Tag Archives: Hurricane Harvey

Where HISD stands today

Posted on April 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In a holding pattern, waiting for direction. In the winter of 2019, two committees composed of Houston ISD employees, parents and advocates issued recommendations for how the district should tackle two of its thorniest issues: campus funding practices and access … Continue reading →

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Chron analysis puts freeze death total at 194

Posted on April 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Sobering, to say the least. The deaths of nearly 200 people are linked to February’s cold snap and blackouts, a Houston Chronicle analysis reveals, making the natural disaster one of the worst in Texas this past century. The tally, which … Continue reading →

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The infrastructure bill and the Ike Dike

Posted on April 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This is encouraging. President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan sure seems to be considering building the Ike Dike. His $2 trillion plan includes improving and strengthening infrastructure in coastal areas most vulnerable during hurricane season. Biden pitched part of the American … Continue reading →

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Winter storm death count now at 111

Posted on March 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

A revision of the numbers. Expect this to happen at least once more. At least 111 Texans died as a result of last month’s winter storm, according to updated numbers released Thursday by the state Department of State Health Services. … Continue reading →

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Winter storm death count at 57

Posted on March 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This is likely to rise as we get better data. At least 57 people died in Texas as a result of last month’s winter storm, according to preliminary data the state health department released Monday. The largest number of deaths … Continue reading →

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Flood funding shortfall

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Still trying to understand this. Harris County on Tuesday revealed a $1.4 billion shortfall in funding for flood control projects under the bond program voters approved in 2018, a massive miscalculation that threatens to cause construction delays and cost taxpayers … Continue reading →

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The freeze was hard on the bats

Posted on March 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Dammit. The bat colony under the bridge at Waugh Drive in Buffalo Bayou Park, a beloved staple of the city, was severely impacted by last week’s winter storm. While the full extent of the damage is still unknown, many of … Continue reading →

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Why is Greg Abbott doing so little to help Texas recover from the freeze?

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

If this Politico story doesn’t make you mad, then either you’re a Greg Abbott shill or you really need to check your priors. Assessing the effectiveness of disaster response is a famously fraught political game. What looks like a master … Continue reading →

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Now we get to worry about food

Posted on February 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Because the supply chain also suffered from the massive power outages. The state’s week of weather hell started with a deadly 133-car pileup outside of Fort Worth. A winter storm unlike any Texas has ever seen quickly followed, and seven … Continue reading →

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Why can’t we get our jail population down?

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I found this story from Thanksgiving weekend frustrating. Harris County’s efforts to reduce its jail population have flatlined, despite more than $7.5 million aimed at alleviating systemic burdens so that the county could attempt to reduce its inmates by a … 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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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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So how’s Greg Abbott doing post-mask order?

Posted on July 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Greg Abbott consistently polls as the politician with the highest approval rating in the state. He was basking in adulation a few weeks ago when things were reopening and the coronavirus numbers still looked good. How are things going for … Continue reading →

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Meanwhile, the jail is filling up again

Posted on June 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We really need to do something about this. The Harris County Jail population has been steadily rising since late April and is now approaching its pre-pandemic capacity despite early efforts to curb crowding, according to the sheriff’s office. With an … Continue reading →

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So you want some flood bond project money?

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County plays a little hardball. Harris County on Tuesday plans to restrict flood bond projects to municipalities that meet its floodplain development standards, effectively forcing the 34 cities within its borders to adopt stricter rules to access the $2.5 … Continue reading →

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Meet your recovery czars

Posted on April 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

For Harris County: Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Monday named state Rep. Armando Walle the county’s COVID-19 recovery czar as local leaders determine how to eventually ease restrictions on public life meant to slow the spread of the disease. … Continue reading →

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Hotze sues Abbott and Paxton

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just another day at the office for this guy. A group of conservative activists and pastors that’s challenging Harris County’s stay-at-home order is now also suing Gov. Greg Abbott, claiming his recent executive order to stem the spread of Covid-19 … 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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Next up for Mayor Turner

Posted on December 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

A preview of his second term agenda. Mayor Sylvester Turner said he would seek to enact “transformational” changes in his second term, previewing an agenda that will require city leaders to confront politically difficult issues and vastly expand the use … Continue reading →

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The state of the county 2019

Posted on November 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has a lot of accomplishments to tout. Harris County in the past year has made significant progress on flood control, criminal justice and improving public health, County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in her first State … 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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The Chron’s overview of the Mayor

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a fair picture. Mayor Sylvester Turner hugged his way through three dozen staff and supporters, reached the podium, and smiled. It was May 2017, and Turner’s landmark pension reform bill had just passed the Legislature, validating his decision to … 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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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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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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I for one am happy to be anti-drowning

Posted on August 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’m almost irrationally furious about this. Wednesday’s event by the Bayou City Initiative was billed “Flood Resiliency and the State of City Infrastructure.” So, it was no surprise to see featured speaker Carol Haddock, head of Houston Public Works, get … 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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Who needs disaster recovery funds?

Posted on May 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Not this guy. A bipartisan group of Texas members of Congress will have to wait until early next month to see passage on a long-sought measure that will release more than $4 billion dollars in aid to parts of Texas … Continue reading →

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Kinder Houston Area Survey 2019

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s one of the best things about Houston, year after year. As Houston recovered from last week’s punishing rains, Rice University researchers reported Monday that public concern about flooding has diminished, while residents are ambivalent about certain policies aimed at … Continue reading →

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