In Texas’ Flash Flood Alley, problems extend beyond terrain
Late this week Austinites once again awoke to the consequences of torrential rains.
Natural terrain in
But to some degree, experts say, the devastation wrought by the floods is also the consequence of outdated road construction and the reluctance of some communities to bar construction in flood plains.
WATCH RELATED VIDEO:Buda woman talks after her third time fleeing floods
Even as scientists predict harsher and more frequent floods,
And beyond the very real miseries of moldy homes, lost belongings and washed-away lives, taxpayers are often on the hook.
Since the late 1970s, the federal government has paid out
Smaller communities devastated by floods have gotten hefty assistance. The federal government has paid out
The problem is likely to get worse.
Increasing risk
In his 2008 book "Flash Floods in
And such extreme floods are expected to become more frequent because of global warming,
"The rate of rainfall is limited by how much moisture the air can carry. The amount of moisture the air can carry is limited by its temperature. So the warmer the ocean and overlying atmosphere, the greater the amount of water that will be transported into
As climate change causes extreme weather events to become more frequent and as areas of
In many ways, these communities are trying to play catch-up as bigger populations face inundation.
Deadly crossings
Perhaps nowhere are they more exposed than at low water crossings, vestiges of a time when roads were little more than fords for wagons to cross oft-dry creeks.
Nowadays, about three-quarters of flooding deaths in
The city prioritizes flood mitigation improvement projects based on risk. Factors include the possible depth of water over a road and the velocity with which it could run, as well as vehicle traffic count on the road. Mitigation can include elevating a road and building bigger culverts beneath it, or even converting the low water crossing into a bridge.
Such projects can cost
In 2010, city workers replaced
"We don't do things that way anymore," Shunk said.
More recently, city workers upgraded a crossing of
"There are more needs out there than we have funding to address," said Shunk, who said most of the city's upgrade money for low water crossings comes from the drainage utility fund.
Controlling urban runoff
City officials are looking at ways to update the city code to reduce storm runoff from developed properties.
Under city rules, new development may not increase the risk of flood damage on downstream properties. But many sites developed before detention requirements were introduced in the 1970s lack detention facilities of any kind, "and the runoff from these sites may currently contribute to downstream flooding," according to a city land-use report released in March.
Because flood plain regulations can affect property values, they have been a contentious issue in some communities.
The Statesman reported last year that
In October, after
Central Texans "have a history of development in places that are problematic," said Burnett, the engineer and author.
"It's our desire to be near the water -- we're such a dry state that we've always tried to put ourselves as close to the water as possible," he said. "We build houses overlooking a river: For 50 years that can be fine, and then overnight it can be a disaster."
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By the numbers
From 1978 to 2016, the
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