Houston storm reveals Texas' vulnerabilities

Large shards of glass rained from downtown skyscrapers, and massive transmission line towers twisted into the ground in only minutes as near hurricane-strength winds whipped through Houston.

This storm did not come from the Gulf of Mexico, though. Last week's line of thunderstorms lingered only a few hours but killed eight people, caused at least $5 billion in damage and left hundreds of thousands without power.

Houston's late spring storm should frighten all Texans because it proved hurricane-force winds can strike anywhere in the state now, thanks to climate change. Unless we take practical steps, death and damage tolls will rise, insurance rates will spike, and companies will flee the state rather than seek tax refuge here.

Luckily, there is a lot we can do to preserve our economic prosperity, but it won't come cheap.

First, we must understand that past weather patterns are no longer indicative of future threats. A global-warming-driven heat wave triggered the weather pattern that brought a derecho to Houston. If the heat dome had been a little to the north or west, the same winds could have struck San Antonio, Austin, Dallas or even Midland, causing even greater damage to cities not built for hurricanes.

The thunderstorms remind us of what hurricane-strength winds can do to even the newest, most well-constructed buildings. The critical difference is that hurricanes last for hours, causing exponentially more damage.

The severe thunderstorm knocked out power to almost half of the Houston region. Hundreds of businesses closed, tens of thousands missed work and the city suffered another reputational blow.

Corporate relocations and immigration to Houston dropped after 2017's Hurricane Harvey. Chief executives began taking extreme weather threats more seriously, and employees started balking at relocating to a city where they could spend days trapped in homes without power.

Thursday's storm reinforced Houston's reputation as a risky place to live.

We must harden the city and its infrastructure to better withstand storms, starting with building codes. The Legislature has never passed a statewide building code and only allows cities and counties to adopt the 2012 International Building and Residential Codes, which are outdated.

Florida has adopted the stricter 2015 codes with special provisions for hurricanes. Texas would do well to adopt the 2021 codes statewide so that homes and businesses will not only be safer but more energy efficient.

Developers have spent millions on lobbyists to prevent lawmakers from adopting statewide building codes or authorizing local authorities to use the latest versions. Builders complain the new codes will make construction more expensive.

In fact, cheaper construction merely shifts the financial risk to building owners, insurers and government disaster programs that must pay up when storms strike. The smarter solution is to build structures that will survive the next storm.

All Texans should demand that the Public Utility Commission order electricity transmission and distribution companies to build a more resilient grid. Wooden utility poles are prone to toppling, and electricity wires caught in tree branches cause most storm outages.

The electric grid also needs many more tall transmission towers to meet future electricity demand and to provide redundancy in case of an emergency or sabotage. New types of electrical wires and innovative technologies that allow lines to ramp up or down as needed should become the standard, not a luxury.

Taller steel poles are more expensive than wooden ones, and the more conductive wires and smarter switches have a higher upfront cost. But they also minimize outages, which cause personal suffering and economic losses.

Increasing our resiliency is critical because the storms will worsen as global temperatures rise. More extreme weather is inevitable because fossil fuel executives spent billions of dollars sowing doubt about global warming.

Conservative politicians continue denying reality because they don't want to pay for the upgrades. Until Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other leaders agree to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the planet will get warmer, and the weather will be more extreme.

We have a choice: pay now for safety or pay later for recovery. Texas' geography guarantees we will feel the brunt of a changing climate. We are already seeing our insurance rates spike to cover the cost of more extreme storms.

Houston may suffer this week, but the entire state will feel the repercussions. Houstonians will also share the cost of future flooding in San Antonio, wind damage in Midland or extreme heat in Laredo. We're in this together; we must act together to cope with what's coming next.

Award-winning opinion writer Chris Tomlinson writes commentary about money, politics and life in Texas. Sign up for his "Tomlinson's Take" newsletter at houstonhchronicle.com/tomlinsonnewsletter or expressnews.com/tomlinsonnewsletter.