About our Sessions

In 2017 Hurricane Harvey produced the most rainfall ever recorded for a single storm in the United States, with the record volumes all recorded in communities in Southeast Texas. Just two years later Tropical Storm Imelda flooded this region again with arguably the most intense 12 hour US rainfall ever recorded. Both caused significant damage and added to the list of recent flood-related disasters in SE Texas. In response, many different groups decided to form an adhoc data and communication collaborative in 2019 to better prepare for, response to and recover from future events. The members of the group include academics from several universities, drainage districts, county and city representatives, designers, private industry, NGOs, several Texas state agencies including the Department of Transportation, Division of Emergency Management and General Land Office, and federal participation from the USGS, National Weather Service (NOAA), Homeland security and Army Corps of Engineers. This presentation will diagram how this diverse collaboration developed, some of the results of these combined efforts, and the issues, concerns and obstacles for bringing a similar collaborative to your region, be it for flooding or multiple disaster related events.