Shaun Vembutty

Future planning of both homeowners and real estate developers, like Shaun Vembutty with Ashton Gray Development. Whether flooding is to occur in a storm surge as it did with Ike from where a hurricane is apt to make landfall, bringing the ocean into homes, or if it is due to massive rainfall as what occurred with Harvey, the Eastern portion of Houston is not the place to be hunkered down when disaster strikes in the form of a massive storm. With storm surges, nearness to the coast is always dangerous, and since these storms can turn on a dime with little to no warning, unexpected danger can be delivered quickly and mercilessly to a community unprepared for power outages, contaminated water supplies, and filthy standing water in the once safe home where a family previously resided. Massive rainfall can (and did) affect all areas of Houston regardless of how close residences sit to the coast, but in Houston, the eastern zones are also very low lying areas that, as previously discussed, were originally shallow wetlands. Everyone who experienced Harvey firsthand or studied its effects afterward agrees that this 1,000-year storm was unlike any other anyone has ever seen. It’s sheer size of 28,000 square mile coverage of rainfall with 130 mph winds devastated much of the densely populated Harris County, which, by itself was 30% flooded after the storm was finally over following a week of heavy rainfall. It is true that Fort Bend County experienced massive flooding, but again this is partially due to a lack of strategic city planning with regards to the flood plains, water diversion, and home development projects. Just as the Buffalo Bayou area was an area of concern on the East side with respect to flooding, so too was the Brazos river that flows southwest of the city’s epicenter. With proper insight into predicting where water will pool, collect, cascade and flow, there is no reason at all the city cannot continue both affordable and upscale housing developments in zones that are more likely to be left high and dry. This can be achieved simultaneously with returning to nature certain areas we now know are more prone to rising waters. Such collaborative zoning efforts would ultimately beautify the city with the placement of well-situated green spaces that would increase property values to the areas in close proximity to them during good weather and serve as water buffer zones to the surrounding communities during inclement weather. It has always been a challe