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This week marks eight years since Hurricane Harvey hit the city of Houston. By the time it made landfall, it was just a tropical storm, but it still managed to cause around $125 billion in damages and claim over 100 lives.
The storm resulted in a region-wide conversation about flood preparedness and the passage of billions of dollars' worth of flood mitigation bonds. So nearly ten years later, many are asking if the Greater Houston Area is ready for another storm like Harvey?
According to the experts, in at least one regard, we are more prepared. Brian Murray, the Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator for Harris County, said, "I think where you would see a difference is that we'll be much better able to respond to things. We have more high-water rescue vehicles, we have more boats."
That's the good news. The bad news is, floods will unfortunately continue to be a part of life here on the Gulf Coast, at least for now. Murray pointed out that you can't solve the Harris County and Houston flood problems in eight years, saying, "Flood mitigation planning is a decades-long commitment."
He warned that in another situation similar to Hurricane Harvey, there's a strong likelihood that we would see some of the same flooding issues. The difference is, he thinks both local officials and even the citizens themselves will be more prepared for that potential flooding.
Murray also put an emphasis on the citizenry being ready to receive and respond to flood warnings, saying, "We can send emergency alerts till we're blue in the face, but if you haven't done some things to make sure your phone, your radio, your whatever, is ready to receive a message, that doesn't really help. And then if you're not prepared to take action steps based on those warnings...those issues are very much in the hands of our residents."