Why Does Houston Experience Frequent Flooding? | Explained

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Houston city in Texas often gets flooded due to multiple reasons discussed below.

Photo : AP

Flooding in Texas left a young child dead over the past weekend. As severe rainfall wreaked havoc in various parts of the state, two adults and an unidentified boy were trapped inside a car. However, the life of the younger one could not be saved, the rest of the others on the other hand were evacuated. The massive floods taking over the streets of major cities put a sharp focus back on the ongoing challenges faced by communities like Houston.

The boy, whose age is not known, was not rescued and that led to his demise in Johnson County. The incident took place just south of Fort Worth, where a family found themselves in a perilous situation during the early hours. Among those rescued, as per a CBS report, they were rushed

to a local hospital around 5 am, per local time.

The weather in the Midwest is going to be marred with storms capable of producing tornadoes on Monday. In addition to it, a flood watch remained in effect for southeastern Texas throughout Sunday. Especially, with meteorologists predicting several more inches of rain and possible runoff across a large area that encompasses the metropolis of Houston and is larger than 100 square miles.

Several water rescue operations were carried with an aim to help over 2 million residents in Texas. The authorities had to grapple with relentless downpours, that further delayed rescues over the weekend.

But this is not the first time that Houston's vulnerability got exposed due to massive flooding. A report by Associated Press (AP) claimed that the city weathered at least three dozen major floods since its inception, with one tragic event in April 2016 claiming eight lives.

Houston's geographic location, nestled along the banks of the Buffalo Bayou makes it prone to flooding, the report added. Due to it barely rising above sea level, the flat terrain and clay soil make it prone to water overflow and its level to rise. The region's humid climate and propensity for extreme rainfall acts as another challenge for the authorities to effectively prevent flooding in the Texas' city.

Houston's inadequate infrastructure makes it more susceptible to flooding. While the US Army Corps of Engineers constructed reservoirs in western Harris County during the 1940s, there haven't been many significant attempts to manage flooding since.

Climate change further adds another layer of complexity to Houston's flooding woes. The rise in rainfall in terms of its frequency as well as range exceeding up to 10 inches has doubled since the 1990s. The average cost per square mile across the country in recurrent flood losses is approximately $3,000, but in the greater Houston area, that amount soars to almost $500,000.