HOUSTON, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Harris County of U.S. Texas on Friday demolished the first of dozens of buyout homes that was flooded during Hurricane Harvey.
Many homeowners in the area have yet to move back into their damaged homes or begin costly repairs. Officials aim to complete some home purchases as soon as possible. The effort is to buy out Harvey-flooded homes.
Harvey blew ashore on Aug. 25 as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years, displacing hundreds of thousands of people, damaging nearly 200,000 homes.
In September, the Harris County which contains Houston unanimously approved a plan to seek more than 17 million U.S. dollars to buy out more than 100 homes at the highest risk of flooding.
Floodplain maps and regulations only came into being in the 1980s. Since the 1980s, the Harris County Flood Control District has bought out roughly 3,000 homes.
