Why is Texas the most dangerous state in America for flooding?

Why is Texas the most dangerous state in America for flooding?

In the heart of the United States, specifically in the state of Texas, years do not pass without floods leaving their deadly mark, and this state still maintains a bleak record that makes it the most dangerous among all American states in terms of the number of deaths resulting from floods, and despite the great technological progress in weather forecasting, water-related disasters are still claiming lives there at an alarming rate.

In the recent disaster that struck central Texas, the number of victims exceeded 100; This tragedy is added to a long series of similar incidents. A scientific study published in 2021 in the journal Water indicates that 1,069 people died in Texas between 1959 and 2019 as a result of floods, a number that represents nearly one-fifth of the total flood-related deaths in the entire United States during that period.

For comparison, this rate is more than 370 deaths higher than the number of flood victims in the state of Louisiana, which ranks second, which highlights a worrying gap in preparedness and ability to reduce human losses in Texas in particular. What is the reason behind this huge disparity? Is nature alone responsible?

The data also indicate that geography alone does not kill. It is true that the state of Texas is characterized by a combination of steep slopes and rocky soil that is unable to absorb large amounts of rain, as well as its proximity to the hot and humid Gulf of Mexico, which fuels storms. However, these natural factors alone are not sufficient to explain the high number of victims.

The most important reason lies in influential human factors, most notably the weakness of early warning systems in some areas, the lack of infrastructure in the face of sudden floods, in addition to the behavior of individuals that ignore safety warnings and reduce the seriousness of weather phenomena.

Flood corridor

Experts describe the area that witnessed the recent floods as a “flood corridor,” where the mountainous terrain contributes to accelerating the flow of water toward valleys and roads. Kate Abshire, responsible for flash flood services at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), says: The steep slopes and rocky clay soil make the water flow quickly without seeping into the ground, which causes massive torrential rains in record time. She adds that cities With its surfaces covered in asphalt and concrete, it increases the risk of flooding. Because it prevents water from being naturally absorbed into the soil, which turns the streets into flood drains.

If nature has formulated what is known as the “flood corridor” as a result of the mountainous terrain and rocky clay soil that accelerate the flow of water, then the human factor exacerbates the scale of the disaster. As climate expert Jeff Masters points out, Texas’s proximity to the Gulf of Mexico – one of the largest reservoirs of warm water in the North Atlantic – provides a constant source of moisture, which increases the intensity of rainfall, turning the region into an ideal environment for flash floods.

Drivers are not aware of the danger of flooding

In this context, field studies reveal that most flood deaths in Texas could have been prevented with simple organizational and behavioral interventions, which highlights a serious gap in awareness and response systems. Between 1959 and 2019, about 86% of deaths during floods were recorded when individuals attempted to cross the water, on foot or by vehicle, while statistics indicate that more than half of the victims were inside their cars or trucks.

This recurring pattern of accidents reflects a dual challenge: on the one hand, excessive confidence in the ability of vehicles to cross water, which is highlighted by Professor Hatem Sharif from the University of Texas, and on the other hand, frequent disregard for official instructions, including barriers placed to close flooded roads. Expert Kate Abshire confirms that the phrase “come back, don’t sink” has not lost its effectiveness as much as the mechanisms for implementing it have diminished.

Therefore, protecting lives does not only require improving infrastructure or drainage systems, but also requires an integrated system that includes community education, activating immediate closure procedures for critical points, and installing early sensors, thus redefining the relationship between citizens and infrastructure as a partnership in safety and not just a one-way service.

The victims are children

Although individual decisions – such as crossing water – are among the most prominent causes of death, recent events have revealed that the danger is not limited to those who ignore warnings, but may also affect those who do not even have the opportunity to choose. In the Hill Country disaster, the victims were not drivers or stuntmen, but rather children at a summer camp who were caught by floods while sleeping inside their tents.

 This incident revealed another facet of the shortcomings, which is the absence of protective systems in places that are supposed to be safe, which makes it a warning bell about the necessity of incorporating emergency and evacuation scenarios into the planning of any collective activity, no matter how far from danger it may seem, as data indicate that deaths inside residences and camps do not exceed 8% of the total flood victims over the past six decades, which makes this year’s incident even more sad and exceptional.

The timing of the disaster that occurred at night also partly explains this high number of victims. According to the study, more than half of the flood deaths since 1959 occurred after sunset, when residents cannot distinguish the depth of the water or reach alarm warnings in a timely manner. It is painful that the victims in this camp were young people, which again highlights the weakness of preparations in places of summer activities, and the necessity of developing quick evacuation scenarios even in times of crisis. Entertainment.

Deadly danger

Data from the University of Texas indicate that about 62% of flood victims in the United States in recent decades were male, which has led a number of experts to link this large disparity with behavioral patterns characterized by excessive risk. Professor Hatem Sharif explains this phenomenon as a tendency among groups of men to have excessive confidence in their physical abilities or in the power of vehicles, especially during crises, a pattern that has been repeated in various contexts, most notably traffic accidents and floods, among others. Whether.

Here, the numbers do not appear to be mere statistical indicators, but rather point to the necessity of developing an awareness-raising discourse that is more sensitive to the prevailing psychological and social behaviours, with a focus on the groups most at risk. Traditional warning campaigns that merely repeat messages may not be sufficient for their purpose, unless they are formulated using innovative methods that combine reason and emotion, and take into account the privacy of societies.

Disaster in the mirror of sustainability

What happened in Texas should not be seen only as a human tragedy or a flaw in emergency management, but rather a clear reflection of how interconnected climate justice and urban sustainability are; Floods that are becoming more severe due to climate change threaten the achievement of Goal No. (11) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), related to “making cities safe and resilient.”

Weak warning systems and spatial planning also hinder Goal (13) “Climate Action”, which calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, and also reflects the need to strengthen Goal (6) related to sustainable water management, especially in the face of extreme weather events. From a humanitarian perspective, these floods embody a direct threat to the right to life and security, which makes them also linked to Goal (3) related to good health and well-being.

In light of what was revealed by the flood tragedy in Texas, this disaster goes beyond its geographical and technical framework to raise profound questions about the human relationship with the environment, and the limitations of policies in confronting the forces of nature when elements of prevention and climate justice are neglected. The recurrence of these incidents in one state, despite its resources and capabilities, clearly indicates that the gap is no longer in funding or knowledge, but in how to integrate this knowledge into comprehensive urban planning, linking infrastructure, warning systems, human behavior, and the equitable distribution of risks and resources. Therefore, Texas today is an example of what might happen when the limits of preparedness erode and environmental values ​​decline in the face of the logic of ill-considered expansion.