Dr. John Jacob of Houston AgriLife extension said while addressing flooding is the major issue after events like Hurricane Harvey, responsible development should also focus on making a town or city a safer and better place.
“The issue extends beyond floods and flooding, but such disasters as Hurricane Harvey remind us we should focus on ‘resilient growth’ so we can bounce back from adversity,” he said. “We want to get these communities affected by flooding to the point where a flood can be seen as an inconvenience and not a disaster.”
He said much of the area of Houston affected by Hurricane Harvey was in communities built before regulations regarding development on floodplains were put into effect.