Editing Houston (section)

==== Flooding and storms ====
[[File:Harvey flooding (36527844190).jpg|thumb|[[Hurricane Harvey]] flooding]]
[[Flooding]] has been a recurring problem in the Houston area. In June 2001, [[Tropical Storm Allison]] dumped up to {{convert|40|in|mm}} of rain on parts of Houston, causing what was then the worst flooding in the city's history and billions of dollars in damage, and killed 20 people in Texas.<ref>{{cite news |title=Allison's Death Toll Hits 43 |last=Ward |first=Christina |url=http://www.redcross.org/news/ds/floods/010618houston.html |work=RedCross.org |date=June 18, 2001 |access-date=January 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061204040810/http://www.redcross.org/news/ds/floods/010618houston.html |archive-date=December 4, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In August 2005, Houston became a shelter to more than 150,000 people from New Orleans, who evacuated from [[Hurricane Katrina]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Katrina's Human Legacy |work=Houston Chronicle |date=August 27, 2006 |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2006_4178618 |access-date=August 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120085143/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2006_4178618 |archive-date=January 20, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> One month later, about 2.5 million Houston-area residents evacuated when [[Hurricane Rita]] approached the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]], leaving little damage to the Houston area. This was the largest urban evacuation in the history of the United States.<ref>{{cite news |last=Flakus |first=Greg |title=Recovery Beginning in Areas Affected by Hurricane Rita |work=Voice of America News |date=September 25, 2005 |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-09/2005-09-25-voa33.cfm |access-date=January 10, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070110220637/http://voanews.com/english/archive/2005-09/2005-09-25-voa33.cfm |archive-date=January 10, 2007}}</ref><ref>[http://www.house.gov/brady/2007_appropriations.shtml 8th Congressional District of Texas 2007 Appropriations Project Requests] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107112644/http://www.house.gov/brady/2007_appropriations.shtml |date=January 7, 2007 }}. Congressman Kevin Brady, 8th District of Texas. Retrieved on January 10, 2007.</ref>

In May 2015, seven people died after 12 inches of rain fell in 10 hours during what is known as the Memorial Day Flood. Eight people died in April 2016 during a storm that dropped 17 inches of rain.<ref>{{cite news |last=Boburg |first=Shawn |title=Houston's 'Wild West' growth |date=September 25, 2005 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/investigations/harvey-urban-planning/ |access-date=January 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327084606/https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/investigations/harvey-urban-planning/ |archive-date=March 27, 2018}}</ref> The worst came in late August 2017, when [[Hurricane Harvey]] stalled over southeastern Texas, much like Tropical Storm Allison did sixteen years earlier, causing severe flooding in the Houston area, with some areas receiving over {{convert|50|in|mm}} of rain.<ref name="gallons">{{cite news |title=Texas flood disaster: Harvey has unloaded 9 trillion gallons of water |date=August 27, 2017 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/08/27/texas-flood-disaster-harvey-has-unloaded-9-trillion-tons-of-water/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=August 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827190700/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/08/27/texas-flood-disaster-harvey-has-unloaded-9-trillion-tons-of-water/ |archive-date=August 27, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> The rainfall exceeded 50 inches in several areas locally, breaking the national record for rainfall. The damage for the Houston area was estimated at up to $125 billion [[U.S. dollars]],<ref>{{cite news |work=Texas Tribune |title=Hurricane Harvey was year's costliest U.S. disaster at $125 billion in damages |author=Mooney, Chris |date=January 8, 2018 |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2018/01/08/hurricane-harvey-was-years-costliest-us-disaster-125-billion-damages/ |access-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109213821/https://www.texastribune.org/2018/01/08/hurricane-harvey-was-years-costliest-us-disaster-125-billion-damages/ |archive-date=January 9, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> and was considered to be one of the worst [[List of natural disasters in the United States|natural disasters in the history of the United States]],<ref name="Hurricane Harvey">"{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/08/30/news/economy/harvey-cost-most-expensive-disasters/index.html |title=Harvey certain to be one of the most expensive natural disasters ever |df=mdy-all |date=August 30, 2017 |access-date=August 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830184752/http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/30/news/economy/harvey-cost-most-expensive-disasters/index.html |archive-date=August 30, 2017 |url-status=live }}&nbsp;{{small|(31.8&nbsp;KB)}}", ''CNN News''. Retrieved on August 25, 2017.</ref> with the death toll exceeding 70 people. Houston's lack of zoning laws allowed unregulated building of residential homes and other structures in flood-prone areas.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Aaron |last1=Davis |first2=Jack |last2=Gillum |first3=Andrew |last3=Tran |title=How Houston's 'Wild West' growth may have contributed to devastating flooding |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/investigations/harvey-urban-planning/ |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=September 10, 2018 |language=en |quote=Growth that is virtually unchecked, including in flood-prone areas, has diminished the land's already-limited natural ability to absorb water, according to environmentalists and experts in land use and natural disasters.&nbsp;... Since 2010, at least 7,000 residential buildings have been constructed in Harris County on properties that sit mostly on land the federal government has designated as a 100-year flood plain, according to a ''Washington Post'' review of areas at the greatest risk of flooding. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327084606/https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/investigations/harvey-urban-planning/ |archive-date=March 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, it also resulted in more concentrated development in already urban areas than in wetlands and suburbs.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gray |first1=Nolan |title=Houston's Zoning Wasn't the Problem |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-04/how-houston-s-zoning-can-help-hurricane-harvey-recovery |access-date=16 March 2024 |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |date=4 September 2017}}</ref> Mayor Sylvester Turner tweeted of Hurricane Harvey that "zoning wouldn't have changed anything. We would have been a city with zoning that flooded."<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=SylvesterTurner |number=902950965229301767 |title=city with zoning that flooded}}</ref>

On May 16, 2024, a strong [[derecho]] caused widespread damage across the city and surrounding metropolitan area.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Helsel |first1=Phil |title=7 dead in Houston area after storms, 100 mph winds |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/7-dead-texas-harris-county-storms-100-mph-winds-rcna152874 |publisher=[[NBC News]] |access-date=18 May 2024 |language=en |date=17 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=At least 7 dead after hurricane-force winds pound Houston as power outages persist amid rising temperatures |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/17/weather/flooding-south-storms-houston-friday/index.html |publisher=[[CNN]] |access-date=18 May 2024 |date=17 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Wulfeck |first1=Andrew |last2=Sistek |first2=Scott |date=May 16, 2024 |title=Houston metro rocked by 100 mph derecho that left 7 dead and over 1 million without power |url=https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/thunderstorm-damage-houston-texas |access-date=May 18, 2024 |work=[[Fox Weather]] |language=en-US}}</ref>