With Hurricane Harvey almost two years in the rearview mirror, Houstonians have started to imagine a future city that is resilient to storms and stressors that can be a model for the nation.

After Hurricane Harvey caused $125 billion in damage to Harris County, Texas, in 2017, discussions at Harris County Flood Control District turned to recovery and building resilience against future storms.

Crews are working to complete emergency repairs to a section of Interstate 69, just south of Kingwood, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey’s floodwaters shifted the depth and alignment of the San Jacinto River, causing scouring and stability problems around the bridge’s foundations.

For small towns along Texas’ Gulf Coast, Hurricane Harvey was a catastrophic wind event that was largely ignored as national media focused on record-breaking flooding in Houston.

Plans for a $2.5 billion bond issue to fund flood control and resiliency projects across Harris County are coming together, with the scheduling of a series of 23 community engagement meetings between June 5 and Aug. 1 to solicit public input.

Money includes $18 billion for Puerto Rico and an unprecedented $16 billion for mitigation projects in 11 states and territories.

Following a new analysis that examined the damage and flood impacts of Hurricane Harvey, Houston’s Dept. of Public Works is recommending that all new structures in the city’s 100- and 500-year floodplains be elevated to 2 ft above the 500-year flood elevation to avoid such damage in the future.

Houston engineer Drew Molly kept the city's drinking water system operating by the skin of his teeth during Harvey. A new innovation hub looks to prevent such near misses.