Nearly all of the top ZIP Codes for greater Houston home sales are in the suburbs and beyond, according to the Q4 2025 ZIP Watch from the Houston Association of REALTORS®.
The association tracked the top 10 ZIP codes with the greatest year-over-year increases in home sales and found that 77484 — Waller — was the hottest in the entire Houston metro area, with home sales increasing 102.2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. The typical home there had an average sales price of $310,165 and spent 55 days on the market.
That ZIP was followed by 77532 (Crosby), where sales increased 79.1% year over year with an average sales price of $260,629; 77521 (Baytown), where sales increased 77.5% with an average sales price of $266,675; and 77554 (the west end of Galveston Island), where sales increased 52% with an average sales price of $784,120. That ZIP was one of only three on HAR’s list with an average sales price greater than the Houston metro average, reported by the association as $425,535 for the fourth quarter.
Also on HAR’s list were 77551 (Galveston), 77065 (northwest Houston/Jersey Village), 77578 (Manvel), 77510 (Santa Fe), 77336 (Huffman) and 77316 (Montgomery).
The top 10 hottest ZIP codes in greater Houston (Chart courtesy of HAR).
A sixth person has been found dead after a Mexican Navy plane carrying medical patients crashed into the waters of Galveston Bay in Texas on Monday afternoon, leaving only two survivors and killing a 2-year-old child, the Mexican Navy said.The body of a final unaccounted-for victim was found Tuesday as search-and-rescue teams scoured the foggy bay waters for a second day, the agency said in a statement.Eight people were on board the plane – four Naval crew members and four civilians, the Mexican Navy confirmed. The plane had been transporting burn patients, Galveston County Sheriff Jimmy Fullen told KPRC.Two people who were recovered alive on Monday are in stable condition, the Mexican Navy said. One woman was pulled from the wreckage by a local man who waded into the water before first responders arrived, driven by instinct and his own experience as a plane crash survivor.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum offered her condolences to the families of the passengers and sailors onboard the plane at a news conference Tuesday.Sheinbaum said her government will investigate the cause of the crash, noting, “There were about 10 minutes during which communication with the aircraft was lost.”Officials had assumed the plane had landed, she said. It was only later that her government learned of the accident.“Until the black box is recovered and analyzed, it will not be possible to know the cause of the crash,” Sheinbaum said.The incident holds striking similarities to another plane crash earlier this year, in which an air ambulance carrying six Mexican nationals — including a child who came to the U.S. for critical medical treatment — careened into a Philadelphia neighborhood shortly after takeoff. The fiery crash left no survivors and engulfed homes and vehicles, killing a couple whose car went up in flames.Childhood crash survivor pulls a woman from the wreckageSky Decker, a local yacht captain and childhood plane crash survivor, told CNN he jumped in to rescue a woman trapped in the debris before divers had arrived on scene.“Everyone was just waiting for divers to arrive. And I thought if there’s a woman alive in that plane, she’s not going to be alive for long,” he told CNN. “It was critical to get her out of there.”Inside the wreckage, Decker found a woman who was surviving by breathing in a pocket of air just inches from the roof of the plane.“It was hard to believe that there could (be) any possibility that anybody could be alive in that wreckage,” Decker said on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”When he saw her inside, he said, “it was just unbelievable.”He went back through the debris and pulled out the body of a man who was already dead, he said.Decker, whose mother was Mexican, said he was initially the only person at the scene who could speak Spanish and console the surviving woman.Decker said he was tormented by dreams about plane crashes for years after he survived the crash of his father’s plane when he was 10 years old. He said the traumatic accident had a “huge impact” on him.“Oddly, it almost seems like it fits in with my life in some strange way,” he said of the crash.The woman he rescued is “doing much better,” Decker said. “I hope to meet with her at some point. I hope I can console her in some way.”The aircraft, a small twin turbo plane, took off from Mérida, the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, and was headed for Galveston Scholes International Airport, which lies about 50 miles southeast of Houston, according to data from FlightRadar24.Mexico’s Navy said the plane was helping with a medical mission in coordination with the Michou and Mau Foundation, which provides emergency transports to children with life-threatening burns to Shriners Children’s hospital in Galveston, according to the nonprofit’s website.A statement from Mexico’s Navy shared on X said the plane had an “incident” during its approach to Galveston, but did not elaborate.NTSB launches an investigationThe National Transportation Safety Board has also opened an investigation into the crash.In a statement shared with CNN Tuesday, a spokesperson for the agency said the first step will be to recover the plane from Galveston Bay, “which could take a week or more to complete.”The investigation will focus on three areas, the agency said — the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment.Throughout the investigation, the agency will gather information, including recordings of any air traffic control communications, maintenance records and flight tracking data.Investigators will issue a preliminary report into their findings within 30 days of the incident, the spokesperson said.CNN also reached out to the FAA, which referred requests for comment to the US Coast Guard. In a statement following the crash, the Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston said the cause of the crash is under investigation.Foggy island coastline had ‘zero visibility,’ witness saysBilly Howell, who works at Galveston Bait and Tackle, told KTRK there was “literally zero visibility” at the time of the crash, adding it is not uncommon near the island, where foggy conditions can roll in within minutes.“As the sea fog goes and the wind blows and changes directions, the fog does get a lot more dense,” Howell said.When the Coast Guard received a report of the crash around 3:17 p.m., a blanket of fog and mist had reduced visibility to just a quarter mile near Galveston and Scholes Field, NOAA data shows.“It looked like it would be impossible for anybody to survive. The plane was almost completely underwater,” Decker told CNN.Wildly fluctuating fog conditions may also have complicated the search for the remaining person.Visibility remained very low Monday night as Coast Guard vessels, a dive team, crime scene unit, drones and police patrols scoured the area. During the search Tuesday, visibility ranged widely from about a quarter mile to up to 10 miles.Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are on scene assisting the investigation, the Texas Department of Safety said in a post on X.Mexico’s Navy said in a post on social media it extends “its deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident.” It said it is coordinating with the Mexican Consulate in Houston. CNN has reached out for more information.The Michou and Mau Foundation also said in a post on X, “We express our deepest solidarity with the families in light of these events. We share their grief with respect and compassion, honoring their memory and reaffirming our commitment to providing humane, sensitive, and dignified care to children with burns.”
GALVESTON, Texas —
A sixth person has been found dead after a Mexican Navy plane carrying medical patients crashed into the waters of Galveston Bay in Texas on Monday afternoon, leaving only two survivors and killing a 2-year-old child, the Mexican Navy said.
The body of a final unaccounted-for victim was found Tuesday as search-and-rescue teams scoured the foggy bay waters for a second day, the agency said in a statement.
Eight people were on board the plane – four Naval crew members and four civilians, the Mexican Navy confirmed. The plane had been transporting burn patients, Galveston County Sheriff Jimmy Fullen told KPRC.
Two people who were recovered alive on Monday are in stable condition, the Mexican Navy said. One woman was pulled from the wreckage by a local man who waded into the water before first responders arrived, driven by instinct and his own experience as a plane crash survivor.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum offered her condolences to the families of the passengers and sailors onboard the plane at a news conference Tuesday.
Sheinbaum said her government will investigate the cause of the crash, noting, “There were about 10 minutes during which communication with the aircraft was lost.”
Officials had assumed the plane had landed, she said. It was only later that her government learned of the accident.
“Until the black box is recovered and analyzed, it will not be possible to know the cause of the crash,” Sheinbaum said.
The incident holds striking similarities to another plane crash earlier this year, in which an air ambulance carrying six Mexican nationals — including a child who came to the U.S. for critical medical treatment — careened into a Philadelphia neighborhood shortly after takeoff. The fiery crash left no survivors and engulfed homes and vehicles, killing a couple whose car went up in flames.
Childhood crash survivor pulls a woman from the wreckage
Sky Decker, a local yacht captain and childhood plane crash survivor, told CNN he jumped in to rescue a woman trapped in the debris before divers had arrived on scene.
“Everyone was just waiting for divers to arrive. And I thought if there’s a woman alive in that plane, she’s not going to be alive for long,” he told CNN. “It was critical to get her out of there.”
Inside the wreckage, Decker found a woman who was surviving by breathing in a pocket of air just inches from the roof of the plane.
“It was hard to believe that there could (be) any possibility that anybody could be alive in that wreckage,” Decker said on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”
When he saw her inside, he said, “it was just unbelievable.”
He went back through the debris and pulled out the body of a man who was already dead, he said.
Decker, whose mother was Mexican, said he was initially the only person at the scene who could speak Spanish and console the surviving woman.
Decker said he was tormented by dreams about plane crashes for years after he survived the crash of his father’s plane when he was 10 years old. He said the traumatic accident had a “huge impact” on him.
“Oddly, it almost seems like it fits in with my life in some strange way,” he said of the crash.
The woman he rescued is “doing much better,” Decker said. “I hope to meet with her at some point. I hope I can console her in some way.”
The aircraft, a small twin turbo plane, took off from Mérida, the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, and was headed for Galveston Scholes International Airport, which lies about 50 miles southeast of Houston, according to data from FlightRadar24.
Mexico’s Navy said the plane was helping with a medical mission in coordination with the Michou and Mau Foundation, which provides emergency transports to children with life-threatening burns to Shriners Children’s hospital in Galveston, according to the nonprofit’s website.
A statement from Mexico’s Navy shared on X said the plane had an “incident” during its approach to Galveston, but did not elaborate.
NTSB launches an investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board has also opened an investigation into the crash.
In a statement shared with CNN Tuesday, a spokesperson for the agency said the first step will be to recover the plane from Galveston Bay, “which could take a week or more to complete.”
The investigation will focus on three areas, the agency said — the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment.
Throughout the investigation, the agency will gather information, including recordings of any air traffic control communications, maintenance records and flight tracking data.
Investigators will issue a preliminary report into their findings within 30 days of the incident, the spokesperson said.
CNN also reached out to the FAA, which referred requests for comment to the US Coast Guard. In a statement following the crash, the Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston said the cause of the crash is under investigation.
Foggy island coastline had ‘zero visibility,’ witness says
Billy Howell, who works at Galveston Bait and Tackle, told KTRK there was “literally zero visibility” at the time of the crash, adding it is not uncommon near the island, where foggy conditions can roll in within minutes.
“As the sea fog goes and the wind blows and changes directions, the fog does get a lot more dense,” Howell said.
When the Coast Guard received a report of the crash around 3:17 p.m., a blanket of fog and mist had reduced visibility to just a quarter mile near Galveston and Scholes Field, NOAA data shows.
“It looked like it would be impossible for anybody to survive. The plane was almost completely underwater,” Decker told CNN.
Wildly fluctuating fog conditions may also have complicated the search for the remaining person.
Visibility remained very low Monday night as Coast Guard vessels, a dive team, crime scene unit, drones and police patrols scoured the area. During the search Tuesday, visibility ranged widely from about a quarter mile to up to 10 miles.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are on scene assisting the investigation, the Texas Department of Safety said in a post on X.
Mexico’s Navy said in a post on social media it extends “its deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident.” It said it is coordinating with the Mexican Consulate in Houston. CNN has reached out for more information.
The Michou and Mau Foundation also said in a post on X, “We express our deepest solidarity with the families in light of these events. We share their grief with respect and compassion, honoring their memory and reaffirming our commitment to providing humane, sensitive, and dignified care to children with burns.”
A small Mexican navy plane on a medical mission crashed Monday near Galveston, Texas, killing at least five people, including a 2-year-old, officials said.
Two people were taken to the hospital, the U.S. Coast Guard said earlier. There was no immediate word on their condition. One passenger, a 27-year-old, was uninjured, the Coast Guard said. It was unclear if that person was one of the two who had been taken to the hospital. One person was still missing as of Monday night, the Mexican navy said.
The Mexican navy said the plane had been carrying eight people: four navy officers and four civilians. The U.S. Coast Guard later told CBS News the plane was capable of carrying eight people, but that it wasn’t actually clear how many were on board.
Two of the passengers were from the nonrofit Michou and Mau Foundation, which provides aid to Mexican children with severe burns.
The crash took place Monday around 3:17 p.m. local time near the base of a causeway near Galveston, along the Texas coast about 50 miles southeast of Houston.
Mexico’s navy said in a statement that the plane was helping with a medical mission and had an accident. It promised to investigate the cause of the crash.
The navy is helping local authorities with the search and rescue operation, it said in a post on X.
Emergency personnel rush a victim of a small plane crash to an awaiting ambulance near Galveston, Texas, on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025.
Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration were expected to arrive at the scene of the crash, the Texas Department of Public Safety said on X. DPS Sgt. Steven Woodard told CBS News that life-saving measures were performed at the scene.
The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said officials from its dive team, crime scene unit, drone unit and patrol were responding to the crash.
“The incident remains under investigation, and additional information will be released as it becomes available,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post, adding that the public should avoid the area so emergency responders can work safely.
It’s not immediately clear if weather was a factor. However, the area has been experiencing foggy conditions over the past few days, according to Cameron Batiste, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
He said that at about 2:30 p.m. Monday, a fog came in that had about a half-mile visibility. The foggy conditions are expected to persist through Tuesday morning.
GALVESTON, Texas – Just days after a boy lost his prosthetic leg in the Gulf of Mexico while on family vacation on Galveston, the community has raised enough money to help buy him a replacement.
Jayce Swindall, 9, was visiting the beach town with his family from Waco, Texas earlier this week.
Early Monday morning, they headed out for the sand. When Jayce saw the waves, he did what just about any other nine-year-old would do: he took off for the water.
“He just kind of dove into the first wave he saw,” added Jayce’s father, Ken Swindall. “He ran out there when he saw those waves, and I didn’t get a chance to take his leg off. I was just happy to see him having a good time, and I wasn’t really thinking about it.”
That’s when a rogue wave hit Jayce, knocking off his prosthetic leg.
“It was two parts,” added his stepmother Val. “One rolled up his leg and then the actual foot with the leg clicked into that, and we had never had an issue with it falling off or anything.”
Immediately, the whole family started searching. They looked in the water, on the sand and everywhere in between.
It wasn’t too long after that lifeguards, beach patrol land even other families joined in the effort.
“I mean, everybody it was a valiant effort on everyone’s part. But the sea won that day,” Val said.
Jayce’s new prosthetic leg was gone. This was a big blow to the family, who loves the beach. After all, it is their happy place, especially for Jayce.
“When it happened, man, it really it was like a ton of bricks,” Ken said.
They didn’t let this ruin the family vacation. Instead, they kept having fun.
In the meantime, they posted to Facebook just in case someone spotted Jayce’s prosthetic leg.
Within a few days, the $7,000 prosthetic was paid in full by complete strangers who just wanted to help.
“You hear so much bad stuff in the world today, and that’s what I’ve told my husband. If you don’t believe in God before this, here’s yours on like, this was a godsend,” Val said.
The good people from Galveston helping a family more than 200 miles away.
Helping a kid, a regular ole kid, get back on his two feet.
Gage: “Jayce, is there anything you want to say to all the people who helped make this happen?”
Jayce: “Thank you.”
Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
“Kim reached out for me, and we were about a foot apart,” Nathan told KPRC 2′s Gage Goulding. “Our hands were almost there, and somebody inadvertently knocked her off the line.”
The two spent 36 hours at sea before being rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Watch their full story of harrowing survival on KPRC2 News at 6:30 p.m.
Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — Vacuums sucked the water out of the seaside inn run by Nick Gaido’s family in Galveston since 1911 as power was still spotty nearly one week after a resurgent Hurricane Beryl swept into Texas. Blue tarp covered much of the torn off roof. Gaido scheduled cleanup shifts for the hotel and restaurant staff who couldn’t afford to lose shifts to the enduring outages.
The July Fourth weekend was supposed to kickstart a lucrative tourism season for this popular getaway’s hospitality industry. But just dozens dotted the typically crowded beaches a week later. Gaido felt an urgent need to send the message that Galveston, Texas, is back open.
“We’ve dealt with storms in late August or in September,” Gaido said. “But when you have a storm that hits in the beginning of July, that’s different.”
Galveston, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Houston, has certainly weathered its share of natural disasters. Etched into its collective memory is the fury of a 1900 hurricane that killed thousands back when the island was emerging as a crown jewel for the state. More recently, Hurricane Ike’s 2008 wrath flooded its historic downtown with storm surge as high as 20 feet (6 meters) and caused more than $29 billion in damage.
Yet even Greater Houston’s storm-seasoned neighbors got taken off guard by Beryl’s sudden arrival. Crashing unusually early in the calendar, the Category 1 hurricane brought the island’s tourism-based economy to a halt during a time when local restaurants rely on an influx of beachgoers to lift revenues. Despite the widespread power outage, businesses and residents are buckling down.
In the harder-hit west side of Jamaica Beach, Way West Grill and Pizzeria was still without electricity on Saturday afternoon. Owner Jake Vincent felt stuck in limbo: he had heard power would return by July 19 but had hope that it might come sooner.
The loss ruined his entire inventory. He said enough mozzarella cheese to fill the back of his truck had gone to waste. Also spoiled was an 8-foot chest full of fries and an estimated 300 pounds (130 kg) of pepperoni.
Vincent no longer expects much from a year he had anticipated would finally bring “daylight” for his family-run restaurant founded in 2018. He said most of their annual sales come during the three summer months and that “this tourism season is probably done for.”
“It complicates things,” he said. “You bank all your summer money to get through the winter.”
Downed cables and orange construction cones could be found along the road linking the touristy strand’s seafood shacks to the west end’s colorful short-term rentals. Crews from Houston-area utility CenterPoint stood atop lifts, sweating as they restored line after line.
Still without power Saturday morning, Greg Alexander raked debris to the edge of the street in his Jamaica Beach neighborhood. Despite sleeping in a balcony-level room in a house already raised high off the ground, he said water poured into the windows. Beryl’s horizontal winds blew rain right onto his bed.
It’s just a part of life here for Alexander. His family moved full-time to Galveston in 2017 after he said Hurricane Harvey dumped 38 inches (nearly 1 meter) of water into their Lake City home. Without power, he said they’ve been “appreciating our car’s air conditioning more than ever.”
He doesn’t plan to leave. He said trials only strengthen the community.
“People on the west end aren’t like everybody else,” he said.
Steve Broom and Debra Pease still lacked power on Saturday but had been beating the heat elsewhere. Broom said they’d already booked a hotel in Houston this week so his daughter could use the Galveston beach house where they’ve lived full-time for about five years. They spent only the first night in Galveston and opted to sleep the rest of the week in their nonrefundable room.
Broom, 72, said he had never seen a hurricane come as early or increase as quickly as Beryl. Still, he joked that just one factor could force him to move off the island where he grew up.
“If they wipe out all these houses, then we’ll be front row and our property value will probably double or triple,” he said, before clarifying: “No, I hope that doesn’t happen.”
Anne Beem and her husband come every July from San Antonio to celebrate their birthdays. For her, the aftermath has been far worse than the hurricane itself.
They enjoyed a nice breeze with the windows open after the storm passed Monday. But she said Tuesday night brought “mosquitogeddon.” Hundreds of bugs filled the house so they slept in their car with the air conditioning blasting.
She said they also bought a kiddie pool to cool off before the power came back Thursday night.
“We just tried to look at it as an adventure,” she said. “Each day was some fresh hell.”
___
This story has been updated to correct the estimated amount of spoiled pepperoni at Way West Grill and Pizzeria to 300 pounds, not 3,000 pounds.
HOUSTON – Hurricane Beryl’s power outages in the Houston area are historic for CenterPoint, according to Jason Ryan, Executive Vice President of Regulatory Services and Government Affairs. And fueled by “unprecedented extreme weather” including not just Beryl, but freezes, drought and rain that have all contributed to conditions that caused debris — entire trees and limbs — to bring down or damage power lines.
In a live and exclusive interview with KPRC 2′s Gage Goulding this afternoon, Ryan said the amount of help they brought in was unprecedented too. on Wednesday, 11-thousand workers were out on 16-hour shifts, restoring power and making repairs.
Ryan — who said he also has no power — expects the company to reach its goal of restoring power for one million customers by the end of Wednesday, as promised.
What’s up with the outage tracker?
“So the outage tracker map that we put up, last night is still a temporary fix that shows kind of in groups where you are in our restoration process. We will update that map three times a day at noon, at 4 p.m., 8 p.m.,” Ryan said.
Starting Thursday, CenterPoint will also give customers estimated restoration times. That should help us all get a better handle on how long it will take to get power restored to most folks.
The company’s outage tracker crashed with more than 900,000 outages during May’s derecho and the company told everyone a new, better tool was coming.
“But we are bringing a completely new, outage tracker map that will be able to withstand the significant traffic that we saw during the derecho. It was that significant traffic on the map that brought that site down. We knew if we put that same site back up, it would not meet customer expectations this go-around either. So that’s why we came up with the outage map that we put out yesterday. We will continue to refine the information on that map and provide estimated restoration times starting tomorrow,” Ryan told Goulding. The new outage tracker was supposed to be ready by the end of this month, but Ryan didn’t have a date for the rollout.
More than a million customers were still without power in the Houston metro area Wednesday night after Hurricane Beryl’s destructive wind.
Transcript from the full interview:
Gage Goulding: Thank you so much. I know you’re incredibly busy. You and your entire team. On behalf of Houston, we thank you for all the hard work the men and women here at CenterPoint are doing. First and foremost, how are you and your team? Is everybody okay and safe?
Jason Ryan: We are. And you know, I want to start out by thanking our customers for their patience. We’re about 48 hours since the hurricane left the greater Houston area. And our team has performed well. We’ve had no serious injuries or fatalities. Very proud of that. Especially with the more than 10,000 additional resources that we brought in from other utilities. They’re not used to being in Houston. they’re working in dangerous conditions. And so, the men and women in the field are safe and super proud of them.
Gage Goulding: And that’s a staggering number. So let’s start there. I met, I think, of a crew as far away from Wheeling, West Virginia that I, whenever I was out and I worked in Wheeling, West Virginia, many moons ago. And I was just so shocked that they were here so quickly. And I believe the number was 12,000 people out working to restore power. Have you ever had an activation of that size before, or is this kind of historic proportions, if you will.
Jason Ryan: So we’ve never had this many customers out from a storm before. 2.26 million customers out at the height of the storm. so as a result of that unprecedented outage number, we needed to have an unprecedented response. So we brought those crews in as soon as it was safe to bring them into Houston, and got them to work. There are more than 11,000 people working on the system today.
Gage Goulding: 11,000?
Jason Ryan: Yes.
Gage Goulding: So let’s talk about that. That was an incredible goal of a million people restored by the end of today. Are you confident? Are we going to reach that?
Jason Ryan: Yes, we’re on track to reach that. We, restored 918,000 customers as of 1:00 today. So we’re on track to hit that million customer mark. Our crews are working 16 hour days. And we’re going to work non-stop around the clock until we get all of our customers back on. But we are confident in hitting, our goal for today.
Gage Goulding: So we put an article up earlier asking our KPRC 2 Insiders to, you know, give us some questions that they want to ask you if they can be in the hot seat with you right now. One of the questions was, and we saw some crews, you know, just in a parking lot. “There’s crews down the street for me, there in a parking lot. They’re not working. What are they doing?” Is that a shift waiting to go on? You know, what are these? How does that all work?
Jason Ryan: It could be a number of things. It could be them documenting the work that they’ve done so far. It could be them getting additional directions for the work they need to do. You know, some of these crews, they get on site. Based on the assessment that they’ve done, that we’ve done, they may need additional information before they can get started working. Again. 10,000 plus of these personnel are not CenterPoint energy employees. They need to understand the standards to which we have to build our system. They need to understand how high the clearances for the lines need to be to comply with local ordinances. So they may be getting that additional information before they start their work. Or they may be, recording the work that’s been done to date so that we can get those outage numbers constantly updated. You know, so there are a number of reasons why they may be, idle for a minute. They may also be on break. We know our customers are hot. The men and women doing this work are hot. So they are taking breaks. They are rehydrating. So that may be another reason why you see, the crews not actively working, but they are out there working.
Gage Goulding: What are some of the biggest problems that you’re dealing with right now? Is it you know, what we saw during the May storm? Transmission lines down. Is it vegetation? What are some of the biggest obstacles out there?
Jason Ryan: Yeah. So unlike that storm, unlike, Harvey before it, this is not a storm that caused material problems on our transmission system. The transmission system of the big poles and wires that move power across the state. We didn’t have material damage to the transmission system. We didn’t have material damage to our substations. Our substations didn’t flood, like they did during Harvey. This is a distribution system challenge. It is the poles and the wires that go from the substations to your home or business. That’s the distribution system. And it’s largely debris on that distribution system. It could be entire trees, that have fallen over. It could be limbs that have fallen over. You know, we’ve gone through significant freezes, significant drought, significant rain, unprecedented, extreme weather conditions on our large trees here in Houston. You’ve got large canopies without mature root systems and so that’s why you see entire trees coming over onto our infrastructure. So it is a vegetation tree problem on the distribution system. Our personnel as of the end of the day yesterday had walked 4,500 miles of distribution lines to assess the problem so they can assign the right crews to do the right work. You know before we can send the right crews out, we need to know do we need to send a construction crew out a large construction crew to rebuild the poles and the wires? Do we need to send a vegetation crew out to remove trees, or do we need to send a smaller crew out, to rework smaller parts of the distribution system? Knowing which crews to send out is the reason we do that assessment work in the first 48 hours.
Gage Goulding: And we we talked about, brought it up to the ratio back in May. That put quite a strain, actually, believe it or not, June 7 is when we did that interview. Fast forward a month to the day is whenever Beryl was about to make landfall. So just very ironic. And, you know, we talked back then about how during Ike, CenterPoint had 12 days to get, you know, ready to brace for it in duration. You had no time.
Jason Ryan: 15 minutes. Yeah.
Gage Goulding: How much time did you, you know, realize that? This is going to this is going to impact us and our customers.
Jason Ryan: eah. So we started watching this storm nine days out. And as everybody knows, at that time, it wasn’t looking like it was coming to Texas. Obviously, as the days got closer to Monday, that started to change. It really started to change over the weekend. When it was more clear that it was going to hit the Houston area. So we, lined up 3,000 mutual aid resources to come into Houston before the weekend. As it became more clear that this storm was going to have a direct hit on us, that’s when we increased the number of people that we asked for. And that’s where the, greater than 10,000 crews came in to play when it was clear that the storm was going to hit right here.
Gage Goulding: And one of the things that we talked about in depth that there’s already changed from the derecho to now was the outage tracker. And I, I want to quote our interview that we had. You said,”We didn’t meet customer expectations when that wasn’t available, when they needed it most. It’s not acceptable to us or our customers.” And this is what really stuck with me, “We know that we will not have that grace from our customers and communities to miss it again.”
Jason Ryan: That’s right.
Gage Goulding: The new outage tracker. You promised a new outage tracker in maybe a little bit quicker than you would have wanted to try it out. Are you happy with the new outage tracker? And is this the solution to make sure people are informed? [16:07:42][37.4]
Jason Ryan: So the outage tracker map that we put up, last night is still a temporary fix that shows kind of in groups where you are in our restoration process. We will update that map three times a day at noon, at 4 p.m., 8 p.m. We will update it three times a day. Starting tomorrow, we will have estimated restoration times. That’s more granular than what you see there today. That is still a temporary fix.
We are starting completely from scratch with a new outage map, that we unfortunately were aiming for the end of this month in advance of the typical hurricane, peak of hurricane season, right? August. September.
But we are bringing a completely new, outage tracker map that will be able to withstand the significant traffic that we saw during the derecho. It was that significant traffic on the map that brought that site down. We knew if we put that same site back up, it would not meet customer expectations this go-around either. So that’s why we came up with the outage map that we put out yesterday. We will continue to refine the information on that map and provide estimated restoration times starting tomorrow.
Gage Goulding: Another thing we talked about back in June, and it seems like such a long time ago, but in the broader, you know, business, there really isn’t. We talked about the supplies because that’s our concern back then was how does how did that the Rachel affect hurricane season where you have all your stock built up. And I remember you telling me that, you know, you said I can’t lie to you. We’re trying to get everything put back together. Were you able to replenish your stock in time, or are you facing any supply chain issues or we need more poles and we can’t get them?
Jason Ryan: We don’t have any material challenges with our supply right now. We did replenish that over the course of the last month plus, since the derecho. So we are not having supply issues, causing delays and restoration.
Gage Goulding: If I have no power, I see my neighbors still have it. I think there’s a lot of people. The number one question I get is, you know, when is you know, 77098 coming on when it was like a zip code or something like that, right. What can you tell people? Yeah. After. And I get it, I don’t have power either at home right now. It was a very uncomfortable sleep last night.
Jason Ryan: Same.
Gage Goulding: So you don’t have power, right?
Jason Ryan: Right. That’s right.
Gage Goulding: So even even one of the top dog doesn’t have that happen. So you’re you’re with us, you know, and I’m sure you’re wondering when is that beautiful white truck going to come down and fix my stuff. What can you offer to the CenterPoint customers and people of Houston to just help us get through this? You know what we dig For any information, what would you offer?
Jason Ryan: So, we know that customers want to understand the process. So yesterday we put out a visual of the process. It’s a five step process, right? It starts with our preparation post-storm. It starts with assessment. That’s step two of the process. Many of our customers are still in step two, but a number of our customers have gone on to step three, which is restoration at the circuit level. Think of, circuits being the main highways of the distribution system that bring on entire areas of town. And so we start working on circuits first with the theory of bring on the most people the quickest and you’ll get to the one-days, two-days later. We know that’s still frustrating for those, 1 or 2 people that are out in that neighborhood, but our priority is to get the most people on the soonest. So as soon as we finish those circuit level outages, that’s where you might see certain neighborhoods on, but other neighborhoods not on. Again, we work down the priority list. So, step threeare those circuit level, outages. Step four starts getting into the neighborhood specific outage and then step five is the premise-specific outage.
During Hurricane Ike, for example, I was the last house in the neighborhood to get on because the line to my house was on the ground. Nobody else had the line on the ground. And so I was one of the last ones because that’s the process that we use.
Gage Goulding: And everybody wants to have the priority status. Even you don’t have the priority status. Is there a priority leveling? Is there certain neighborhoods get power first because it’s, you know, status or anything like that or is it based off of where the hospitals are?
Jason Ryan: We do give priority to a number of public safety-related premises. So think water treatment facilities, 911 centers. So we do prioritize getting those facilities back up while at the same time we’re working on the circuit level outages for the homes and businesses. So we do prioritize those public safety necessary premises to get back up before you get into boil water notices unnecessarily, things like that. So we don’t want the problems to get bigger just because, you might be the one-days, two-days, but you’re an incredibly important public safety premise So we do prioritize those. We are working through those priority lists as we speak.
Gage Goulding: And we only have a couple of minutes. I want to get across two more things here. The last time we talked in June, you said Ike cost about $700 million in the derecho in May was around roughly at the time about $100 million. Is there any forecast on what this has already cost or what it will cost?
Jason Ryan: Not yet. We’re still in the first 48 hours of the event, but we have brought in many more crews than we brought in, for the derecho, so this will be, you know, a multitude or, you know, twice as much, probably as the derecho event, but we’re still working on that.
Gage Goulding: And, we talked about this in depth in June, and we reported on it and I think this is a really interesting thing, the Resilience Plan, a huge monumental investment by CenterPoint to make the grid stronger. A lot of the questions people had were actually answered by that like, “Why isn’t CenterPoint investing in making the grid and everything stronger?” That’s actually in the process of happening. Can you explain how and what the Resilience Plan is and how that’s going to help? If we knock on wood and hopefully don’t get one of these again. But if it [the plan] happens, how it will help prevent having these monumental numbers?
Jason Ryan: So our Resilience Plan that we filed with the state back in March has 28 different programs associated with it. Some of them are on hard infrastructure, like distribution lines, where we’re replacing wooden poles with harder composite poles. Some of them are cybersecurity related. Some of them are physical security related. But let me stick with the pole example. And we’ve seen during the duration that we’ve seen during this storm where we’ve already started putting those composite poles up. In these severe weather events, those composite poles remain standing, and right next to them, wooden poles that we haven’t yet replaced are on the ground, snapped in half. So we know from these early tests that the Resilience Plan will yield better results once it’s fully implemented.
Gage Goulding: Well, Jason, thank you very much. I appreciate you taking the time. We appreciate all the work that CenterPoint is doing and you know, look, a lot of people still in Houston without power it’s going to take time, but 12,000 people, that’s a lot of people that are out there working right now. Anything else you want to add in there that we didn’t get to?
Jason Ryan: You know, only again recognizing that our customers are feeling the brunt of this. And understanding that in addition to the power being out, many of them have suffered significant, loss to property, right? Trees on their houses, trees on their cars. Trees on their businesses. And so our hearts go out to our customers. We thank them for their patience as we continue to do restoration. But we do know, that there’s a lot of suffering out in the community and we’re we will not stop working until the work is done.
CRYSTAL BEACH, Texas – The Houston area dodged the worst of Tropical Storm Alberto, but that doesn’t mean we got away without a scratch.
Our barrier islands took a beating from Alberto’s storm surge. Galveston Bay and nearby barrier islands saw two to four feet of storm surge roll onto the island.
For communities on the Bolivar Peninsula, this turned out to be a devastating punch to their solo line of defense when it comes to fending back the angry waters of the Gulf of Mexico: sand dunes.
Crystal Beach on Bolivar Peninsula after storm surge from Tropical Storm Alberto ate away at the coastline. Photo: June 20, 2024 (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
“This ain’t a storm. This is disturbance out in the Gulf,” said Crystal Beach resident Shane Stone. “It’s 400 miles away and look what it’s done.”
In some areas of Crystal Beach, roughly 25 yards worth of sand dunes were seemingly washed out overnight.
Some homes are now exposed to the elements at their foundation with the waves from the Gulf nearly hitting their pilings.
At one home in the Tidelands community, the entire backyard and dunes were washed away.
A backyard in Crystal Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula eroded away by the storm surge from Tropical Storm Alberto on June 20, 2024. (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
“Every bit of 10 to 12 foot height. Gone,” said Stone.
For the second day in a row on Thursday, storm surge was eating away at the beach and dunes.
Residents recorded video of sand literally washing away in front of them.
“This used to be all yard. These dunes was over this,” Stone explained. “We’re going to lose these houses.”
Sand dunes are one of the best ways to hold back the Gulf of Mexico’s destructive storm surge.
At Florida Gulf Coast University, researchers are employing the help of LIDAR-equipped drones to map the beach before, immediately and after Hurricane Ian.
Their findings show that storm surge takes two swings at their target: once on the way in and again on the way out.
“We realized that the storm surge actually causes problems twice, once coming in the so-called flood surge and once going out the ebb surge,” said Dr. Mike Savarese with The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University. “And that returning water created, oh, horrendous conditions, in fact, most of the damage.”
It’s that ebb surge that’s ripping away the dunes from Bolivar Peninsula.
“Could you imagine if we actually have a hurricane,” Stone said. “A category one, category two. What it’s going to do?”
A backyard in Crystal Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula eroded away by the storm surge from Tropical Storm Alberto on June 20, 2024. (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
A Galveston County spokesperson told KPRC2′s Gage Goulding on Thursday that crews are still evaluating the extent of the damage.
Then they’ll be able to devise a plan to mitigate the damage until the end of hurricane season.
But the reality is, it’ll take time and that’s the one thing residents don’t have with another tropical system already brewing in the Gulf.
“Unfortunately, I think we’re doomed,” Stone said.
Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
HOUSTON – As you prepare for hurricane season by prepping for your family, first responders in Houston are doing the same.
At the Houston Fire Department, firefighters are training just in case the Houston area finds itself in the path of a hurricane this season.
Part of that training includes rescuing people from fast-rising water or flooded-out communities.
“Swift water is dangerous,” said Captain Michael O’Hare of the Houston Fire Department. “We are that last line of defense Before they are hurt.”
Captain O’Hare is among the group of leaders heading the training at Schlitterbahn Waterpark on Galveston.
There, the men and women of the Houston Fire Department are earning their name of “Houston’s Bravest.”
The training scenarios put firefighters in real work scenarios with real consequences for just one wrong step.
A Houston firefighters training for hurricane season at Schlitterbahn Waterpark on May 15, 2024. Photo by Jack Quillin (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
“This opens eyes, but this doesn’t come close to the real forces that you’ll be dealing with,” Captain O’Hare said.
So why are we at a waterpark?
“Schlitterbahn is nice enough to give us a couple days to run the pumps up,” Captain O’Hare said.
The different kinds of currents and pools give Houston Firefighters the opportunity to get a feel for some of the different kinds of swift water they could encounter.
KPRC 2′s Gage Goulding was invited to tag along for an exclusive opportunity to train alongside firefighters to get a taste of just how difficult their training really is.
KPRC2 reporter Gage Goulding training alongside Houston firefighters ahead of hurricane season at Schlitterbahn Waterpark on May 15, 2024. Photo by Jack Quillin (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
The first session involved flipping a capsized inflatable rescue boat.
“If our boats are caught sideways in the current, they will probably knock over,” Captain O’Hare said.
When that happens, one of the firefighters swims under the boat and braces themselves in the air pocket.
Meanwhile, on the top, another firefighter is using their body weight to pull on straps and flip the boat upright.
“This is what we want our guys to realize before they do get inside the water the first time,” said Firefighter Christopher Cullen.
Next, firefighters headed over to the not-so-lazy river for some defensive swimming training.
“Our feet are up and in front in case we encounter something under the water that we can’t see,” Captain O’Hare explained.
A Houston Firefighter training for hurricane season at Schlitterbahn Waterpark on May 15, 2024. Photo by Jack Quillin (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
In this instance, it’s a giant plastic tube, which could be a floating tree or telephone pole.
“Things that we call strainers, or anything that is stopped in the water, that if we get wedged up against, we won’t be able to recover,” said Captain O’Hare. “So, we learn how to swim over those or to divert around them.”
The easy part is floating on your back and letting the current push you along. But flipping around and getting over the obstacle is no walk on the beach.
Gage Goulding: “It wasn’t that bad. But the camera doesn’t do it justice.”
KPRC2 reporter Gage Goulding training alongside Houston firefighters ahead of hurricane season at Schlitterbahn Waterpark on May 15, 2024. Photo by Jack Quillin (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
The Houston Fire Department saved the best training for last – one that was introduced with the following statement: “We’re not here to get hurt.”
At the Boogie Bahn, crews crank up the water blasting at our feet.
“This isn’t normal training where you go out and just do it,” Cullen said.
The goal is to work as a team and move sideways through the swift water, using only a paddle to check for dangers in front of them.
“A lot of people, they see this skinny moving water and think it is not moving very fast,” said Cullen. “And since it’s not moving very fast and it’s not deep, they think they can cross it.”
KPRC 2′s Gage Goulding was voted to the front of the pyramid by his fellow teammates.
KPRC2 reporter Gage Goulding training alongside Houston firefighters ahead of hurricane season at Schlitterbahn Waterpark on May 15, 2024. Photo by Jack Quillin (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
Two Houston firefighters were holding Gage down by his life vest while he moved sideways through the water, breaking up the pressure for those behind him.
They made it most of the way through the water, but where the current was its strongest, we lost one of our teammates.
It wasn’t long until everyone fell.
Christopher Cullen: “We’re going to put you in some harm’s way, and you might get some bumps and bruises on it. That’s the only way you’re going to learn from it.”
Gage Goulding: “So how did I do with everything? Be honest.”
Christopher Cullen: “I think you did great. I mean, you saw everybody falling down. That gets everybody over there.”
While it might look like fun and games, it’s a very important experience for firefighters to get their feet wet when it comes to dangerous flood waters.
A Houston Firefighter training for hurricane season at Schlitterbahn Waterpark on May 15, 2024. Photo by Jack Quillin (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
“We don’t want our guys to walk out and haven’t been introduced to that type of water before,” Cullen said.
While they’re preparing for hurricane season, they use this knowledge year-round.
In early May during historic rainfalls and flooding, the Houston Fire Department deployed their swift water teams to rescue those caught in the flood waters or trapped in their homes.
“The opportunity for us to go in and help evacuate people; It’s good for refreshing us and boat operations and safety factors,” Captain O’Hare said.
While they hope everyone heeds warnings, evacuates and never finds themselves in harm’s way – they need to be ready just in case.
“If something does happen, you’re going to have a team that’s ready to come get you,” Cullen said.
Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
GALVESTON – KPRC 2 has learned what is spilling out of the barge that crashed Wednesday morning into the Pelican Island Bridge Causeway in Galveston Wednesday.
The collision damaged the bridge and caused an oil spill, shutting off the only access to and from the island by car.
The Galveston County Office of Emergency Management identified the oil as vacuum gas oil. The barge was equipped to hold at least 30,000 barrels, according to Galveston County Judge Mark Henry.
Vacuum gas oil from the barge has been visually confirmed in the water, according to a release. This has caused the closing of a section of the Intracoastal Waterway from Mile Marker 350.5 to Mile Marker 357, approximately 6.5 miles
Galveston County OEM officials said they do not know how much was on board or how much has leaked into the Gulf.
What is vacuum gas oil?
According to Honeywell UOP, a petroleum industry company, vacuum gas oil is a key feedstock for fluid catalytic crackers. Those are used to make transportation fuels and many other by-products.
The Environmental Protection Agency lists vacuum gas oil on its Toxic Substances Control list.
It can irritate a person’s eyes, skin and respiratory system, according to a government safety data sheet. It can also cause chemical blistering, skin cancer and genetic defects.
It’s insoluble in water, spreads on the surface, then some components will eventually sediment in water. The volatile components of the product spread in the atmosphere, and it’s very toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects, according to a Valero Energy company safety data sheet.
What happened
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the barge, owned by Martin Petroleum, collided with the Pelican Island Bridge that connects Galveston Island to Pelican Island.
Power was temporarily interrupted to Pelican Island, which is home to Texas A&M Galveston.
Additionally, Texas A&M has canceled classes for the day, which roughly affected only 30 students because it’s the end of the semester. They’re opening their cafeteria for any students stuck there.
Secondary power was restored to Pelican Island, officials said.
Vehicle traffic across the Pelican Island Bridge and and vessel traffic in the channel have been halted due to the crash as structural impact to the bridge is being inspected by the Texas Department of Transportation.
Over 2,000 people including faculty, staff and students at Texas A&M in Galveston depend on the bridge, according to the student newspaper.
Looking for the must-try restaurants in Galveston, TX? Look no further than this Redfin article. Whether you’re a local or just visiting, Galveston has a wide range of culinary delights to satisfy your taste buds. From American and seafood to Cajun and Italian, there’s something for everyone. So, if you’re craving a delicious meal and a memorable dining experience, keep reading to discover your new favorite spot.
1. Rudy T & Paco Restaurants
Cuisine Type: American Restaurant Location: 2028 Post Office St, Galveston, TX 77550 Website:Rudy T & Paco Restaurants
Rudy T & Paco Restaurants is an American restaurant. They offer a diverse menu with a variety of American dishes, including steaks, seafood, and pasta. With its cozy atmosphere and excellent service, Rudy T & Paco Restaurants is a popular choice for both locals and tourists.
Fisherman’s Wharf is a renowned seafood restaurant. Their menu features a wide selection of fresh seafood dishes, including shrimp, oysters, and fish. With its waterfront location and scenic views, Fisherman’s Wharf provides a memorable dining experience for seafood lovers.
Little Daddy’s Gumbo Bar – Galveston is a Cajun and Creole restaurant. They specialize in authentic Louisiana cuisine, offering dishes such as gumbo, jambalaya, and crawfish étouffée. With its vibrant atmosphere and flavorful dishes, Little Daddy’s Gumbo Bar is a must-visit for those craving Cajun and Creole flavors.
4. Star Drug Store
Cuisine Type: Diner, American Restaurant Location: 510 23rd St, Galveston, TX 77550 Website:Star Drug Store
Star Drug Store is a unique diner and American restaurant. Known for its nostalgic ambiance and classic diner fare, Star Drug Store offers a range of comfort food options, including burgers, sandwiches, and milkshakes. This historic establishment has been serving delicious meals since 1917, making it a beloved local favorite.
Shark Shack Beach Bar & Grill is a lively bar and burger joint. Along with a variety of burgers, they also serve a range of bar food favorites, such as wings, nachos, and tacos. With its beachfront location and vibrant atmosphere, Shark Shack Beach Bar & Grill is a popular spot for locals and tourists looking for a fun dining experience.
Mosquito Café is a charming café offering a diverse menu with a focus on fresh and locally sourced ingredients. From breakfast options like omelets and pancakes to sandwiches and salads for lunch, Mosquito Café has something to satisfy every palate. With its cozy atmosphere and delicious food, it’s no wonder this café is a local favorite.
Riondo’s Ristorante is a well-known Italian restaurant. Their menu features a variety of classic Italian dishes, including pasta, risotto, and wood-fired pizzas. With its warm and inviting atmosphere, Riondo’s Ristorante is the perfect place to enjoy a taste of Italy in Galveston.
The Sunflower Bakery & Cafe is a delightful café known for their freshly baked goods, including pastries, cakes, and bread. In addition to their bakery items, they also offer a variety of breakfast and lunch options. With its cozy atmosphere and delicious treats, The Sunflower Bakery & Cafe is a must-visit for any food lover.
Willie G’s Seafood & Steaks is a renowned restaurant in Galveston. They specialize in serving high-quality seafood and steaks, offering a range of dishes to satisfy every palate. With its elegant ambiance and waterfront views, Willie G’s Seafood & Steaks provides a memorable dining experience for any occasion.
Boulevard Seafood is a popular seafood restaurant offering a wide selection of fresh seafood dishes, including shrimp, crab, and lobster. With its casual yet inviting atmosphere, Boulevard Seafood is a great place to enjoy a delicious seafood meal with family and friends.
Katie’s Seafood House is a well-known seafood restaurant committed to serving the freshest seafood available, offering a variety of dishes such as fried shrimp, grilled fish, and seafood platters. With its waterfront location and friendly atmosphere, Katie’s Seafood House is a favorite spot for seafood enthusiasts.
12. Shrimp N Stuff
Cuisine Type: Seafood Restaurant Location: 3901 Avenue O, Galveston, TX 77550 Website:Shrimp N Stuff
Shrimp N Stuff is a beloved seafood restaurant. They are known for their delicious shrimp dishes, including fried shrimp, shrimp po’boys, and shrimp gumbo. With its casual and laid-back atmosphere, Shrimp N Stuff is a go-to spot for locals and visitors looking for a taste of Gulf Coast seafood.
HOUSTON — Fourteen years after Hurricane Ike ripped through thousands of homes and businesses near Galveston, Texas — but mostly spared the region’s oil refineries and chemical plants — the U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to authorize the most expensive project ever recommended by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect against the next raging storm.
Ike erased beachfront neighborhoods, causing $30 billion in damage. But with so much of the nation’s petrochemical industry in the Houston-Galveston corridor, it could have been even worse. That close call inspired marine science professor Bill Merrell to first propose a massive coastal barrier to protect against a direct hit.
Now, the National Defense Authorization Act includes authorizations for a $34 billion plan that borrows from Merrell’s idea.
“It was quite different than anything we had done in the United States and it took us a little while to come around to it,” said Merrell of Texas A&M University at Galveston.
The House passed the $858 billion defense bill by a vote of 350-80. It includes major projects to improve the nation’s waterways and protect communities against floods made more severe by climate change.
Specifically, the vote advances the Water Resources Development Act of 2022. That lays out a sprawling set of policies for the Army Corps and authorizes projects that touch on navigation, improving the environment and protecting against storms. It typically passes every two years. It received strong, bipartisan support and now advances to the Senate.
The Texas coastal protection project far outstrips any of the 24 other projects greenlit by the bill. There is a $6.3 billion plan to deepen vital shipping channels near New York City and a $1.2 billion effort to raise homes and businesses on the central Louisiana coast.
“No matter what side of politics you are on, everyone is interested in having good water resources,” said Sandra Knight, president of WaterWonks LLC.
THE IKE DIKE
Researchers at Rice University in Houston have estimated that a Category 4 storm with a 24-foot storm surge could damage storage tanks and release more than 90 million gallons of oil and hazardous substances.
The most prominent feature of the coastal barrier would be floodgates, including some 650 feet wide – roughly the equivalent of a 60-story building on its side – to prevent storm surge from entering Galveston Bay and plowing up the Houston Ship Channel. An 18-mile ring barrier system would also be built along the backside of Galveston Island to protect homes and businesses from storm surge. The plan took six years of study involving roughly 200 people.
There will also be beach and dune ecosystem restoration projects along the Texas coast. The Houston Audubon Society raised concerns the project would destroy some bird habitat and harm fish, shrimp and crabs populations in the Bay.
NEXT STEPS
The legislation authorizes the construction of the project, but funding will remain a challenge — money must still be allocated. The huge cost burden falls heaviest on the federal government, but local and state entities also will have to pitch in billions. Construction could take two decades.
“It significantly reduces the risk of that catastrophic storm surge event that is not recoverable,” said Mike Braden, chief of the Army Corps Galveston District’s mega projects division.
The bill also includes a range of policy measures. When future hurricanes hit for example, coastal protections can be rebuilt with climate change in mind. Designers will be able to think about how much seas will rise when they draw up plans.
“The future for a lot of these communities is not going to look like the past,” said Jimmy Hague, senior water policy advisor at the Nature Conservancy.
The water resources bill continues a push towards wetlands and other flood solutions that use nature to absorb water instead of concrete walls to keep it at bay. On the Mississippi River below St. Louis, for example, a new program will help restore ecosystems and create a mix of flood control projects. There are also provisions for studying long-term drought.
There are measures to improve outreach with tribes and make it easier to complete work in poorer, historically disadvantaged communities.
It can take a long time to study projects, move them through Congress and find funding. Merrell, who will turn 80 in February, said he hopes to see some of the Texas project be constructed but he doesn’t think he’ll be around to see it finished.
“I just hope the end product comes and it protects my children and grandchildren and all the other citizens of this area,” Merrell said.
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Phillis reported from St. Louis.
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