What's the likelihood that Houston will get another catastrophic hurricane or something just as bad? (Pasadena: house, to live)

[xhevoice]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

It will happen eventually. Could be 2 years or 50 years. The problem in Houston is usually more of the response and lack of proper infrastructure and preparation. It has got a lot better since Harvey, but the question is why did we have to wait for Harvey to know something will eventually happen. And now that time has passed, news cycles shifted and peoples minds are on other things (such as COVID), the preparation and awareness has started coming down again.

Depending on your situation, if you want to live in Houston and avoid hurricane damage as much as possible, you’d be better off in Conroe or Woodlands area not only because it’s further away from the coast but also because it’s better prepared.

For obvious reasons, those places are more expensive than other parts of the metro.

Conroe has lake Conroe which most flood waters flow to.

I don't think Conroe and the Woodlands are better prepared. They just weren't built on land that was a drained swamp.

Harris county is crisscrossed with creeks, streams, bayous and rivers. There is going to be flooding with this clay loamy soil.

[xhevoice]

Originally Posted by simon22

I'm strongly considering moving to Houston but this factor kind of deters me. Don't get me wrong - I don't mind rain or storms (in fact I prefer that kind of weather) BUT I'm more worried about hurricanes and catastrophic flooding/storm damage to residence.

I'm between Denver and Houston but this factor kind of makes me want to go with Denver.

I think you have to pick your poison. In Denver you have snow & hail risks, in Houston you have flood risks. You really can't get away from any weather risk in America. You just have to determine which risk you can better stomach.

Here is a timeline of Houston's biggest floods: https://www.hcfcd.org/Portals/62/Har...3jUyDm0g%3d%3d

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by xhevoice

I think you have to pick your poison. In Denver you have snow & hail risks, in Houston you have flood risks. You really can't get away from any weather risk in America. You just have to determine which risk you can better stomach.

Here is a timeline of Houston's biggest floods: https://www.hcfcd.org/Portals/62/Har...3jUyDm0g%3d%3d

I agree with your "pick your poison" sentiment that no place is truly safe and you have to be comfortable with your risk level, but as someone who's lived in both Denver and here, I can tell you that I never truly felt worried about my home being destroyed when I lived in Denver like I do here. I live on the water in the League City area, and I am in a constant state of alert (not fear or dread) from June to October every year because of Hurricane season. I breathe a huge sigh of relief when storm season is over. And yes, I absolutely get that I voluntarily chose to live in this part of town and that means I have assumed the risk.

The only situations where I felt unsafe from the elements in Colorado was when we were traveling in the mountains. A snow storm in the winter or a flash flood in the summer can come out of nowhere and put you in life threatening situations with almost no warning. We used to have an emergency kit in our cars during the winter, but my preferred method of dealing with these dangers was avoidance whenever possible.

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by xhevoice

I think you have to pick your poison. In Denver you have snow & hail risks, in Houston you have flood risks. You really can't get away from any weather risk in America. You just have to determine which risk you can better stomach.

Here is a timeline of Houston's biggest floods: https://www.hcfcd.org/Portals/62/Har...3jUyDm0g%3d%3d

Other than snowstorms, I'm thinking parts of Ohio River Valley, outside flood zones, are relatively "safest" in continental US from weather-related property damage. Property insurance there is CHEAP! Even majority of rainfall in that area is gentle and pleasant, not like the torrential downpours we get. West Coast, especially CA gets hammered from many angles.

[atadytic19]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

One thing about bad hurricanes or massive area-wide flood events, which yes Houston is definitely at-risk for in any given year, is that while your personal home may not suffer much damage, you will probably know people who do experience that. Also, the whole city can get at least somewhat shut down for days and traveling anywhere can be quite difficult. Water and sewer systems can be affected too.

Even without direct damage to you or your property, a really bad storm can be at a minimum a highly inconvenient and often a very disturbing experience. As a community it can be somewhat traumatizing.

I've gone through 4 such events in my lifetime (Alicia, Allison, Ike, and Harvey), never suffered direct damage to me or my property, but they were all very unpleasant experiences. And I'm just lucky that I wasn't badly affected by the other major flood events of 2015-2019 - many other people suffered in those as well.

I have to be honest - if this sort of thing is a real anathema to you, then you are not suited for Houston.

This ^^. When Houston floods everyone feels it but not everyone actually gets flooded. But it affects the entire city. But on the otherhand there is the other half who don't get affected directly from the water, just secondarily ( interruptions in business, not being able to drive certain roads..)

I was actually in Houston for Allison. We were on the Southwest side off of Richmond, and barely got rain. No flooding, while areas around Siims Bayou was under feet of water.

I was also in Houston for the 1st or 2nd memorial day flood, visiting friends in Greenpoint. Some apartments got flooded, others were not. The complex we were in got flooded with about 4 feet of water. We were thankfully on the 2nd floor, but the bayou, which is normally about 700 ft away, passed right through the apartment below. Cars were flooded to the windows.

I was not there for Ike, but I have family in Houston and for Ike it was mainly a wind event and Houston is far enough inland that none of them received any damage.

For Harvey thankfully none of my family got water, but the common thread was "the water got up on the curb, they were scared, but it didn't get passed that." I did know people whose entire complex had to be condemned after Harvey though.

The moral of the story is some get hit hard, others don't so don't live south of a Bayou.

Originally Posted by crone

Developers excavated for streets. When you see street flooding, it was meant to be. A hard rain anywhere in Houston could cause streets to flood. Why the TV news acts like it is a unusual event is a mystery. Just stay put until 10 minutes after the rain stops you and your car will be fine.

Stay away from creeks, bayous and rivers. It may be pretty 99% of the time. But 5000 houses built upstream will cause you to flood when those people water their yards.
.

Also this^
The streets were designed to channel water away to the Bayous. They were meant to fill up with water.
The problem is when you have 50 miles of concrete with no accessible soil for some of that water to seep into then the water just coasts slowly to the bay, gatherings more as it goes along.

That is why the city has been removing concrete along the Bayous and encouraging permeable parking lots.

I am not sure if the tree planting drives in Houston is connected but I do know that that the prairie planting are. Lawn grasses have really short roots. Barely a few inches. Native prairie grasses and forbs can have roots that descend as much as 5 feet. Water falling on a lawn might as well be falling on concrete, it will just run off. Water falling on areas planted with trees and prairie patches will be absorbed deeply into the ground as the deep roots open up that hard clay and form channels deep into the ground.

Those perfectly cookie cutter streets with perfectly manicured lawns are just ponds in the making. If you leave downstream of those then all the water that falls on those will just add to the water that falls around you.

I agree with crone, stay away from this creeks and Bayous if you can and neighborhoods with creek in their name may sound cute but if you do choose those choose a property that is at a higher elevation. A few feet makes a hell of a difference. AND GET RID OF THOSE DARN LAWNS. natives have such deep roots that they will save you on your water bills, they are more drought and frost resistant and don't require fertilizers and pesticides that pollute our water when they get washed along with all that rain.

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

I will never understand what people like about Denver.

And also this ^^

[singleintheburbs]

100% Houston will get a catastrophic hurricane at some point in the future.
100% Denver will get some sort of natural disaster as well at some point in the future.

[tugofpeace]

Can't you just leave before it hits if you're concerned?

[Dopo]

You have to do your research and buy in areas that don't flood

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by tugofpeace

Can't you just leave before it hits if you're concerned?

You can, and take your family and pets, vehicles, and a few other things. But the house and furnishings have to stay. I guess if you don't mind having those damaged or destroyed, it's not a big deal...

[tugofpeace]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

You can, and take your family and pets, vehicles, and a few other things. But the house and furnishings have to stay. I guess if you don't mind having those damaged or destroyed, it's not a big deal...

wouldn't insurance cover all that