FROM THE PRESIDENT

This month marks the first anniversary of Tropical Storm Allison, the costliest tropical storm in U.S. history and the most devastating flood in the history of the Texas Medical Center.

Forty percent of the $5 billion in total damages caused by flooding was attributed to the Texas Medical Center area. The amount of water unleashed on the city by Allison could have filled the Astrodome 5,600 times. All told, the storm dumped 12 to 15 inches of rain on the Texas Medical Center in a 9-hour period – an unprecedented amount.

During the past year, much attention has focused on Brays Bayou, which played a key part in contributing to flood damage. In the 1950s and ’60s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in cooperation with the Harris County Flood Control District, straightened and enlarged almost the entire length of the bayou. At that time, the bayou served its purpose as an extremely efficient way to move stormwater runoff into the Houston Ship Channel. But today, the Brays Bayou is overburdened and due for an overhaul. Extensive land development and subsidence have contributed to the bayou’s inability to handle floods like Allison. Consequently, an initiative known as the Brays Bayou project, managed by the Harris County Flood Control District and partially funded by the federal government, is under way. The project will reduce the water level in Brays Bayou by five feet in the event of severe rainfall. Unfortunately, the project is not slated for full completion until 2014. The Texas Medical Center would like to see the project finished much sooner to afford the area some degree of protection against future floods.

In the meantime, Texas Medical Center institutions are doing their part to mitigate against future flood damage. For example:

• Before Tropical Storm Allison, Texas Children’s Hospital had already installed five submarine-style flood doors that blocked more than 6 million gallons of water from causing major flood damage to the hospital. Since the storm, 13 more have been installed.
• In the storm’s wake, the Texas Medical Center commissioned a study aimed at identifying methods to reduce future flooding. The report, prepared by the architectural and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (see related story page 1) examines storm water drainage, utility services, emergency management and traffic access into and out of the medical center, among other measures, to minimize flooding.
• Memorial Hermann Hospital has sealed its tunnel system, raised flood barriers, secured manhole covers and enclosed critical electric gear in protective vaults.
• Six flood doors are now in place in the St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital tunnels, each capable of withstanding four times the water pressure generated by Allison’s flooding. Future plans include moving electrical switches to a waterproof structure.
• The Methodist Hospital is installing flood doors in its tunnels and raising perimeter walls.
• At Baylor College of Medicine and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, extensive measures are being implemented to secure vital educational and research facilities.

It is almost certain a storm like this will be back – it’s only a matter of when. But next time, we’ll be better prepared thanks to the lessons learned last year. The key to future protection will be extensive new, area-wide projects, designed to hold and remove stormwater during intensive rains.

E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu
URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/06_15_02/page_15.html