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Last Post 08/16/2008 6:49 PM by Ray Hall

Storm Surge Potential, Galveston TX

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KLS

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Posts:43

08/04/2008 1:11 PM
http://prtl.uhcl.edu/portal/page/po...20City.pdf I'm always interested in how surge effects coastal areas. Here are forecast aerials for the Texas City and Galveston area. Edouard is expected to bring a 5 foot surge -- but it probably will make landfall at high tide or shortly after. These depictions are based on mean sea level rather than high tide. Based on these aerials, there might not be much wind work in a CAT 1 but the surge will be much higher than Dolly because of the ocean floor in this area of the Texas coast. My experience in Dennis and Katrina was that most of the flood damage was about 150 miles right of landfall though. Even though the levies failed in NOLA, Mississippi was hit harder in Katrina and the area south of TAL was hit harder than Mobile/Pensacola in Dennis. I wonder if this will hold true this week. Just an interesting item I wanted to pass on. There are other depictions on this site as well, scroll down to the third area under Surge http://prtl.uhcl.edu/portal/page/po...torm_Surge KLS

Ray Hall

Senior Member
Posts:2443

08/04/2008 5:08 PM
I live in Kingwood about 6 miles NE of the big airport. Don,t think any flood warnings are out for Galveston or Texas City from storm surge.If we have 10 inches of rain we will have some stream flooding in Harris and Brazoria County. Harris is the most flood prone county in the US. Allison in 2003 had over 20 inchs of rain and it was the most costly flood in Insurance history. Something like 80,000 homes and several thousand basements of buildings downtown and in the Texas Medical Center. It was a small tropical storm like this that passed over Houston and then backed up and really flooded the area on a Friday night.

sbeau4014
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Posts:427

08/04/2008 8:12 PM
Ray, Allison in 2001 was probably smaller and less powerful then the one out there now, but it was slow moving (actually just kind of hung out in Houston for almost a day) and although is was a very minor wind event you are correct in that up to that point it was the worst flooding in US history. Houston is relatively flat, close to eas level and has a ton of drainage ditches/bayous that overflow their banks real easily. i don't know how saturated the ground is, but a slow moving tropical storm can easily become a major flood event in that area.

Ray Hall

Senior Member
Posts:2443

08/04/2008 10:15 PM
My first big hurricane was Carla in 61. I was a staff adjuster for Firemans Fund and I remember moses lake in Texas City backed up and some frame houses had seven feet of salt water inside with all the stinking muck and no flood insurance. It was so depressing we could only work 1/2 day in TC and then go to Houston and pay lots of roof claims.

Ray Hall

Senior Member
Posts:2443

08/16/2008 6:49 PM
Well we may never know the real truth as to which came first the wind or the water, or what caused the slab cases as the truth and justice seekers have been de frocked. This will happen many more times. Lots of talk about experience on high dollar high rise buildings and grey hair (E&G). The insurance industry should try to head of the MS. coast problem with some new thinking along these lines. Gather up all the E&G's and do all the vetting, new training, new thinking and set them aside to work the "Wave Wash" losses and give them all the tools they need to close ever wave wash loss...using "the best practice method" in 30 days. Then all insurance professional can be proud of their profession and the carriers will be thought more kindly of. Just remember carriers we are the bad guys and Edwards and Scruggs were the good guys two years ago.

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