Write at least 450 words (feel free to write more) Based on the article (link be

Question

Write at least 450 words (feel free to write more)

Based on the article (link below) , reflect on these two points.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/05/opinion/hurricane-harvey-flood-houston-development.html

Examine the second figure in the article. This is an interactive time-lapse figure for development in some part of Houston showing the FEMA 100 yr and 500 yr floodplains, and damage outside of those floodplains.

         Did the city’s development policies contribute to reducing the region’s natural defenses to flooding? How?

Examine the second to last figure, showing the mapped FEMA floodplains and the Flood outlook score per block (mapped by Syndeste and Beyond Floods)

           Discuss the deficiencies in Houston’s FEMA floodplains, that this article references.

Explanation / Answer

Did the city’s development policies contribute to reducing the region’s natural defenses to flooding? How?

Yes, the city’s development plans did contribute to a reduction in the natural defenses of the region to flooding. The sudden surge in the oil and gas industries resulted in an explosion of the residential and commercial spaces in the city. With this sudden rise in the demand, the developers of the city had to find spaces to build the city infrastructure, residential complexes, commercial spaces and what not. While they developed this urban infrastructure, there was certainly overlapping with the floodplains which are the zones highly susceptible to flooding. Also, during such mad rush of development, many of the buffer zones in the cities, the open spaces, grasslands slowly started to disappear. These open spaces are the best available natural defense during the floods. The city authorities ignored this and did not do enough to preserve them or to improve drainage. Within a span of 30 years, the city’s natural defense was sacrificed in the pursuit of development. The areas surrounding Katy Prairies, that once had a ‘sprawling grassland’, stands as a silent witness of this destruction.

Discuss the deficiencies in Houston’s FEMA floodplains, that this article references.

The major issue with the city‘s development policies was its ignorance towards the flooding maps. These maps serve as the earliest warning that the US has for flooding. Based on this map the citizens and authorities recognize that there is a flood risk in certain areas. The map, developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shows the 100-year flood plain which means the areas marked have a one in hundred chance of flooding in a given year. The homeowners residing in these areas will have to obtain the federally sponsored insurance. In the case of Houston, thee maps were found to be highly inadequate as the flood occurs in areas that had even one in 500 chance of flooding. The maps bearing the neglect of authorities and congress alike lacks updating due to insufficient funding. The policy priority is clearly lacking in this field leaving many unaware and unprepared for the risk.

An updated map by ‘Syndeste and Beyond Floods’ considers the factors that are ignored by the FEMA floodplain. These factors are nothing but the historical flood damages, and the land cover. These factors depict fairly accurate flood risk as against the flood plains because the land cover has a significant impact on the runoff and hence on the flood risk. The previous flood damage also shows us the way water flow during high runoff. When these factors are included in the floodplain map, it shows a much clearer depiction of risk zones. As shown in the fig., many areas not covered under the floodplain risk are also under very high-risk zones to the flood. Such nuanced ways of mapping can lead to better insurance coverage and hence can ensure better disaster risk management. The obsolete method of floodplain mapping followed for Houston left many residents unaware of the risk and also compromised the mandatory insurance. Therefore the methodology of mapping must be improved.

The answer comes up to 500 words. Hope it helps.

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