The levees around Texas City, for instance, were built after Hurricane Carla submerged the chemical plants there in 10 feet of water in 1961. Today, Hurricane Ike, which hit Texas in 2008, offers the object lesson. Hurricane Ike was a lucky hit with unlucky timing. Still, Ike killed nearly 50 people in Texas alone, left thousands homeless, and was the third costliest hurricane in American history. The plan’s main disadvantage is that a strong enough hurricane could still flood the Houston Ship Channel, because of what Dr. Bedient calls the “Lake Okeechobee effect.”“The Okeechobee hurricane came into Florida in 1928 and sloshed water to a 20-foot surge,” Dr. Bedient explained.

Source: New York Times October 07, 2016 12:10 UTC