On June 21, 2018, Zurich Insurance Group released a new report called “Houston and Hurricane Harvey: A Call to Action.” Prepared by The Institute for Social and Environmental Transition–International (ISET-International), the American Red Cross Global Disaster Preparedness Center, and the Zurich Insurance Group, the report includes a five-page executive summary along with sections summarizing hurricane event statistics, why Houston is so flood-prone, various methods of risk reduction, information about the region’s initial response and recovery, priorities and gaps in long-term recovery and resilience, lessons learned, and specific recommendations.
The report includes recommendations that relate to the social and cultural aspects of resilience that I thought were noteworthy. Regular readers know I normally discuss engineering or regulatory issues.
Buy Flood Insurance
The report calls for efforts to “make flood insurance more universally appealing for homeowners and businesses.” The report suggests that our communities should undertake “awareness campaigns” to increase the demand for flood insurance – even in lower risk areas, outside of the regulatory floodplain, where insurance is relatively inexpensive – to enable policyholders to recover more quickly and to thus be more resilient. [A higher number of lower risk policyholders would also help with the ongoing fiscal defects in the National Flood Insurance Program.]
The term “appealing” is an interesting word choice – I’m not sure we could ever make buying insurance appealing, but maybe? There are probably some smart social scientists and public relations firms that could use the power “social norms” to increase the number of flood insurance policies purchased in this region, but that effort would need to be nearly continuous to influence all of the new people moving here each month.
I snapped a photo of this poster in the tunnel just outside 611 Walker, home of Houston Public Works, in July of 2017, before Hurricane Harvey:
This is at least one example of local communities making some effort to encourage citizens to purchase insurance. The report indicates that Harris County Flood Control District is planning to promote insurance coverage with a billboard campaign (p. 38).
Culture of Awareness
The report also calls for us to “build a culture of awareness around risk” and to “incentivize incremental small decisions by residents and businesses that collectively reduce exposure and risk…to reduce the surprise element of flooding.” The report suggests installing public markers indicating previous flood inundation levels and road signs indicating that “You Have Entered a Flood Control Reservoir,” and similar measures (p. 40). I’m not sure that this type of information disclosure would be embraced by the larger community. According to Jim Blackburn, inundation level signs were installed in at least one Galveston Bay area neighborhood that is subject to storm surge; but the signs were removed after about 30 days due to complaints from realtors (see time-stamp 26-minutes, 50-seconds in this video).
The report suggest that the Houston region, like Galveston, “wear its [flood] battle scars with pride.” The authors suggest that homes that flooded should be encouraged to “mount a plaque … proclaiming: ‘This home survived Harvey; the water was x feet deep.’ ”
Business Continuity Plans
The report acknowledges that “even the best … grey infrastructure [and] green solutions … will never reduce flood risk to zero” and it goes on to encourage the development of business continuity plans and household level preparedness plans to help further reduce risks. The report includes a good overview of the key elements of a business continuity plan – which is intended to increase the likelihood that a business might stay in operation throughout a disaster or at least, get back to full operation more quickly. The main elements are:
- Identify Key Assets: For a consulting firm, it might be ensuring that employees have continued remote access to all files and intellectual property. For a coffee shop, this might mean protecting the espresso machine.
- Consider Preparedness as Business as Usual: Incorporate a “disaster day” into the regular schedule of work. Run drills or practice days on a routine basis.
- Implement Infrastructure Solutions: Install floodgates. Store documents and materials at a protected location. Relocate items after receiving notification.
- Use Existing Assets: Use security systems to track and evaluate conditions in inaccessible work locations.
- Assist with Employee Preparedness: Household preparedness plans help business employees return to work more quickly. A robust communication system is needed to allow the business employer and employees to communicate updates to each other. Employers can prompt employee action with a series of awareness questions related to supplies, backup power, and backup lodging plans.
- Purchase Insurance: Businesses should obtain insurance. They should consider the full range of options available after speaking with experts. Costs should be evaluated against the full cost of both damages and lost revenue during an extended closure.
- Support Employees and Community with Recovery: Businesses should support both employees and the larger community with recovery. This might include providing equipment, foods, access to showers or facilities, assistance with clean out / muck out work, and offering paid time off for employee victims.
Recovery Priorities
The report provides an almost accurate picture of our current priorities. It correctly notes that Houston and Harris County both strengthened their floodplain regulations. It indicates that buyouts are underway, but are taking too long and are underfunded. It notes that we are having lots of discussion about a third reservoir to address the Cypress Creek overflow, but it does not fully acknowledge how that project was proposed to mitigate future development and not necessarily to reduce flood risks for downstream properties. The report points out the general lack of state funding for recovery, especially from the state’s “rainy day fund.” ($150 million has been provided for debris removal and to avoid a property tax hike.) The report accurately indicates how recovery support has been distributed inequitably. The report suggests that we are not talking about general drainage infrastructure improvements and maintenance. I think this was likely just due to the timing of the report; they must have gone to press before the authors heard the announcement of the $2.5 billion Harris County Flood Control District Bond Election scheduled for August 25th and the placement of a reauthorization of the Rebuild Houston program back on the ballot this November.
Overall, the report is a good addition to the growing list of post-Harvey literature and studies. Worth a read.