not only on recovery but long-term stability. Despite funding challenges, both the city and county are working on green infrastructure solutions and other innovative options including turning neighborhood parks into stormwater detention basins, creating wetlands, building rain gardens, buying out properties in flood plains, building flood resilient multi-family apartments, enacting new building codes for new home construction and more. The Harris County Flood Control District is also exploring a $30-billion network of underground stormwater tunnels to alleviate flooding. In the fall, Houston Community College will launch new courses focused on building a resilient workforce to prepare the region for future disasters.

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Following the damage caused by Harvey and pandemic-related shutdowns, Downtown is once again humming, but it came at a cost. It took 13 months for the Wortham Center, the second-largest performing arts center in the nation, to reopen after the storm. The Harris County Criminal Justice Center remains under construction after floodwaters damaged the 20-story building. Some businesses along Buffalo Bayou never reopened, while others adapted to the possibility of another flood, including what’s now known as McIntyre’s Downtown, the former iconic Spaghetti Warehouse. Solutions to protect businesses and homes in the downtown area and along White Oak and Buffalo bayous are in the works, including the North Canal Project, which is in the design phase with construction scheduled to begin in 2024.

According to SBP Houston, a long-term disaster recovery nonprofit organization, thousands of families are still trying to rebuild their homes and lives five years after Harvey. The storm damaged more than 150,000 homes in Harris County alone.

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"Our goal is to stay here until every family impacted by Harvey has a safe, sanitary, secure home to live in,” said Kaitlyn Perez, SBP’s community engagement manager.


Article from: 

https://www.houston.org/news/hurricane-harveys-lasting-impact-houston


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