HOUSTON, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Moving forward with business as usual will be the economic death knell for the Houston region, according to a news released by the Rice University of Texas on Wednesday.
Jim Blackburn, a lawyer and professor in the practice of environmental engineering at Rice University, wrote in his paper, "Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey: Policy Perspectives," that denying fundamental truths and moving forward with business as usual "will be the economic death knell for the Houston region," adding "how we respond to this horrible reality will determine the economic future of our region."
Blackburn, also a Baker Institute Rice Faculty Scholar and co-director of Rice's Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center, said a clear starting point is to identify the areas that did not flood during Harvey. "These areas will form the backbone of the Houston of tomorrow."
He noted the report is not about the technical aspects of Harvey as a devastating hurricane. A major, forthcoming report from SSPEED will offer an initial comprehensive assessment of facts and figures about Harvey, he said.
Meanwhile, Blackburn said it is doubtful that any city in the United States or the world could have "handled" 40 inches (about 1 meter) of rain in 3.5 days or even 16 inches (about 41 cm) in 24 hours. "This is a huge amount of water to handle," he wrote, adding "however, the extent of the damages and misery can be substantially reduced the next time we have a similar 'weird weather' event that now seems the norm."
He suggested geographic zones should be mapped and separate policies should be considered for what might be regarded as the 'safe' area, "transitional" area, where only single-event flooding has occurred, and the "buyout" area, which will become a key element of future green infrastructure that will, along with the "safe" area, provide urban design definition to the Houston of tomorrow.
Fengxiang Qiao, professor of Texas Southern University and expert in urban transportation, agreed with the views proposed by Blackburn.
Furthermore, Qiao told Xinhua that the authorities should do something to improve the design for freeways and highways, especially main roads in urban areas to protect them from flooding in rainy days.
Harvey blew ashore on Aug. 25 as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years, displacing more than 1 million and damaged some 200,000 homes in a path of destruction that stretches for more than 300 miles. The Houston area has been devastated by severe flooding, after receiving about 1.4 meters of rain.
