does houston get hurricanes? (Baytown, Sugar Land: insurance, house, neighborhood)

[why_so_much_racism]

is it safe to live in houston? or do you buy a house and it gets blown/flooded down by a hurricane? what are the "odds"of that happening?

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by why_so_much_racism

is it safe to live in houston? or do you buy a house and it gets blown/flooded down by a hurricane? what are the "odds"of that happening?

Houston sits near the gulf coast, yes. It is possible for Houston to have a hurricane.

check these links...

Office of Emergency Management (http://www.houstontx.gov/oem/hurricane.html - broken link)

Office of Emergency Management (http://www.houstontx.gov/oem/dguide.html - broken link)

[tstone]

The last time we got a hurricane worth mentioning was 1983 (Alicia). This was a Category 3 storm. I was in elementary school and we were huddled up in our boarded up house in Sugar Land. It blew our fences down is all I remember. The house was fine. They usually don't get much stronger than this--the Gulf is shallow around us which usually weakens a mega-hurricane. For example, monster hurricanes Rita and Katrina were Category 3's when they struck. So hurricanes are rare event compared to say FL, but we are by no means immune. We're lucky. The main issue Houston has to worry about is flooding from tropical storms & depressions. Floods are mostly localized, and generally the less desirable areas to live flood badly in thunderstorms. That said, there were several parts of town that were untouched by even Tropical storm Allison.

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by tstone

The last time we got a hurricane worth mentioning was 1983 (Alicia). This was a Category 3 storm. I was in elementary school and we were huddled up in our boarded up house in Sugar Land. It blew our fences down is all I remember. The house was fine. They usually don't get much stronger than this--the Gulf is shallow around us which usually weakens a mega-hurricane. For example, monster hurricanes Rita and Katrina were Category 3's when they struck. So hurricanes are rare event compared to say FL, but we are by no means immune. We're lucky. The main issue Houston has to worry about is flooding from tropical storms & depressions. Floods are mostly localized, and generally the less desirable areas to live flood badly in thunderstorms. That said, there were several parts of town that were untouched by even Tropical storm Allison.

Using that same reasoning "the Gulf is shallow" means that the Gulf Coast gets worse storm surges than Florida which means a heck of a lot more damage in those areas than are prone to storm surge. Even for small storms.

Yes, Houston can get hurricanes and they can be quite devastating. Rita was pretty bad for the folks that experienced it and many are still trying to recover a year later, I am only glad it missed Houston as the damage would have been very bad. Alicia (barely a Cat 3) in 1983 sank the whole neighborhood of Brownwood in Baytown (it is now a wetlands park), flooded Seabrook, Kemah, and other areas which have now become heavily developed and caused the power to be out for a week to two weeks in some parts of the Houston metro area. There were a number of damaged homes, trees, businesses, etc.

Point is, every region in the country has its own type of threat from natural disaster whether it be wild fires, earthquakes, flooding, etc. a person should do their homework, understand the natural (and unnatural threats like crime) and buy wisely in the region they choose to live in.

[Mayor_McCheese]

Worry more about the flooding. Houston floods if I pee too long

[I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA]

Originally Posted by Mayor_McCheese

Worry more about the flooding. Houston floods if I pee too long

Now that is funny, but just about true. It doesn't take much for certain areas to flood.

[Nanner]

Originally Posted by Mayor_McCheese

Worry more about the flooding. Houston floods if I pee too long

Too true. That's why we have so many trucks and SUVs around here!

[Cougar31]

it will take one hurricane to make things as they are in Florida currently. Home insurance will change for good.

[love roses]

All I can say is, look at all the Hurricanes forming in the Gulf and notice that none of them have come here. Even that little bitty thing that hit a few weeks ago didn't do much of anything. Yes, Rita did damage, but that was more towards Louisiana. Didn't affect Houston. 1983 was the last doozer one for the Houston/Freeport/Lake Jackson area (Where I lived at the time)

[Bike4Life]

The odds are 99% likely to happen. It’s inevitable. Earth is not sustainable with so many car on Katy Freeway.