Delft University of Technology Hurricane Harvey Report A fact-finding effort in the direct aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in the Greater Houston Region Sebastian, Toni; Lendering, Kasper; Kothuis, Baukje; Brand, Nikki; Jonkman, Bas; van Gelder, Pieter; Godfroij, Maartje; Kolen, Bas; Comes, Tina; Lhermitte, Stef Publication date 2017 Document Version Final published version Citation (APA) Sebastian, T., Lendering, K., Kothuis, B., Brand, N., Jonkman, B., van Gelder, P., Godfroij, M., Kolen, B., Comes, T., Lhermitte, S., Meesters, K., van de Walle, B., Ebrahimi Fard, A., Cunningham, S., Khakzad, N., & Nespeca, V. (2017). Hurricane Harvey Report: A fact-finding effort in the direct aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in the Greater Houston Region. Delft University Publishers. Important note To cite this publication, please use the final published version (if applicable). Please check the document version above. 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An electronic version of this report is available at http://repository.tudelft.nl/ The Harvey Hackathon and the publication of this report were funded by DIMI and DSyS Deltas, Infrastructures & Mobility Initiative Delft Safety & Security Institute Image on cover: USAR VA Task Force 2 Houston (Courtesy of FEMA). TU Delft - Hurricane Harvey Report Page 2 Hurricane Harvey Report A fact-finding effort in the direct aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in the Greater Houston Region Phase I Report October 19, 2017 Keywords: Hurricane Harvey, floods, fact-finding, Houston, Texas, rainfall, impacts, damage, emergency response, land use planning, flood risk Written by: A.G. (Antonia) Sebastian K.T. (Kasper) Lendering B.L.M. (Baukje) Kothuis A.D. (Nikki) Brand S.N. (Bas) Jonkman Contributors: M. (Maartje) Godfroy B. (Bas) Kolen T. (Tina) Comes K.J.M.G. (Kenny) Meesters B. (Bartel) Van de Walle S.L.M. (Stef) Lhermitte A. (Amir) Ebrahimi Fard S.W. (Scott) Cunningham N. (Nima) Khakzad Rostami V. (Vittorio) Nespeca Review: S.N. (Bas) Jonkman P.H.A.J.M. (Pieter) van Gelder TU Delft - Hurricane Harvey Report Page 3 Hurricane Harvey from space August 24, 2017 (Image courtesy of NASA) TU Delft - Hurricane Harvey Report Page 4 Contents Preface ......................................................................................................................................... 9 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 11 Acronyms ................................................................................................................................... 13 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 15 1.1. Context ......................................................................................................................... 15 1.2. Objective ....................................................................................................................... 17 1.3. Reading Guide .............................................................................................................. 17 Hurricane Harvey ...................................................................................................................... 19 2.1. Hurricane Formation ..................................................................................................... 19 2.2. Hurricane Harvey .......................................................................................................... 20 Flood Management in Houston, Texas ................................................................................... 25 3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 25 3.2. Riverine Flood Control .................................................................................................. 27 3.3. The Role of the National Flood Insurance Program ..................................................... 29 3.4. Historic Tropical Cyclone Events .................................................................................. 30 3.5. Recent Precipitation Events .......................................................................................... 31 3.6. Understanding Flood Risk Management in Texas ........................................................ 31 3.7. Houston’s urban fabric and land use policies ............................................................... 33 Flooding during Hurricane Harvey .......................................................................................... 35 4.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 35 4.2. Buffalo Bayou – Addicks & Barker Reservoirs .............................................................. 38 4.3. San Jacinto River .......................................................................................................... 42 4.4. Brazos River ................................................................................................................. 43 4.5. How does Harvey compare to previous floods? ........................................................... 44 Damages and Fatalities ............................................................................................................ 47 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 47 5.2. Damage to residential structures .................................................................................. 48 5.3. Damage to industry ....................................................................................................... 48 5.4. Environmental damage ................................................................................................. 50 5.5. Airports affected ............................................................................................................ 52 5.6. Critical Infrastructure ..................................................................................................... 54 5.7. Fatalities ....................................................................................................................... 56 TU Delft - Hurricane Harvey Report Page 5 Members of FEMA's Urban Search and Rescue Nebraska Task Force One perform one of many water rescues in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey (Image courtesy FEMA News photo).   TU Delft - Hurricane Harvey Report Page 6 Emergency Response & Decision Making .............................................................................. 61 6.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 61 6.2. Evacuation .................................................................................................................... 62 6.3. Emergency Response .................................................................................................. 65 6.4. Community Response .................................................................................................. 70 6.5. Communication: the effects of ‘Fake News’ .................................................................. 76 Harvey Hackathon ..................................................................................................................... 79 Data Collection Event ............................................................................................................... 79 7.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 79 7.2 Why Hurricane Harvey? ................................................................................................ 80 7.3 Structure & organization of hackathon .......................................................................... 81 7.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 84 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................... 87 8.1. Main findings ................................................................................................................. 87 8.2. Future research ............................................................................................................ 89 8.3. Lessons learned for the Netherlands ............................................................................ 90 8.4 Closure .......................................................................................................................... 93 References ................................................................................................................................. 95 About the Authors .................................................................. Fout! Bladwijzer niet gedefinieerd. Appendix A. Hackathon topics ...................................................................................................................... 99 TU Delft - Hurricane Harvey Report Page 7 31 August 2017, extensive flooding in a residential area in Southeast Texas (Image courtesy: Air National Guard - Staff Sgt. Daniel J Martinez) TU Delft - Hurricane Harvey Report Page 8 Preface The Netherlands and the U.S. share many important bonds, one of which is our relationship to water. The Dutch aided New Orleans and New York during the Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy recoveries, and continue to collaborate on water challenges in Miami, Norfolk, Boston, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Galveston. In turn, the Dutch learn from the U.S. more about emergency management and disaster response. Climate change adds two crucial dimensions – uncertainty and extremes – to this work, both in the U.S. and in the Netherlands. We both must prepare for sea-level rise, and adapt our cities to extreme precipitation and water scarcity in our natural landscapes, farms and aquifers. Indeed, in the Netherlands we wonder whether our future holds the severe droughts recently experienced in the Western United States, or the whipsaw flood-and-drought water levels in the Mississippi River in 2011 and 2012. Collaboration is useful, even necessary, to make us smarter and more resilient, separately and collectively. For example, faculty, researchers and students at Delft University of Technology have been working closely with Texas A&M University at Galveston and Rice University since Hurricane Ike in 2008. This international team of dedicated professionals has enhanced our technical and academic understanding of water forces along the Texas coast and around Galveston Bay. They have jointly developed a workable, cost-effective solution to coastal flooding in those regions. System-wide, watershed-based approaches, comprehensive risk assessment and integrated planning are the foundation of Dutch water management policies, and they are relevant to the U.S., too. Hurricane Harvey gives us an opportunity to explore how extreme rainfall has impacted America’s fourth largest city, how smart recovery will prepare Houston for future risks, and what lessons from Harvey – in flood protection design and operation, risks to human life, economic and critical infrastructure, and emergency management – are applicable to the Netherlands. Part of that exploration is the Harvey Hackathon, the results of which are found in the following pages. While this report is interim, the breakdown of Harvey and its impacts upon the water system, residents, industry, and critical infrastructure in Houston form a solid foundation upon which to build. Assessments of the emergency response during Harvey provide key lessons for Dutch policymakers and practitioners. The report’s Main Findings should be required reading for anyone wanting to understand Harvey and provide a direction of the way forward. The report also posits areas for fruitful joint-research that will benefit policymakers, planners and technicians in both countries. Henry Ford noted that “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” I commend TU Delft, its faculty and student body for demonstrating through the Harvey Hackathon and the Delta Infrastructures and Mobility Initiative the crucial relevance of international collaborative research. Your actions prove that “working together is success.” Henne Schuwer Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the US Dale Morris Senior Economist Royal Netherlands Embassy TU Delft - Hurricane Harvey Report Page 9