Category Archives: Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane season is (almost) upon us

Posted on May 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Are you ready? Be prepared for another busier-than-normal Atlantic hurricane season, NOAA warned Thursday. The agency is forecasting 13 to 20 named storms. Between six and 10 of those could become hurricanes and three to five could be major hurricanes … Continue reading →

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First look at the 2021 hurricane season

Posted on April 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, it’s getting to be that time of year. From Space City Weather: Good morning. The most reputable hurricane season forecasting service, led by Phil Klotzbach at Colorado State University, has released its first outlook for the 2021 Atlantic season. … Continue reading →

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No more Greek letter-named hurricanes

Posted on April 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Later, Eta. Sororities and fraternities can keep their Greek letters — hurricanes will no longer use them. The World Meteorological Organization, which maintains the rotating list of hurricane names and retires storm names when appropriate, has decided to stop using … Continue reading →

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There sure were a lot of named storms this year

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Thirty of them, in fact. The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season had a record 30 named storms. Twelve made landfall in the continental U.S., including five in Louisiana. Hurricane season ends Nov. 30 (that’s next week, so fingers crossed there isn’t … Continue reading →

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Who cares how much it will cost to build the Ike Dike?

Posted on November 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Imagine how much it will cost to recover from a catastrophic hurricane whose storm surge could have been mitigated by the Ike Dike. You know, like that hurricane from earlier this year that would have done exactly that had it … Continue reading →

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The post-Harvey flood control march

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a long journey, with a lot to be done. It’s going to take awhile. Most of Kenwood, a working class, mostly Latino neighborhood, is so deep in the 100-year floodplain that Harris County engineers have concluded no flood control … Continue reading →

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No, seriously, what are we going to do to prepare for the next Hurricane Laura?

Posted on September 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, the next one is coming whether we’re ready or not. We just don’t know when it will be here. Though the storm ultimately tracked east, sparing Houston, the problem remains: The region is disastrously unready to handle any … Continue reading →

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Just build the effing Ike Dike already

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Enough waiting around. As twin hurricanes converge on the Gulf Coast this week, including one with a decent chance of affecting the Houston-Galveston region, a highly ambitious proposal for protecting the area from a massive storm continues to slowly grind … Continue reading →

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The bullet we dodged

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We can exhale now. Following days of warnings and calls to take Laura seriously, Houston and Harris County awoke to a typical late August day Thursday, virtually unscathed by the category 4 hurricane’s overnight landfall in western Louisiana. The city … Continue reading →

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Hope now, support relief efforts next

Posted on August 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is so, so bad. And it’s terrifying to realize how much worse it could have been. With winds topping 150 mph, Hurricane Laura is approaching Category 5 status as it barrels toward the Texas-Louisiana border. As of 7 p.m., … Continue reading →

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Coronavirus and hurricane shelters

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Two things we have to be thinking about today. Houston officials and public health experts are expressing concern that Tropical Storm Laura could amplify the spread of COVID-19 by displacing residents to public shelters or residences outside the area, increasing … Continue reading →

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Here comes Laura

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Be prepared. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo urged residents to prepare for a hurricane as the track and intensity of Tropical Storm Laura remains uncertain. She said the greatest threat posed by Laura likely would be high winds and a … Continue reading →

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Hurricane season is just getting started

Posted on August 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just, you know, because we don’t have enough to be anxious about. Already smashing records, this year’s hyperactive Atlantic hurricane season is about to get even nastier, forecasters predict. In the coming months, they expect to run out of traditional … Continue reading →

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More like Ike than Harvey

Posted on July 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure this is a choice I want to have to make, but here we are. Hurricanes are expected to blow through Texas more quickly during the last 25 years of this century. A study led by Rice University researcher … Continue reading →

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Hurricanes and pandemics

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Summertime in the Gulf Coast, y’all. Dealing with multiple disaster threats at the same time is nothing new for Francisco Sanchez. As a 15-year emergency management veteran for Harris County, Sanchez understands the anxiety tugging at local officials wary of … Continue reading →

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By the way, it’s hurricane season again

Posted on May 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just FYI. An above-normal Atlantic hurricane season is expected this year, including three to six major storms with winds over 111 mph, according to a forecast released Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This would make 2020 the … Continue reading →

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More flood tunnel studies

Posted on December 31, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Has some promise. With engineers working at a feverish pace to get more than 200 projects in its $2.5 billion bond program moving, much of the Flood Control District’s efforts are focused on nuts-and-bolts improvements — including widening bayous, digging … Continue reading →

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Army Corps held liable for Harvey reservoir flooding

Posted on December 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

A big deal. Thousands of Houston area residents and property owners landed a historic win against the U.S. government on Tuesday when a federal judge found that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is liable for damage caused when it … Continue reading →

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The state will be handling the Harvey relief funds

Posted on October 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t worry your pretty little heads about it. Texas is likely another nine months from getting $4.3 billion in federal post-Hurricane Harvey recovery money aimed at better protecting the state from future flooding and disasters. But when it finally arrives, … Continue reading →

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Once again, we wait for disaster relief funds

Posted on September 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

At least people know the drill by now. Five deaths are linked to floods from Tropical Storm Imelda, the worst storm in Texas since Hurricane Harvey and one of the wettest tropical cyclones in the nation’s history, according to the … Continue reading →

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The cumulative effect

Posted on September 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We really need to give a lot more thought, and action, to this. As the flood-weary city of Houston recovers from yet another historic storm in the coming days, rubber-gloved mucking brigades and tow truck armies will swoop in to … Continue reading →

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Risk management is hard

Posted on September 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I have a lot of sympathy for these school officials. At least 20 school districts in Greater Houston opted to stay open as the remnants of Tropical Depression Imelda bore down on the region Thursday, decisions that angered some parents … Continue reading →

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Tropical Storm Imelda

Posted on September 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

That escalated very quickly. Heavy rainfall from now-downgraded Imelda continued to wreak havoc Thursday for much of southeast Texas, where officials were dealing with impassable roadways, downed trees, power outages, hundreds of high-water rescues, fast-rising water and in one small … Continue reading →

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It’s still supposed to be a busy hurricane season

Posted on August 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hurricane season technically lasts until December 1, but this is the peak of it, so keep paying attention. Don’t be lulled by a quiet June and July. The real Atlantic hurricane season is about to kick off. The hurricane season … Continue reading →

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Some flood mitigation funds are coming

Posted on August 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded Houston its first grant aimed at mitigating flooding since Hurricane Harvey hit nearly two years ago, laying the groundwork for new gates on the Lake Houston dam and detention basins in Inwood … Continue reading →

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The Ike Dike debate continues

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There’s more than one way to mitigate against flooding, and it may be best to adopt more than one of them. For about a decade, two of Texas’ top universities have pushed dueling plans to protect the Houston-Galveston region from … Continue reading →

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The Dutch way to mitigate against floods

Posted on July 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We can learn a lot from this largely-below-sea-level country. On a sunny Friday in late May, a jubilant wedding party scrambled to the top of a colossal sand dune in this tiny Dutch beach town for a photoshoot, bridesmaids’ arms … Continue reading →

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We still have a lot of broken flood mitigation infrastructure

Posted on June 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Did I mention that hurricane season is underway? As the Atlantic hurricane season arrives Saturday, Harris County leaders say the region remains extremely vulnerable to major storms two years after Hurricane Harvey’s unprecedented rains swamped the Houston area, forcing leaders … Continue reading →

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Hurricane season again

Posted on June 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

As always, we hope for the best. The National Hurricane Center predicted Thursday that a near-normal Atlantic hurricane season is most likely this year, meaning a likely range of nine to 15 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), … Continue reading →

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Another big flood would be bad

Posted on May 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Breaking news, but this is worth paying attention to. Housing sales would drop, gasoline prices would increase and Texas would lose hundreds of billions of dollars in economic output if a major storm struck an unprotected coastline, according to a … Continue reading →

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We’re still figuring out how to do development in a floodplain

Posted on April 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The Greater Houston Flood Mitigation Consortium has released dual research reports that examine current standards in the area’s drainage, detention, and development regulations. The reports also include findings that encourage implementation of new and updated flood management infrastructure approaches … Continue reading →

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Still lots of houses at risk of flooding

Posted on March 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is going to take a long time to really mitigate. A new study is raising concerns that restrictions on new construction put in place after Hurricane Harvey could leave low-income residents with fewer choices for affordable housing. More than … Continue reading →

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Senate presents disaster relief bills

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Better late than never, though why they’re late remains a subject of interest. More than a year and a half after Hurricane Harvey ravaged the state, Texas Senate leaders announced a $1.8 billion trio of disaster relief bills on Wednesday that they … Continue reading →

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Flood tunnel study funds

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Could be cool. The Harris County Flood Control District is set to receive a $320,000 federal grant to study the feasibility of constructing deep underground tunnels to move stormwater to the Houston Ship Channel without overburdening the area’s bayous. The … Continue reading →

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