Editor’s note: The full version of this story originally appeared on JLConline.com.
A report released by the Texas Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas calls for significant steps to make the state more resilient against future storms. Among other recommendations, the commission, formed in the weeks after Hurricane Harvey slammed the Texas coast in 2017, urged a policy to elevate new homes well above the so-called “base flood elevation” (BFE), applying a margin of safety known as “freeboard.”
“To protect itself from the next major hurricane, Texas will have to build storm-surge barriers, shore up wetlands, buy out residents who live in vulnerable areas, rethink development plans, and raise the first floors of existing buildings, suggests a sweeping report prepared for Gov. Greg Abbott,” reported the Dallas News. (See “Hurricane Harvey Report Seeks to ‘Future-Proof’ Texas From Climate Change Without Saying So Directly.”)
“We must make the Texas Gulf Coast—and, indeed, the entire state—more resilient and better able to withstand future disasters, whether the threat comes from hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, flooding, or other disasters,” the report said. (See https://gov.texas.gov, “Eye of the Storm: Report of the Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas.”)
The report suggested building a “coastal spine” seawall protecting Houston from storm surges at an estimated price tag of $12 billion. But other recommendations were on a more modest scale, including a set of adaptations homeowners could undertake: “Structural techniques include elevating the structure (usually above the BFE), constructing earthen berms, installing movable floodwalls, and dry flood–proofing a home to prevent water from entering (by using sealants or impermeable barriers). Behavioral changes with minor modifications involve ‘wet flood–proofing,’ allowing floodwater to enter a home but relocating critical features and valuables out of harm’s way, with features such as breakaway walls, garage vents, anchoring mechanisms, and mold-resistant insulation.”
