What is a Flood Insurance Rate Map and how do I use it?Ī Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM or floodplain map) is a map produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and adopted by a city or by a county. What is a Flood Insurance Rate Map and how do I use it? Back to Top.Floodplain Status/Floodplain Determinationįor questions pertaining to development and construction of or improvements to a property located in a floodplain, contact your local municipality or the Harris County Public Infrastructure Department’s Permit Office at (713) 956-3000 or Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM or floodplain map).Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM or floodplain map).The map below shows that a lot of the new development is in or near floodplains.Select one of the following to view Frequently Asked Questions and Answers related to that topic. In the decade after Tropical Storm Allison, about 167,000 acres were developed in Harris County, home to Houston. As millions have flocked to the metropolitan area in recent decades, local officials have largely rejected stricter building regulations, allowing developers to pave over acres of prairie land that once absorbed large amounts of rainwater. Many scientists, experts and federal officials say Houston's explosive growth is largely to blame, along with climate change. “More people die here than anywhere else from floods,” said Sam Brody, a Texas A&M University at Galveston researcher, told us last year. Many residents say they are becoming more frequent and severe, and scientists agree. Such torrential rains are supposed to be a rarity, but Houston’s history is punctuated by major back-to-back storms. Together, the Memorial and Tax Day floods killed 16 people and caused well over $1 billion in property damage. Here’s What Flooded in the Houston Area During 2001’s Tropical Storm Allison. As you can see, a lot of flooded areas were outside the 100-year floodplain - the area the federal government says faces a 1 percent chance of flooding every year. The map below shows how many homes, businesses, schools and other structures flooded. Allison dropped 40 inches of rain on the city in five days, killed nearly two dozen people and caused $5 billion in damage in the county that includes Houston. But many are already drawing comparisons to 2001’s Tropical Storm Allison - the worst rainstorm to hit an American city in modern history. How bad things get in Houston depends on where and how quickly the rain falls. Last year, we explored in detail how Houston’s rapid expansion has greatly worsened the danger posed by flooding. Meanwhile, unchecked development in the Houston area is wiping out the pasture land that once soaked up floodwaters.
It underscores a new reality for the nation’s fourth-largest city: Climate change is making such storms more routine. The brunt of Hurricane Harvey is projected to miss Houston, but the sprawling metropolis is likely to face massive flooding from its third crippling storm in the past three years. Here’s where it’s flooded in the past.īy Al Shaw, ProPublica, Neena Satija, The Texas Tribune and Reveal, and Kiah Collier, The Texas Tribune, August 25, 2017 Why Houston Isn’t Ready for Harvey Houston faces massive flooding from Harvey.
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