Disaster Resilience and Recovery

Measuring Flooding with the Houston Fire Department

Bob Stein and Rick Wilson conducted two studies about flooding and local knowledge/perspective.

Scalable and Robust Prototype of Sensor Network for Real-Time Street Level Flood Measurement

Gary Woods and team from the civil and environmental engineering department created low-cost flood sensors that were tested on Rice’s campus in spring 2019.

Galveston Bay Park Plan is only one way to protect Houston from flooding

A Q&A with Jim Blackburn, the co-director and primary spokesperson for Rice's SSPEED Center, reveals the importance of various flood protection systems.

More Than 475,000 Harris County Renters At Flood Risk, Report Says

The City of Houston and Harris County confront a major challenge in providing multi-family housing units that are both affordable and safe from flood risk.

New Flood Alert System Along White Oak Bayou Warns Residents Immediately in Emergencies

With funding from the Kinder Institute, researchers from Rice University provide another Houston watershed with a flood alert system.

Q+A: The Rising Risks of Urban Flooding

From existing data sources to flood mitigation practices, cities need to step up to respond to a national challenge.

Legislative Report: Hurricane Harvey Recovery Has Cost $2.7 Billion So Far, Most Paid by Feds

Texas Tribune | A report released Friday by the Texas Senate's budget-writing committee laid out past and future costs related to recovery from "the most costly disaster ever to hit the Texas coast."

In Northeast Houston, Residents, Nonprofits and the City Work Together After Harvey Toward Recovery

One of the many communities affected by Hurricane Harvey, Northeast Houston's recovery has been slow. But one community fair that sought to flip the top-down recovery script offered hope.

Urban Review: Spatial Mismatch, Cash Bail and Harvey's Deadly Legacy

This week, more research on the impact of living far away from jobs, an effective end to cash bail in California and why Harris County's count of Harvey-related deaths could be too low.

Evictions Before and After Harvey

While some areas saw marked increases, others experienced high numbers of eviction case filings before and after the storm.

Why the Flood Bond is Important But Not Enough

There's no way to flood-proof Houston, but making it more prepared will take a variety of approaches and a lot of coordination.

People With Disabilities Are Pushing for More Inclusive Rescue and Recovery Programs In Harvey's Wake

Much of the attention around the storm’s anniversary will focus on megaprojects, but, efforts to create equitable human recovery, especially for the most vulnerable, cannot be lost in the shuffle.

Lessons from Harvey: Crisis Informatics for Urban Resilience

This report suggests that public agencies work closely with social media companies and the operators of crowdsourced sites to install plans to incorporate these systems into the disaster recovery process.

What Twitter Can Teach Us About Hurricane Harvey

Platforms like Twitter can capture immediate, on-the-ground needs in an unfolding disaster and can help fill gaps in response.

Buyouts Bring Promise and Challenges to Flood-Affected Homeowners

For some, buyouts are a lifeline, but for others, they represent a loss of community and limited options to move on.