How Houston's biggest flood defenses could fail disastrously

With flooding here expected to get worse, we explored our lines of defense — and their weaknesses.

View in browser   These are Houston's 5 best flood defenses, and their weaknesses These are Houston's 5 best flood defenses, and their weaknesses Dear readers,   Living in Houston means living with flood risk. That danger remains, even with infrastructure to mitigate it.   And climate change science tells us to brace for worse storms ahead. Heavy rainfall will likely be more common, hurricanes will likely be stronger and sea levels will likely keep rising.    So, for residents here, it helps to know how one's home is protected — and how it's vulnerable. We created an interactive way to explore each major flood mitigation system in Houston, and what's been proposed, or not, to strengthen it.   The result is a comprehensive tool explaining flood risk in Houston.   Emily Foxhall Environment Reporter emily.foxhall@chron.com INTERACTIVE How Houston Floods EXPLORE We can invest in projects like this because of our readers. Support the Chronicle and our mission to uncover Houston's biggest stories by becoming a subscriber. Unsubscribe  |  Manage Preferences  |  Privacy Notice Houston Chronicle 4747 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77027 © 2021 Hearst Communications