Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey and Student Homelessness (Briefs 1 and 2)

Brief 1 of this two-part series examines the characteristics of students who became homeless due to Hurricane Harvey. Brief 2 explores the educational outcomes of these students.

Federal report calls out civil rights inequities in Hurricane Harvey’s aftermath

In the wake of two historically devastating storms in 2017, financial aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development contributed to an increase in wealth inequality.

From rainfall totals to oral histories, Hurricane Harvey data offers multiple portraits of a disaster

The Kinder Institute’s Urban Data Platform warehouses over 50 datasets related to Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath. These resources can help researchers, agencies and organizations work toward ways to prevent and withstand the worst effects of the storms to come.

Houston is still reckoning with the biggest lessons from Hurricane Harvey

When it hit five years ago this week, Hurricane Harvey was an unprecedented disaster: 68 people dead, 200,000 homes damaged or destroyed, a half-million cars wiped out, $125 billion in damage.

In ‘More City than Water,’ Houston tells its Hurricane Harvey story. Will we listen?

Flood survival stories are a Houston shibboleth, a test of membership. Make it through a devastating downpour, and you are one of us. And everyone who lived in the Houston area in August 2017 has a Hurricane Harvey story. For some, it was another entry in a collection of flood stories, depending on how long they lived here and where; for others, it was their first, a rude awakening to very real vulnerabilities.

After Hurricane Harvey, flood insurance created windfalls and fault lines for the middle class

Friendswood, a close-knit suburb southeast of Houston that routinely makes lists for being the “best place to raise a family,” also serves as a case study for how flaws in the federal approach to flood insurance and disaster recovery aid resulted in fractured outcomes even among similarly situated middle-class neighbors after Hurricane Harvey.

If it hopes to overcome future Harveys, Houston needs to double down on resilience and planning

A new book serves as a guide for how cities can best learn from one another to design systems and build ways to endure the worst climate shocks to come. This includes Houston’s experience—both for what to expect from a changing climate and how to respond. Its authors say Houston has done several things right, but they also worry that future disasters could outpace these efforts.

With new incentives, Harris County hopes to gain buy-in for buyouts

Climate change is propelling more extreme weather events, including more precipitation and flooding, which means the need for more strategies such as buyouts has never been more urgent. As a concept, buyouts are fairly straightforward: the government buys up properties to remove them out of harm’s way, reducing the risk of loss of life, the need for future flood repairs, insurance payouts and other costs.

A wider view: Where Houston stands as it recovers from Harvey and builds its resilience

What do trees, bike lanes, and billions in federal disaster aid have in common? They are some of the building blocks of Houston’s future—one that is safer, more equitable and better positioned to withstand future disasters. They’re also among the inventory of measures included in the Kinder Institute’s new Resilience and Recovery Tracker.

Floods vs. forever homes: What drove decisions to rebuild rather than relocate after Harvey?

After catastrophic floods—like those after Hurricane Harvey dumped several feet of rain on the Houston area four years ago—survivors generally have two options: rebuild, perhaps with the help of flood insurance or federal reimbursement programs, or relocate, perhaps by selling a damaged home or waiting for a government buyout program. A new study has found that the route people choose might have more to do with their pre-flood plans rather than the scale of the disaster itself. This has implications for how policies are designed to encourage resiliency and managed retreat.

How inequalities made Harvey recovery harder for many nonwhite Houstonians

When Stephen Klineberg was conducting the Kinder Houston Area Survey in February 2017, he asked Houston-area residents to name the biggest problem facing the region. At the time, only 1% of participants thought flooding and storms were the most important issue.

Survey Finds Extensive Mental, Physical Health Impacts of Hurricane Harvey

With roughly 10,000 respondents as of early January, the Hurricane Harvey Registry released preliminary findings about the storm's health and housing impacts.

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."

Conference Sheds Light on How Harvey-Affected Children Can Tackle Trauma

Following Hurricane Harvey, the focus of childhood trauma was heightened but are there lasting impacts being missed?

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.