{"id":27198,"date":"2022-12-05t22:29:57","date_gmt":"2022-12-05t22:29:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.planetforward.com\/2022\/12\/05\/essay-flash-flood-warning-my-home-is-drowning\/"},"modified":"2023-03-01t15:16:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01t15:16:00","slug":"flash-flood-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/flash-flood-warning\/","title":{"rendered":"essay | flash flood warning: my home is drowning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>growing up in houston, \u201cflash flood warning\u201d were my three favorite words. the blaring alert meant no school, sleeping in, and a free day off. rather than feeling concerned about the imminent extreme weather, i was giddy about the rhythmic pitter-patter that would hit my windows as i curled up with a book.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>the morning of august 25, 2017, started the way most rainy days often do. the night before, my brother and i monitored the weather for the next day, secretly hoping that classes would be canceled so i could avoid my dreaded physics presentation. the next morning, our phones buzzed with incessant flash flood warnings and an email from our head of school declared classes were canceled &#8211; here we go!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/aleena-2-pictures-1024x655.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27781\" width=\"392\" height=\"250\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">pictures of the flooding in my neighborhood and on the main road where people kayaked for transportation. (aleena fayaz)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>everything was routine, except something felt off. when the meteorologist spoke, he reported with urgency, panic, and a tinge of fear, sprinkling in words like \u201c500-year flood\u201d and \u201ccatastrophic rainfall.\u201d quickly, the sounds of the tv faded away and were replaced by muffled sounds of panicked phone calls about knee-deep water and shrieks from friends floating in the bacteria-filled floods. our city was swallowed whole, and my mom muttered, \u201coh no.\u201d within hours, houston was underwater, and i wished i was in class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">news flash: more storms like harvey are coming<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>hurricane harvey was a category 4 hurricane that made landfall in the greater houston area and the southern corridor on august 25, 2017, affecting more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lamar.edu\/_files\/documents\/resilience-recovery\/grant\/recovery-and-resiliency\/hurric2.pdf\">13 million people<\/a> and forcing<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lamar.edu\/_files\/documents\/resilience-recovery\/grant\/recovery-and-resiliency\/hurric2.pdf\"> 39,000 people<\/a> out of their homes. just east of houston, the rainfall totaled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2018\/01\/25\/580689546\/harvey-the-most-significant-tropical-cyclone-rainfall-event-in-u-s-history\">60.58 inches<\/a> (about the size of my 5-foot grandma) near nederland, texas, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/lch\/2017harvey#:~:text=harvey's%20rainfall%20was%20the%20most,60.54%20inches%20near%20groves%2c%20texas.\">highest amount<\/a> in a single storm for any place in the continental united states.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>houston is no stranger to extreme rainfall. with its proximity to the gulf of mexico, a major source of moisture, the city is highly susceptible to flash floods. however, 2017 was a year of special devastation with exceedingly high multi-day rainfall. according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/nca2018.globalchange.gov\/chapter\/2#key-message-8\">fourth national climate assessment<\/a>, harvey\u2019s catastrophic rainfall was likely a result of warmer ocean surface temperatures feeding the tropical precipitation trajectories in texas due to human-induced climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"480\" src=\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/aleena-3-1024x480.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27783\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">a map tracking tropical cyclones for the 2017 atlantic hurricane season. (mapbox\/openstreetmap\/<a href=\"https:\/\/www.openstreetmap.org\/copyright\">open database license<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.noaa.gov\/news-release\/noaa-predicts-above-normal-2022-atlantic-hurricane-season\">national oceanic and atmospheric administration (noaa) <\/a>predicts an above-average hurricane activity this year, marking 2022 as the seventh consecutive above-average hurricane season. human-caused increases in greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants have amplified atmospheric variability in the atlantic ocean, which scientists say has increased tropical cyclone activity since 1970.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">the new normal, a different meaning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>when it rains, it pours, and hurricane intensity is only getting worse. due to sea level rise, tidal flooding has increased by <a href=\"https:\/\/sealevelrise.org\/states\/texas\/\">490%<\/a> in some areas of texas since 2000. according to <a href=\"https:\/\/statesatrisk.org\/texas\/coastal-flooding\">states at risk<\/a>, by 2050, an additional 117,000 texans are projected to be at risk of coastal flooding.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>along with devastating physical damage, harvey brought with it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhc.noaa.gov\/news\/updatedcostliest.pdf\">$125 billion in damage<\/a>, boasting the title of the second-most costly hurricane in u.s. history. in 2018, harris county voters passed a <a href=\"https:\/\/floodcoalition.org\/2022\/08\/5-lessons-houston-and-harris-county-after-hurricane-harvey\/\">$2.5 billion bond<\/a> to go toward flood-protection projects to address these impacts. city officials have worked with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hcfcd.org\/about\/flood-damage-reduction-tools\/structural-tool\">harris county flood control district<\/a> to modify channels, build stormwater detentions (basins), extend bridges, and construct levees in anticipation of future flooding.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>as the energy capital of the world and home to several oil and gas industries, houston has a special responsibility to lead the charge in sustainability. houston\u2019s commitment to making the city carbon neutral by 2050 works in tandem with its first-ever <a href=\"http:\/\/greenhoustontx.gov\/climateactionplan\/cap-april2020.pdf\">climate action plan<\/a>, a science-based, community-driven strategy founded in 2020 which outlines transformative solutions for building operations and transportation networks, as well as how residents can prepare for storms with emergency tool kits.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cflash flood warning\u201d holds a vastly different meaning to me now. a phrase of excitement and relief quickly turned to signals of fear and tragedy. there can only be so many warnings until it\u2019s too late.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>i used to celebrate flash floods as signals of sleeping in and days off from school. now, i fear the next hurricane harvey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11676,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5034],"tags":[144,513,5187,787],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-27198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-storyfest-2023","tag-climate-change","tag-flooding","tag-hurricane-harvey","tag-texas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- this site is optimized with the yoast seo plugin v24.1 - 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