Heavy Rainfall and Flooding in Harris County, Texas

Harris County and the City of Houston suffer frequent episodes of excessive rainfall that at times leads to significant flooding. This presentation will look at the various factors that result in flooding in Harris County including rainfall intensity, rainfall frequency, urbanization, and flood mitigation. Additionally, not all flooding in Harris County results from overflowing creeks and bayous. In fact on average over 50% of the house flooding in Harris County is outside the 100-yr (1%) floodplain and this somewhat unique type of flooding from overwhelmed internal drainage systems will be discussed. Lastly there will be a showcase of the Harris County Flood Warning System public website and the various new features that have been added post Harvey including near real time inundation mapping and the ability for residents to sign up for alerts at over 250 gauge locations across the region.