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Coastal areas are subject to the joint risk associated with rainfall‐driven flooding and storm surge hazards. To capture this dependency and the compound nature of these hazards, bivariate modelling represents a straightforward and easy‐to‐implement approach that relies on observational records. Most existing applications focus on a single tide gauge–rain gauge/streamgauge combination, limiting the applicability of bivariate modelling to develop high‐resolution space–time design events that can be used to quantify the dynamic, that is, varying in space and time, compound flood hazard in coastal basins. Moreover, there is a need to recognize that not all extreme events always come from a single population, but can reflect a mixture of different generating mechanisms. Therefore, this paper describes an empirical approach to develop design storms with high‐resolution in space and time (i.e., ~5 km and hourly) for different joint annual exceedance probabilities. We also stratify extreme rainfall and storm surge events depending on whether they were caused by tropical cyclones (TCs) or not. We find that there are significant differences between the TC and non‐TC populations, with very different dependence structures that are missed if we treat all the events as coming from a single population. While we apply this methodology to one basin near Houston, Texas, our approach is general enough to make it applicable for any coastal basin exposed to compounding flood hazards from storm surge and rainfall‐induced flooding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a framework for using business and organizational scenario-planning techniques for regional strategic transportation-planning purposes. The paper provides a brief history of scenario planning as it emerged from business-strategic planning activities and gives an overview of its goals and limitations. The paper then reviews the context for scenario planning in regional transportation planning as well as precedents of its application in this field. The paper continues with a presentation of a scenario-planning framework for transportation as refined and applied to the Houston metropolitan area. The major findings and lessons from this application are discussed, together with conclusions and observations regarding further potentials and refinements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood warning systems in urban areas have greatly improved in recent years with the advent of geographical information systems (GIS), radar-based rainfall estimation using next generation radar (NEXRAD), and delivery systems on the internet. The issue of flood warning and alert was brought to the forefront of public attention in Houston, Texas after the devastation resulting from the Tropical Storm Allison flood of June, 2001. This flood was reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as the most damaging urban flood in U.S. history, and certainly the most devastating event to impact Houston and Harris County with over $5 billion in total damages, and about 50,000 damaged structures. Over $1.5 billion in damages to the Texas Medical Center (TMC) alone were reported, with additional major impacts to the local community. While more traditional gage-based alert systems often provide flood notification to many people, the combination of GIS, NEXRAD, and the internet allows for the more efficient accumulation of rainfall data in real-time. This data can then be used in hydrologic models to estimate peak flows in a basin. This paper will illustrate the design, operation, and performance of an advanced flood warning system, developed for the TMC, which utilizes NEXRAD radar for hydrologic prediction in the Brays Bayou watershed of Houston, Texas. It will specifically document and review its use during the T.S. Allison storm event and other historical events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical evaluations of flood damage from past events are key for identifying the most important factors influencing household vulnerability to floods. However, creating accurate assessments of flood risk with observed records is challenging because of issues associated with data quality, analytical approach, and the successful integration of different information and measurement schemes into one comprehensive model. This paper reviews these issues and proposes ways to overcome them using revised research protocols and spatial analytical methods and techniques. Recommendations are then applied to an empirical evaluation of residential property damages resulting from a major coastal storm in the Houston area, Texas. Results indicate that a parcel‐based, spatial approach to modelling flood risk yields a more detailed and accurate assessment of impacts with an explained variance 2 to 4 times greater than other observation‐based flood damage models available in the literature. Structural improvements to analytical approach and measurement also made it possible to derive direct measures of flood risk at neighbourhood scales and assess the influence of specific land development decisions with respect to major disaster events. Such improvements to flood risk modelling can help reduce the uncertainty of damage estimates and support effective decision‐making in insurance, risk management, and community planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the integration of skilled Mexican female workers in the Monterrey labor market, and the relationship with the genesis of migratory flows toward the city of Houston. Following this line of investigation, the feminization of Mexican migration toward the US is considered, in part, to be the result of unfavorable conditions affecting qualified women professionals in their country of origin, who find an employment niche in the basic schooling system of Texas. However, the findings obtained in the fieldwork conducted beg the question of whether this type of migration can truly be defined as skilled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of private lands conservation (PLC) for endangered species continues to grow as habitat is increasingly lost or fragmented. In Texas, nearly 98% of all property is privately owned, rendering PLC critical for protecting endangered species. Despite case studies regarding factors leading to stewardship outcomes for endangered species, a knowledge gap exists regarding PLC for endangered species. To help address this gap, we situate findings from 30 key informant interviews and two focus groups within a novel stewardship framework to understand how PLC interventions for the endangered Houston toad (Anaxyrus houstonensis) appeal to landowners. Our approach revealed that local changes in conservation norms and networks can build relationships between resource-deficient landowners and practitioners that increase awareness and trust, combating barriers to PLC. Enhanced networks and cultural transformation facilitated by demographic changes and decentralized governance can allow stewardship obligations to supersede culturally embedded rural myths and attitudes of anti-government sentiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most operational flood alert systems (FASs) are based on real-time observations of rainfall, runoff, and simultaneous simulation of hydrologic and hydraulic models that are often augmented with weather forecast data. However, implementation of such a system can be cost prohibitive. Alternatively, a model FAS (MFAS) can effectively be developed for a channel section using reporting stream gauges measured against frequency-based design storms and unsteady-state hydraulic models. A MFAS is based on the principle of stage-to-stage crest relationship of river forecasting and in principle is similar to model floodplain maps produced on the basis of frequency-based design storms with the applications of steady-state hydraulic models. A MFAS is based on the predictable nature of the hydraulic response of channel cross sections and the hypothesis that sufficient warning time can be derived from quantitative estimation of flood wave propagation time from upstream to downstream. Based on these concepts, a model, yet real-time, FAS is developed specifically for the Houston Theater District, where heavy flooding during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 caused significant structural, equipment, and records damage, as well as loss of lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in runoff were measured at 10 small flood control drainage channels in the Houston area. Total toxicity equivalent concentrations in runoff ranged from 0.01 to 0.11 pg/L for the dissolved phase and from 0.02 to 0.88 pg/L for the suspended phase. The dissolved concentrations were lower than their respective suspended concentrations, with average suspended/dissolved ratios between 5 and 152 for individual congeners. Average observed logs of organic-carbon (OC)-normalized suspended sediment-dissolved partitioning coefficients (log KOC) varied between 5.47 and 7.83 L/kg OC. Dioxin concentrations in runoff were generally at the same level or lower than those measured in the receiving water body. Principal component analyses indicated that the signatures for dissolved runoff match those observed in dissolved ambient water in the channel, while the suspended-sediment runoff signatures are similar to those observed in dry air deposition in the Houston area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 50-story One Shell Plaza Building, when completed in 1971, was the tallest concrete building in the world. Towering at 217.7 m (714 ft), One Shell Plaza still reigns as the tallest lightweight concrete building in the world. Design and construction issues are presented for tall building purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]