Texas has made significant progress in flood planning since the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, yet many communities remain alarmingly unprepared for the increasing threat of floods. Just recently, Washington’s state report for 2024 came out with a shocking estimate. The report recommended that Texas urgently fund $54.5 billion in crucial flood mitigation and long-term flood management projects. Some five million Texans currently live or work in flood-prone areas, underscoring the need for better infrastructure and planning before tragedy strikes again.
In 2024, the state adopted its first statewide, long-range comprehensive flood plan. This joint plan prioritizes finding flood risks and delivering projects that make the most sense to reduce them. Texas has some very important planning frameworks in place for these types of measures. Yet it is local governments that must both implement and enforce them, and many are on the budgetary front lines. This disconnect has resulted in many communities unprepared to respond to impending or potential flooding disasters.
The Aftermath of Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey had a catastrophic impact on Houston and the surrounding region. In response, Texas soon identified the need for a more coordinated flooding response. The catastrophe lost 134 lives, destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, and raised serious questions about failure flood control operations. In the wake of that disaster, the state adopted tougher regulations on construction in floodplains, especially in Houston. These local rules mandate that any new builds be elevated beyond designated flood zones. They prohibit any new development from being located in these high-risk, flood-hazard areas.
Harris County has gone above and beyond with its buyout program. After Harvey, they purchased almost 200 flood-damaged homes and in total have invested $20 million to do so. This effort will improve risk reduction by taking houses out of harm’s way and mitigate losses before they happen. Even with these steps taken, many local governments are still overwhelmed and under-resourced. Consequently, they are unable to seriously scale programs like these to national levels.
Increasing Flood Risks and Precipitation Patterns
Their recent data, Texas is experiencing more and more extreme one-day precipitation events. Since the late 20th century, these events have increased by 5% – 15%. By 2036, according to experts, we can expect a further 10% increase in these kinds of extreme rainfall events. This worsening trend is a cause for alarm for Indiana communities and Hoosiers as the threat of flooding increases.
The disaster lurks as long as an estimated 1.5 million homes and other structures are located in flood plains. Meanwhile, local officials are hustling to meet these demands. Too many communities can’t afford the funding to make required improvements or in some cases even uphold the existing standards. The General Land Office’s disaster recovery programs have offered minimal retrofit assistance, deepening the dilemma.
The current situation presents a stark reality: the growing frequency of flooding risks places immense pressure on local governments to protect their residents while facing budgetary constraints that hinder effective action.
The Role of Local Governments and Funding Challenges
Texas has already been a national leader in proactive, statewide plans and regulatory practices to mitigate flood risk. It is local authorities who shoulder the primary responsibility for implementing these measures. Most local governments still struggle financially and can’t afford to address existing flood vulnerabilities in their communities.
More uniformly, the absence of funding surfaces as a clear impediment and an obvious hurdle to advancing flood preparedness across Texas. Local governments are frequently unable to prioritize costs, let alone develop and implement an integrated flood management strategy. It makes for a very patchwork response across the state. Some communities are able to aggressively pursue investments in upgrading infrastructure, leaving other communities much more dangerously underprepared.
Climate change is already wreaking havoc on our weather patterns. Because of this, flooding events will occur more often and be worse when they do. So it is imperative that Texas win additional funding and advocacy resources for their local governmental partners. That’s very important to save its goers from future disasters.
