Retrospection: Looking back on a century of storms to impact UHCL

With the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey, it is worth looking back on previous storms that have affected the Houston and Galveston area. The most significant storms to hit the area include the 1900 storm, Hurricane Carla in 1961, Hurricane Alicia in 1983 and Hurricane Ike in 2008. Many recall the evacuation nightmare of Hurricane Rita in 2005, as well as the panic instilled by Hurricane Dean in 2007.

For the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL), Dean was a lesson in response and preparedness. In April 2007, hurricane season and the Virginia Tech shootings prompted UHCL to reapproach its emergency response systems and develop evacuation strategies for students who might become trapped on campus during a storm.

“The university did not have evacuation plans for students before Hurricane Rita,” said Sameer Pande, assistant director for Intercultural and International Student Services in a September 2007 article for The Signal.

The following year, UHCL and Houston would be tested. Hurricane Ike became the storm that almost wiped Galveston Island off the map.

The Signal coverage of Hurricane Ike was prolific, with an entire issue of the newspaper dedicated to discussing the damages and recovery of Ike. Adjusting for inflation, Ike caused nearly $35 billion in damages, outranked only by Hurricane Andrew ($47.79 billion) and Hurricane Katrina ($160 billion).

UHCL students were asked to make up missed hours following the disruption to classes. An editorial from The Signal published Sept. 29, 2008, implored cooperation between students and faculty, both of which lost homes and loved ones.

Two years following Ike, Galveston was declared a dead city and announcements were made for a planned dike as a means of protection for the Texas Gulf Coast. Texas A&M Professor William Merrell proposed a project that would mimic the Dutch floodgate systems. Merrell’s experience and close association with the Dutch permitted him to design the project, estimated to cost $3 billion.

As of 2010, the only thing protecting Galveston Island and the surrounding areas was the 10-mile-long, 17-foot-tall cement barrier, the Galveston Sea Wall. The project stalled when Hurricane Sandy devastated the United States Northeast, drawing attention away from the Gulf Coast. For years, the project lingered in early stages as experts debated the impact of the gate system on local wildlife refuges. The project remained under discussion into 2017.

In the fall of 2017, the inevitable happened. Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast Aug. 24, 2017. In its wake, the storm left $125 billion in damage and 68 dead. Harvey tied with Katrina as the costliest storm to hit the United States. Several UHCL students and faculty members lost homes, loved ones and precious time. The Signal responded in kind similarly to Hurricane Ike – coverage was dedicated to discussing the storm, its impacts on local communities and potential solutions to keeping the damage that Harvey brought at bay.

Houstonians and Galvestonians are tenacious. One hurricane cannot keep them down. Yet, when three of the five most expensive hurricanes in United States history occurred last year, it became undeniable that the frequency of these storms was not slowing. Optimism in the community is beneficial, but real solutions aimed at preventing widespread devastation are tantalizingly within our grasp.

Many locals are at least somewhat aware of the 1900 hurricane that destroyed Galveston. The devastation from that storm is legendary: funeral pyres three stories high, complete reconstruction of the city to withstand future storms and months of cleanup.

With the anniversary of Hurricane Harvey, neighborhoods still abandoned and 10,000 residents still homeless, we as a community cannot be idle, nor can we keep running only to return and rebuild. Recovery does not end when the flood waters recede. Recovery does not end when the donations stop. Recovery ends when we become more than what we were before. Texans are proud to say they make a stand against any obstacle, and a hurricane is no different. Let us reflect on our history and consider our options to ensure we can continue that reflection – at peace, dry and alive.

Also published on Medium.