Houston's urban sprawl increased rainfall, flooding during Hurricane Harvey
Wednesday, November 14, 2018 - 13:20
in Earth & Climate
Houston's urban landscape directly contributed to the torrential rainfall and deadly flooding experienced during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, according to Princeton and University of Iowa researchers. The researchers report in the journal Nature Nov. 15 that Houston's risk for extreme flooding during the hurricane—a category 4 storm that caused an estimated $125 billion in damage and killed 68 people—was 21 times greater due to urbanization.