Floods

Potomac River

Low-Lying Alexandria Must Adjust to Rising Waters

Alexandria, Virginia's waterfront was built on landfill below the natural elevation of the Potomac River. City officials hope to build new seawalls to protect that area from floods.

September 18, 2018 - Greater Greater Washington

Levee

Unequal Flood Protection Makes Floods Worse for Some Communities

Levees can save towns, but they can also push water downstream making floods worse, meaning that if wealthier places are protected, it’s sometimes at the expense of poor communities.

August 17, 2018 - ProPublica

Big Flat, California

Songs About Places: Water, Rain, and Rivers

A playlist for those who seek inspiration from water—whether it's falling from the sky or running downhill.

March 7, 2018 - James Brasuell

Fargo, North Dakota

Minnesota Offers Models for Stormwater Management

Reflecting its reputation as the land of 10,000 lakes, Minnesota's highly developed water management infrastructure can be instructive for states facing frequent floods.

November 29, 2017 - Brookings

Cheonggyecheon Daylighting

Bringing Urban Rivers Back Into the Daylight

"Daylighting" rivers in urban areas is the process of uncovering waterways to beautify cities, support habitats, and aid drainage.

September 15, 2017 - The Guardian

Rockaway Beach

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.

September 13, 2017 - Newsday

Hydroelectric Power

Lessons from Oroville: Resilience for Scarcity and Abundance

Swings in weather-related fortunes will continue to push to unprecedented extremes, in California, in Texas, in Boston, in Long Island, in Louisiana, and everywhere else.

February 15, 2017 - James Brasuell

Getting Raised in Gentilly, Loisiana

Louisiana Dials Back Requirements for Elevating Homes in Flood Areas

Housing market pressures, flood insurance costs, changing FEMA maps, and improved methods of flood control are giving victims of flood damage in Louisiana mixed signals on how high they should rebuild their homes.

September 22, 2016 - The Advocate (Louisiana)

Houston Flood

Developments Surrounding Houston's Distressed Dams

The Houston Chronicle continues a series of feature articles about the persistent flooding of the region. The latest installment examines the tenuous position of the Addicks and Barker dams.

September 6, 2016 - Houston Chronicle

Baton Rouge Louisiana

Lessons from Louisiana

We should have seen the historic flooding in the Florida Parishes region of Louisiana coming—both in preparation and in response—says a pair of recent articles.

August 31, 2016 - The Conversation

One Geologist Predicted Floods in St. Louis Months Before They Struck

Hindsight is 20-20, but so too sometimes is the foresight of geologists. That was the case prior to the flooding that struck St. Louis this December.

January 3, 2016 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Poor Urban Planning at Heart of Devastation in India's Torrential Rains

The death toll from the torrential rains in Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu state, and the surrounding region has climbed to 345 as of Dec. 4. While the scope of the rains are unprecedented, poor urban planning has been linked to the devastation.

December 8, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Nashville Metro Council Rejects $100 Million Downtown Flood Control Project

Opponents of the capital investment plan rejected the plan on the basis that it focused too much on the downtown area.

June 11, 2015 - The New York Times

Floods Create Trash Collection Stink in Oakland County

Recent heavy rains in Oakland County, north of Detroit, have required the local waste authority to make temporary arrangements for sewage-soaked trash. Residents are not happy.

August 24, 2014 - Detroit Free Press

Friday Funny: Guy Riding Super Tall Bike Puts the 'Win' in Winter

Parts of the East Coast got hit this week by rain and floods in what must certainly be cosmic salt in the wound of a long and intense winter. Luckily for our moods, one local news broadcast caught one biker rising above the wet conditions.

May 2, 2014 - Gawker

NOAA Launching Storm Surge Mapping System

Americans tend to pay more attention to wind strength than storm surge when evaluating whether or not to evacuate before a hurricane. A new NOAA mapping project is designed to change perceptions about the multiple risks of storm events.

April 25, 2014 - Reuters

DC Floods

D.C. Devises How to Stay Dry During Future Floods

Many of America's national treasures sit in low lying areas of D.C. that are vulnerable to extreme floods (it was built atop a tidal plain, after all). With such floods likely to increase, planners and engineers are devising protection plans.

January 1, 2014 - NPR

Disaster-Insurance Premiums Provide a Guide to Smarter Living

Disaster insurance isn’t just a pain in the neck. It could help us live better within a changing climate.

September 17, 2013 - The Conversation

New Orleans' New Stormwater Plan: Let It Flood

New Orleans is planning a novel approach to managing the city's perpetual threat of floods. Instead of trying to prevent and pump out every last drop, the city will slow and store stormwater under a 50-year, $6.2 billion program of retrofits.

September 11, 2013 - Grist

Should Taxpayers Have to Keep Waterfront Homes Afloat?

William Brangham takes a look at Norfolk, Virginia, where rising sea levels have made major floods increasingly commonplace – and increasingly burdensome for taxpayers.

May 3, 2012 - Grist

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Websites

The best of the Internet—since 2002.

Top Apps

Planning apps for a brave new world.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.