HOUSTON (AP) — After the floodwaters earlier this month just about swallowed two of the six homes that 60-year-old Tom Madigan owns on the San Jacinto River, he didn’t think twice about whether to fix them. He hired people to help, and they got to work stripping the walls, pulling up flooring and throwing out water-logged furniture.
What Madigan didn’t know: The Harris County Flood Control District wants to buy his properties as part of an effort to get people out of dangerously flood-prone areas.
Back-to-back storms drenched southeast Texas in late April and early May, causing flash flooding and pushing rivers out of their banks and into low-lying neighborhoods. Officials across the region urged people in vulnerable areas to evacuate.
Like Madigan’s, some places that were inundated along the San Jacinto in Harris County have flooded repeatedly. And for nearly 30 years, the flood control district has been trying to clear out homes around the river by paying property owners to move, then returning the lots to nature.
Election 2024: Biden and Trump bypassed the Commission on Presidential Debates
Jason Sudeikis and ex Olivia Wilde beam at their kids in LA park... after ending 18
Luke Bryan takes a surprise tumble on stage in Vancouver
Inside Kate Middleton's sweet annual midnight tradition for Prince Louis' birthday
OpenAI pauses ChatGPT voice after Scarlett Johansson comparisons
Review of UNWRA finds Israel did not express concern about staff
Police clear out a migrant camp in central Paris. Activists say it's a pre
Justin Timberlake set to bring his The Forget Tomorrow World Tour to Australia in 2025
Heartbreaking pictures show 24
'Constantly learning' Imanaga off to impressive start with the Chicago Cubs
Election 2024: Republican candidates vying for Indiana governor to take debate stage