HOUSTON (AP) — With clay soil and tabletop-flat terrain, Houston has endured flooding for generations.
Now the nation’s fourth-largest city is being overwhelmed with more frequent and more destructive floods. The latest calamity occurred April 18, killing eight people and causing tens of millions of dollars in damage.
Climatologists say extreme downpours have doubled in frequency over the past three decades in part because of global warming. The other main culprit is unrestrained development in the only major U.S. city without zoning rules. That combination means more pavement and deeper floodwaters.
Critics also blame cozy relations between developers and local leaders for inadequate flood protection.
Since 1998, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has paid more than $3 billion in today’s dollars for flood losses in metropolitan Houston.
Related: Houston Will Get More Heavy Downpours Because Of Climate Change Say Scientists