Effects of Tropical Storm Allison in Texas

The effects of Tropical Storm Allison in Texas included 23 deaths caused by extreme flooding. The first storm of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Allison lasted unusually long for a June storm, remaining tropical or subtropical for 15 days. The storm developed from a tropical wave in the northern Gulf of Mexico on June 4, 2001, and struck the northern Texas coast shortly thereafter. It drifted northward through the state, turned back to the south, and re-entered the Gulf of Mexico. The storm continued to the east-northeast, made landfall on Louisiana, then moved across the southeast United States and Mid-Atlantic. Allison was the first storm since Tropical Storm Frances in 1998 to strike the northern Texas coastline.cite web|author=John P. Ivey|year=2002|title=Flood Safety and Tropical Storm Allison|accessdate=2006-05-15|url=http://www.floodsafety.com/media/pdfs/texas/ivey.pdf|format=PDF]

Tropical Storm Allison was a major flood disaster throughout its path from Texas to the Mid-Atlantic. The worst of the flooding occurred in Houston, Texas, where over 35 inches (890 mm) of rain fell. Allison killed 41 people, of which 27 drowned. The storm also caused over $5 billion in damage (2001 USD, $6.4 billion 2007 USD), making Allison the deadliest and costliest tropical storm on record in the United States.

Preparations

After the storm made landfall, flash flood watches and warnings were issued for numerous areas in eastern Texas. Travel was discouraged due to the threat of flash flood.cite web|author=Houston/Galveston National Weather Service|year=2001|title=Hurricane Local Statement (3)|accessdate=2006-05-15|url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/projects/allison01/textproducts/HLSHOU.5.txt] During the flood event, the National Weather Service in Houston issued 99 flash flood warnings with an average lead time of 40 minutes; only nine warnings were false alarms.cite web|author=United States Department of Commerce|year=2001|title=Tropical Storm Allison Heavy Rains and Floods in Texas and Louisiana|accessdate=2006-05-15|url=http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/assessments/pdfs/allison.pdf|format=PDF]

Shortly after the storm formed, officials in Galveston County, Texas issued a voluntary evacuation for the western end of Galveston Island, as the area was not protected by the Galveston Seawall. The ferry from the island to the Bolivar Peninsula was closed, while voluntary evacuations were issued in Surfside in Brazoria County.cite web|author=Houston/Galveston National Weather Service|year=2001|title=Hurricane Local Statement (1)|accessdate=2006-05-15|url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/projects/allison01/textproducts/HLSHOU.1.txt] Voluntary evacuations were also suggested near Sabine Pass in Jefferson County, Texas, though few left.cite web|author=Lake Charles National Weather Service|year=2001|title=Hurricane Local Statement (2)|accessdate=2006-05-15|url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/projects/allison01/textproducts/NEWPSHLCH.1.txt] Also, when the National Hurricane Center issued the first advisory on Allison, officials issued Tropical Storm Warnings from Sargent, Texas to Morgan City, Louisiana,cite web|author=National Hurricane Center|year=2001|title=Tropical Storm Allison Discussion #1|accessdate=2006-05-15|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2001/pub/al012001.public.001.html] just three hours before tropical storm winds were observed.cite web|author=National Hurricane Center|year=2001|title=Tropical Storm Allison Tropical Cyclone Report|accessdate=2006-05-15|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/2001allison.html]

Impact

Allison made landfall with a storm surge of two to three feet. Combined with waves on top, areas of Galveston Island experienced a wall of water 8 feet (2.5 m) in height, creating overwash along the coastline. The storm caused winds of up to 43 mph (69 km/h) at the Galveston Pier. While Allison was stalling over Texas, it dropped heavy rainfall across the state, including 9.77 inches (248 mm) in Galveston, 12.13 inches (308 mm) in Jamaica Beach, Texas, and other similar totals along the coast. Minimal beach erosion was reported,cite web|author=Houston/Galveston National Weather Service|year=2001|title=Preliminary Report (Houston/Galveston)|accessdate=2006-05-17|url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/projects/allison01/textproducts/SATPSHHOU.txt] and impact was minimal near the coast.cite web|author=National Climatic Data Center|year=2001|title=Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena (June 2001)|accessdate=2006-05-17|url=http://maestro.srcc.lsu.edu/softlib/sd/sd0106.pdf|format=PDF] While moving northward through Texas as a minimal tropical depression, Allison produced minor wind gusts. Shortly after making landfall, the storm spawned a tornado in Manvel of Brazoria County, causing damage to one home. Within hours of making landfall, rainfall totals of 8 to 12 inches (200 to 300 mm) were common in Galveston and Harris County. Flash flooding continued for days,cite web|author=Houston/Galveston National Weather Service (Synoptic Situation)|year=2006|title=Tropical Storm Allison Floods, June 5–9, 2001|accessdate=2006-05-17|url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/projects/allison01/synoptic.htm] with rainfall amounts across the state peaking at just over 40 inches (1,033 mm) in northwestern Jefferson County. In the Port of Houston, a total of 36.99 inches (940 mm) was reported.cite web|author=Hydrometeorological Prediction Center|year=2006|title=Rainfall totals from Tropical Storm Allison|accessdate=2006-05-17|url=http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/allison2001.html]

Houston experienced torrential rainfall in a short amount of time. At one site, 6.3 inches (160 mm) fell in just one hour, while 28.5 inches (724 mm) fell in only 12 hours. The six-day rainfall in Houston amounted to 38.6 inches (980 mm).cite web|author=Risk Management Solutions|year=2001|title=Tropical Storm Allison Event Report|accessmonthday=May 18 |accessyear=2006|url=http://www.rms.com/Publications/TS_Allison.pdf|format=PDF] Two-thirds of the bayous and creeks in Harris County experienced 500-year flood events. Houston Intercontinental Airport, which typically receives 46.07 inches (1170 mm) of rain in a year, experienced 35.7% of its expected total in the first nine days of June.

The deluge flooded 95,000 automobiles and 73,000 houses throughout Harris County. Tropical Storm Allison destroyed 2,744 homes, leaving 30,000 homeless with residential damages totaling to $1.76 billion (2001 USD, $2.05 billion 2007 USD). Residential neighborhoods inside and to the north of Interstate 610 were hardest hit. Additionally, five of the six bayou systems in downtown Houston were severely flooded. [cite web|author=|title=Tropical Storm Allison Heavy Rains and Floods Texas and Louisiana June 2001|year=2001|publisher=United States Department of Commerce|accessdate=2008-09-06|url=http://www.weather.gov/om/assessments/pdfs/allison.pdf] Four of them broke 100-year high-water records, causing excessive surface run-off.

Several hospitals in the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world, experienced severe damage from the storm, which hit quickly and with unexpected fury on a Friday evening. Hospital personnel were forced to evacuate thousands of patients in a major effort that included Coast Guard and Army helicopters. Many of the hospitals had lost all power, including back-up generators, meaning that patients had to be carried down dark stairwells by the staff in temperatures over convert|100|F|C|lk=on. Patients who could not breathe on their own had to be continuously hand-pumped during the evacuation, which lasted hours. Most hospitals lost power and backup power when basements, the area where power and research data were kept, flooded. The Baylor College of Medicine experienced major damage, totaling $495 million (2001 USD, $577 million 2007 USD). The medical school lost 90,000 research animals, 60,000 tumor samples, and 25 years of research data. The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, across the street, lost thousands of laboratory animals, including expensive genetic-specific mice. Decades of research was lost, including, for many scientists, their life's work. The UT-Houston gross anatomy lab, cyclotron, and other important facilities were completely destroyed. Throughout the Medical Center, damage totaled to over $2 billion (2001 USD, $2.3 billion 2007 USD). Most were reopened after a month, though it took much longer to become fully operational.

The underground tunnel system, which connects most large office buildings in downtown Houston, was submerged, as were many streets and parking garages adjacent to Buffalo Bayou. At the Theatre District, also in downtown, the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, and Alley Theater lost millions of dollars of costumes, musical instruments, sheet music, archives and other artifacts. Local television stations ran all-night coverage of the deluge from June 8 through the next day, including KHOU-TV 11, which was forced to transmit its broadcast to a satellite truck when floodwaters entered its near-downtown production studio. By midnight on June 9 nearly every freeway and major road in the city was under several feet of water, [Cite web|author=Houston/Gaveston National Weather Service|title=Tropical Storm Allison Floods, June 5-9, 2001|year=2001|publisher=National Weather Service|accessdate=2008-09-06|url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/projects/allison01/synopsis.htm] forcing hundreds of motorists to abandon their vehicles for higher ground. Eighteen-wheeled trucks were filmed floating down major freeways and highways, swept along by floodwaters.

Despite massive flooding and damage to entire neighborhoods, there were no drowning deaths in flooded homes. In the area, there were 12 deaths from driving, 6 from walking, 3 from electrocution, and 1 in an elevator. Elsewhere in Texas, a man drowned when swimming in a ditch in Mauriceville. Damage totaled to $5.2 billion (2001 USD, $6 billion 2007 USD) throughout Texas.cite web|author=National Climatic Data Center|year=2001|title=Event Report for Texas|accessdate=2006-06-07|url=http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~450007] Though Allison's flooding was extreme, it was not unprecedented. Tropical Storm Amelia in 1978 dropped over 46 inches (1170 mm) of rainfall in Bluff, Texas, which remains the record highest rainfall for a single storm in the state of Texas. In addition, Tropical Storm Claudette in 1979 and a hurricane in 1921 produced rainfall totals of over 40 inches (1015 mm).cite web|author=David M. Roth|year=2001|title=HPC Storm Summary #52 for T.D. Allison|accessdate=2006-05-26|url=http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical2001/allison/06190109.html]

Aftermath

Within weeks of the disaster, President George W. Bush declared 28 counties in Texascite web|author=Federal Emergency Management Agency|year=2001|title=Texas Severe Storms & Flooding|accessdate=2006-06-13|url=http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=6438] as disaster areas.cite web|author=FEMA|year=2001|title=Pennsylvania Tropical Storm Allison|accessdate=2006-06-11|url=http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=119] The declarations allowed affected citizens to receive aid for temporary housing, emergency home repairs, and other serious disaster-related expenses. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also provided 75% for the cost of debris removal, emergency services related to the disaster, and repairing or replacing damaged public facilities, such as roads, bridges and utilities.

A few weeks after Allison, FEMA opened six disaster recovery centers across southeast Texas, which provided recovery information to those who applied for disaster assistance.cite web|author=FEMA|year=2001|title=Disaster Recovery Centers To Open|accessdate=2006-06-14|url=http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=6430] The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army opened 48 shelters at the peak of need for people driven from their homes, which served nearly 300,000 meals. After the extensive damage to Houston hospitals, the U. S. Public Health Service team set up a temporary hospital at the Houston Police Academy. The team of 87 medical personnel served over 1,000 patients within two weeks of Allison's passage.cite web|author=FEMA|year=2001|title=Human Needs First With State, FEMA|accessdate=2006-06-14|url=http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=6429] Similarly, the National Disaster Medical System deployed a temporary hospital to Houston with 88 professionals, aiding nearly 500 people.cite web|author=FEMA|year=2001|title=Mobile Military Hospital Provides Emergency Care For Houston's Citizens|url=http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=6410|accessdate=2008-10-04] Debris removal, which was initially slow, was aided by FEMA to expedite the removal process. FEMA provided 75% of the federal cost of the removal.cite web|author=FEMA|year=2001|title=FEMA To Help Fund Debris Removal|accessdate=2006-06-14|url=http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=6395] Thirty-five volunteer services provided aid for the flood victims in Texas, including food, clothing, and volunteers to help repair the houses.cite web|author=FEMA|year=2001|title=Quiet Heroes - Voluntary Agencies|accessdate=2006-06-14|url=http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=6395]

After nearly 50,000 cars were flooded and ruined, many people attempted to sell the cars across the country without telling of the car's history.cite web|author=FEMA|year=2001|title=Buyer Beware: Flood-Damaged Cars Being Sold|accessdate=2006-06-14|url=http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=6395] Following the extreme flooding, a mosquito outbreak occurred, though FEMA provided aid to control the problem.cite web|author=FEMA|year=2001|title=FEMA Funding Mosquito Control|accessdate=2006-06-14|url=http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=6412] Health officials also recommended disinfecting private wells with bleach, due to possible contamination from the severe flooding.Cite web|author=FEMA|year=2001|title=Flooded Privately-Owned Water Wells Need To Be Disinfected|accessdate=2006-06-14|url=http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=6418] Many people took advantage of the flood victims, including fraudulent contractors and suppliers raising the price of goods more than is actually justified.cite web|author=FEMA|year=2001|title=Beware Of Scam Artists, Fraudulent Contractors And Price Gouging|accessdate=2006-06-14|url=http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=6353]

By six months after the storm, around 120,000 Texas citizens applied for federal disaster aid, totaling to $1.05 billion (2001 USD, $1.22 billion 2007 USD). Of that amount, 17% of that was spent for temporary housing. In addition, Disaster Unemployment Assistance totaled to just under $1 million, while business loans totaled to $389 million (2001 USD, $454 million 2007 USD).cite web|author=FEMA|year=2001|title=Six Months After Allison, Disaster Assistance Reaches $1.05 Billion|accessdate=2006-06-14|url=http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=6219]

ee also

*Meteorological history of Tropical Storm Allison

References

External links

* [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/2001allison.html National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Report on Allison]
* [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2001/ALLISON_text.html US National Hurricane Center Tropical Storm Allison advisory archive]
* [http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical2001/allison/allisonss.html HPC Storm Summary/Advisory Archive for Allison]
* [http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical2001/allison/06190109.html HPC Final Storm Summary/Wrap-Up of Allison]
* [http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/allison2001.html HPC Rainfall Summary for Allison]
* [http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/assessments/pdfs/allison.pdf NWS Service Assessment] (PDF)
* [http://www.tsarp.org/ Tropical Storm Allison Recovery Project] Community resources and continuing research of the continued flood threat to Houston
* [http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/projects/allison01/synopsis.htm Houston/Galveston National Weather Service Report]