Summarizing Hurricane Harvey's Environmental Impacts

Normally the Houston-Galveston region receives on average 45 inches of rainfall a year. During Hurricane Harvey, some areas received over 50 inches of rain in less than a week. Hurricane Harvey brought record rainfall to Houston; the resulting flooding led to regional devastation, impacting lives, homes and livelihoods. The storm also had numerous environmental impacts. The Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) mobilized swiftly to acquire and process data and information about the flooding and related environmental impacts, such as storm-related spills, pollutants, Superfund site impacts, water quality, air quality, and power generation. This story map, “Summarizing Hurricane Harvey’s Environmental Impacts”, presents our analysis through narrative summaries, maps, and infographics.

We at HARC are grateful to Houston Endowment for their support in the development of this project. Hurricane Harvey brought record rainfall to Houston; the resulting flooding led to regional devastation, impacting lives, homes and livelihoods. The storm also had numerous environmental impacts. The Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) mobilized swiftly to acquire and process data and information about the flooding and related impacts, such as storm-related spills, pollutants, Superfund impacts, water quality, air quality, and power generation. The resulting analysis is shown through narrative summaries, maps, and infographics in this story map, “Summarizing Hurricane Harvey’s Environmental Impacts”.  For general feedback on this application, please contact us at harcgis@harcresearch.org. HARC would like to thank the following organizations for providing data used within this story map:National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationUnited States Geological SurveyNational Weather ServiceVieux Inc.Texas Parks & Wildlife DepartmentTexas Commission on Environmental QualityEnvironmental Defense FundEnvironmental Protection AgencyU.S. Coast Guard National Response CenterFederal Emergency Management AgencyDepartment of EnergyElectric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)Texas A&M University, Department of Soil and Crop SciencesUniversity of Houston - Clear Lake, College of Science and EngineeringTexas General Land Office – Beach Watch ProgramGalveston Bay FoundationTexas A&M University Galveston – Department of Marine BiologyCity of Houston Health Department via Urban Data Platform (Kinder Institute)