FloodingBetter flood-warning system
On Memorial Day evening, Houston, Texas suffered massive flooding after getting nearly eleven inches of rain in twelve hours. Rice University civil engineering professor Philip Bedient is an expert on flooding and how communities can protect themselves from disaster. He directs the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center (SSPEED) at Rice University. Bedient designed the Flood Alert System — now in its third version — which uses radar, rain gauges, cameras, and modeling to indicate whether Houston’s Brays Bayou is at risk of overflowing and flooding the Texas Medical Center. He says more places need those types of warning systems.
Rice University civil engineering professor Philip Bedient is an expert on flooding and how communities can protect themselves from disaster. He directs the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center (SSPEED) at Rice University.
On Memorial Day evening, Houston, Texas suffered massive flooding after getting nearly eleven inches of rain in twelve hours. Bedient designed the Flood Alert System — now in its third version — which uses radar, rain gauges, cameras, and modeling to indicate whether Houston’s Brays Bayou is at risk of overflowing and flooding the Texas Medical Center. In an interview with Ryan Holeywell, the editor of Urban Edge, the blog of Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, he said more places need those types of warning systems.
Ryan Holeywell:What’s wrong with the way communities get flood warnings today?
Phil Bedient: You see what happened in Wimberly. It’s atrocious that they didn’t have enough warning. The National Weather Service only issues warnings by county. It’s too general. We have a specific flood warning system for the Texas Medical Center, but we need more.
RH: Why don’t we have a flood warning system like the one you designed everywhere?
PB: We’ve tired over the years to get it expanded. We have one in Sugar Land. We have one in the Clear Lake-Clear Creek area. But I think there are great opportunities to build this out for the city proper. It wouldn’t be the whole city, but the major water sheds.
Part of the problem is the county refuses to issue warnings, and they leave it to the National Weather Service. It keeps them from getting into issues of liability.
It’s a wonderful tool. We’re trying to carry the banner for it into San Marcos and Wimberly. What happened there is inexcusable. They got absolutely no warning it was coming. People were killed who should have never been in harm’s way. This technology is too simple to build. For the cost of one city truck, we can build this system.
