Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

“Houston, and much of the Gulf Coast is living on borrowed time”

Friday, September 1, 2017, By Sawyer Kamman
Share

Laura Steinberg is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Syracuse University and a researcher on environmental disasters’ effect on infrastructure, including the impact of climate change on both. Steinberg lived through Hurricane Katrina and is available to discuss both the infrastructure failure during Hurricane Harvey and the issues of rebuilding after such a catastrophic natural disaster.

“We are in a new paradigm of rainfall, where the frequency of past events is not a good indicator of future ones. For this reason, our estimates of the 500 year floodplain and the 100 year floodplain are too small, indicating that far fewer people will be affected by these floods than really will be” says Steinberg. “And problem with that is that it perpetuates the idea that floods are not a matter for major concern in Houston and the Gulf Coast. We see this lack of concern in Houston by the lack of preparation for the storm, but also by the willy-nilly development that goes on the city; the dependence on slow-moving, nearly flat bayous to drain the city; and the low percentage of the residents who have flood insurance.”

“Houston, and much of the Gulf Coast is living on borrowed time,” says Steinberg.

Once Houston and the Gulf Coast start recovering from Post-Hurricane Harvey and start to rebuild, land planning issues will become a major issue, says Steinberg.

“These are cities of great sprawl. Repairing and maintaining all the infrastructure that supports these areas will be very expensive. It will be tempting to imagine that it can’t happen again so let us rebuild just as it was. But we know that that is wishful thinking. Will Houston have the stomach to tell residents in the most flood-prone areas (many of whom have been flooded before), that Houston is turning their neighborhood into park i.e. green infrastructure that passively absorbs rainwater? (New Orleans didn’t.)”

“Houston needs to re-evaluate its physical flood control infrastructure. What will it need to survive future storms, including a direct hit from a hurricane? First, there are potentially new infrastructures to be built, like floodwalls along the bayous. Are pumping systems needed? Then, the capacity and safety of the dams and levees that are pre-existing need to be examined,” says Steinberg.

Prof. Steinberg is available for media interviews. Please contact Ellen James Mbuqe, director of news and PR at Syracuse University, at ejmbuqe@syr.edu or 315.443.1897 or Keith Kobland, media manager at Syracuse University, at kkobland@syr.edu or 315.443.9038.

  • Author
  • Faculty Experts

Sawyer Kamman

  • Recent
  • Arts and Sciences Hosts Inaugural Scholarship and Research Gala
    Friday, May 9, 2025, By Sean Grogan
  • Chancellor Kent Syverud Honored as Distinguished Citizen of the Year at 57th Annual ScoutPower Event
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By News Staff
  • New Maymester Program Allows Student-Athletes to Develop ‘Democracy Playbook’
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin
  • From Policy to Practice: How AI is Shaping the Future of Education
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Christopher Munoz
  • Kohn, Wiklund, Wilmoth Named Distinguished Professors
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin

More In STEM

Chloe Britton Naime Committed to Advocating for Improved Outcomes for Neurodivergent Individuals

Chloe Britton Naime ’25 is about to complete a challenging and rare dual major program in both mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering and Computer Science and neuroscience from the College of Arts and Sciences. Even more impressive? Britton…

Graduating Research Quartet Synthesizes Long-Lasting Friendships Through Chemistry

When Jesse Buck ’25, Isabella Chavez Miranda ’25, Lucy Olcott ’25 and Morgan Opp ’25 started as student researchers in medicinal chemist Robert Doyle’s lab, they hoped to hone their research skills. It quickly became evident this would be unlike…

Biologist Reveals New Insights Into Fish’s Unique Attachment Mechanism

On a wave-battered rock in the Northern Pacific Ocean, a fish called the sculpin grips the surface firmly to maintain stability in its harsh environment. Unlike sea urchins, which use their glue-secreting tube feet to adhere to their surroundings, sculpins…

Distinguished ECS Professor Pramod K. Varshney Establishes Endowed Faculty Fellowship

Distinguished Professor Pramod K. Varshney has exemplified Orange excellence since joining the University as a 23-year-old faculty member. A world-renowned researcher and educator, he’s been recognized for his seminal contributions to information fusion and related fields, introducing new, innovative courses…

Earth Day Spotlight: The Science Behind Heat Pumps (Video)

Peter Wirth has a two-fold strategy when it comes to renovating his home. The Brooklyn, New York, native has called Central New York home for more than 40 years. Nestled on a quiet cul-de-sac in Fayetteville, New York, the 1960s-era…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Youtube
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.