The Lesson of Indianola, Texas
When we go to the beach during the Summer, I usually wake up on the early side, gather our gear, and find a good spot, close enough to the water, where I can watch our two boys swim, and roughly where I estimate the water line will be when high tide arrives. After setting up our umbrellas and chairs, for good measure, I begin digging at least one trench and berm (or two). This usually takes about an hour to dig a deep enough trench around the perimeter of our little encampment. I manage to get a little exercise in....
and sometimes I get some help from my two sons.
This last step is a preventative measure aimed at assuring that we can relax with little worry of our towels and bags getting wet and can avoid grabbing our belongings in a rush when the tide rushes in. It amazes me when neighboring beachgoers are suddenly surprised when high tide finally does arrive, and I watch as people in front or to our sides scurry around, urgently grabbing what they can before it gets drenched or even dragged out to sea.
The Story of Indianola, Texas
The town of Indianola, Texas is long gone, but was once a bustling port city on the Texas coast. It was located between Corpus Christi and Galveston, and aspired to be what Houston eventually grew to become, a major Southeast Texas port metropolis. It had an ideal harbor, and it would have achieved that status has it not been for two major hurricanes, back to back in the late 1800s. The first one hit in 1875, and the second in 1886, each hurricane delivering a devastating blow to the town. What little was rebuilt from the first hurricane was abandoned by the second.
Now, the town of Galveston further North knew of this history, and the town elders decided to begin building a seawall and raising the grade level starting in 1902, just after they experienced a devastating hurricane in 1900 that killed ca. 6,000-12,000 inhabitants out of a population of 40,000 at the time. Alas, the construction of the seawall was only partially built, and in 1915 another major hurricane hit with a storm surge of 12 ft. and caused considerable damage. The upshot of this event was to boost the resolve of the citizens to finish the seawall, which was finally completed in 1963.
By this time, a canal was built to the City of Houston, which outpaced it in population and port growth. Galveston remains a major resort town to this day, but never measured up to the thriving port city it aspired to, as Houston became, and as it's departed counterpart of Indianola once did.
A little side note regarding the above: during Hurricane Ike, storm surge topped the seawalls resulting in some, but not major flooding damage. However, this did spur review of whether further mitigation measures were needed for future storms.
What Should We Do?
In the wake of this current brutal storm season, we should pause for consideration concerning the hyper-development of our coastal areas, in particular, along the Gulf coast and Southern Florida peninsula, as well the Atlantic. We know that the continental shelf on which the plate from the Rockies to the Atlantic coast is slowly sinking, and, that when this is combined with sea level rise, is causing more frequent and severe inland flooding in these flood prone areas. We also know that the National Flood Insurance Program (in the USA) is already $24 billion in debt to the US Treasury, and that this program continues to incentivise building in flood prone areas. Are we going to be proverbially watching our first responders rushing to the rescue in an emergency when coastal storms hit? Will be continue to privatize the benefits of coastal living and profits of building while socializing the losses? ....or will we reconsider what measures we take and where we plan to develop?