Houston Fears Warming Will Cause Catastrophic Flooding

Sam Brody is not a real estate agent, but when his friends want to move home they get in touch to ask for advice.  He is a flood impact expert in Houston — and he has plenty of work to keep him busy.

The Texas metropolis has more casualties and property loss from floods than any other locality in the U.S., according to data stretching back to 1960 that Brody researched with colleagues.  And, he said, “Where the built environment is a main force exacerbating the impacts of urban flooding, Houston is number one and it’s not even close.”

Near the Gulf Coast, Houston is also at annual risk from hurricanes: it is now into the start of the 2017 season, which runs from this month to November.  Ike, the last hurricane to hit the Houston region, caused $34 billion in damage and killed 112 people across several states in September 2008.

There is little hope the situation is going to get better any time soon.  Earlier this month, days after Donald Donald Trump announced the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris accord on climate change, a new report warned that rare U.S. floods will become the norm if emissions are not cut.

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