$10 Million FEMA Flood Protection Grant Benefits UT-Houston

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston has received approval of a $10 million flood protection grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The grant will subsidize enhancements to the university’s existing 1976 earthen berm system, as well as pumping and drainage improvements.

“This will fund the critical first level of protection for our medical school complex,” said Brian Yeoman, UT-Houston’s associate vice president for facilities planning and campus development.

Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001 did extensive damage throughout the basement level and the ground floor of UT-Houston’s Medical School Building at 6431 Fannin. Disaster losses included scientific equipment and supplies, medical supplies, research animals and priceless data, as well as electrical and other building systems.

“If our campus experiences a full-fledged hurricane or another high-water incident such as Tropical Storm Allison, without doing the work funded by the grant, we would again suffer extreme circumstances,” Yeoman said.

Flood mitigation work funded by the grant is ongoing, but should be completed by next April.

“We will raise the height of the berm system to the minimum elevation of 47 feet above sea level required by FEMA and increase its drainage and pumping capacity,” said UT-Houston’s Director of Engineering Mani Palani. “And we will replace the existing storm drain with a 5-feet-square, reinforced concrete box culvert to improve the flow of storm water into the Harris Gulley.”

The FEMA money will pay for 75 percent of the project’s total cost through the federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, and the remaining 25 percent comes from institutional resources.

---

©2006 Texas Medical Center

---

E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu
URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/03_15_03/page_06.html