Flooding

Catch Up With Austin's CodeNEXT
CodeNEXT is one of the most ambitious, and controversial, zoning reform projects ongoing in the country, with lessons to offer planners all over the country in code writing, public outreach, and planning outcomes.

Moody’s: Climate Change Will Affect Your Credit Rating
The agency has created an economic incentive for cities, states and counties to deal with environmental threats.

Hurricane Harvey and the Failure of the National Flood Insurance Program
Houston's most recent natural disaster is only the latest example of how a program created to help homeowners has been a greater benefit to the industries that profit from them.

Challenges in Rebuilding Houston Extend Beyond Development
Michael Kimmelman, architecture critic of The New York Times, looks beyond sprawl and development issues that challenge Houston in its rebuilding efforts. An anti-urban, anti-regulation bias from the statehouse isn't helping matters.

Future Floods May Test Tokyo's Defenses
Despite the presence of a formidable (and expensive) underground flood control system, Tokyo may confront floods and rainfall that will challenge the city's capacity to protect itself.

Hurricane Nate to Test New Orlean's Drainage System
Nate will make landfall southeast of New Orleans on Saturday night as possibly a category 2 hurricane after leaving at least 22 dead in Central America. It's not so much the levees but the pumps and generators that have city officials worried.

Up and Running: The Speedy Recovery of Houston's City Hall
Following Hurricane Harvey, Houston's City Hall became flooded with four feet of water, rendering the building's electrical and mechanical equipment useless. Restoring power back to City Hall quickly was crucial in aiding the recovery efforts.

New York Updating its Flood Resilience Zoning
New York City intends to make sure that zoning codes are a tool for preventing the risks of flooding.

How the National Flood Insurance Program Sabotaged Itself
Having charged low rates during years of bumper development, the National Flood Insurance Program worked at cross-purposes with itself while development continued on.

Will Americans Ever Move Out of Flood-Prone Areas?
After a series of hurricanes, experts discuss how guide people out of the way of the most deadly floods and storms.

Harvey Flooding Unlikely to Depress Houston's Housing Market
Vigorous continued demand for Houston homes left some realtors surprised after the city endured catastrophic flooding. For a lot of new construction, elevated homes may become the norm.

Homeland Security Advisor Recognizes Effects of Climate Change, Ignores Causes
In response to a question linking Hurricanes Irma and Harvey to climate change, White House Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert appeared to recognize the need to adapt. He qualified his statement regarding the "cause" of said climate change.

Long Island Developers Taking Storm Risk Seriously
Tree-huggers many of them are not, but there's consensus among Long Island developers that storm resilience is an investment worth making.

Houston Flooding: Climate Change or Development Patterns to Blame?
The Guardian's former environmental editor asks if urban sprawl is as much to blame as climate change for the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston.

EPA's Scott Pruitt Dismisses Global Warming Connection to Houston Flooding
While any one event can not be attributed to global warming, climate scientists have long acknowledged a connection to extreme weather. Pruitt, a climate denier, dismisses any such connection with the amount of rainfall from Hurricane Harvey.

The Culprit of Houston Flooding: Sprawl, Not Lack of Zoning
As Houston's flood waters recede and attention turns from rescue to recovery and soon rebuilding, critics have pointed to the city's lack of zoning as the cause of the devastation. But are they looking in the right direction?

Houston's Drainage Problem
Houston received over 50 inches of rain from Hurricane Harvey in five days. While no city could survive that drenching unscathed, Houston was not prepared to handle the floods due to decades of neglect of stormwater management planning.

Can Zoning Mitigate Flooding? Yes...And No
Houston's flooding might be mitigated by land use regulation- but not the type of regulations that most cities have.

New Orleans Stormwater Systems Failing Again
In an underreported fact, it has rained every day since April 1 in New Orleans this year. The city is struggling to deploy stormwater infrastructure, however, and flooding overwhelmed drainage again this month, on the cusp of hurricane season.

Sea Level Rise Will Displace Communities in Every Corner of the Bay Area
Sea level rise is already flooding communities with such regularity that many residents are deciding to leave. The sea level rise tipping point will expand its reach as the climate changes.
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