Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Oct;64(4):381-390.
doi: 10.1007/s00267-019-01204-4. Epub 2019 Sep 13.

A Spatial Analysis of Possible Environmental Exposures in Recreational Areas Impacted by Hurricane Harvey Flooding, Harris County, Texas

Ibraheem Karaye  1   2 , Kahler W Stone  3 , Gaston A Casillas  4 , Galen Newman  5 , Jennifer A Horney  6   7
Affiliations

A Spatial Analysis of Possible Environmental Exposures in Recreational Areas Impacted by Hurricane Harvey Flooding, Harris County, Texas

Ibraheem Karaye et al. Environ Manage. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast in August 2017 causing catastrophic flooding. Harris County is highly vulnerable to flooding, which is controlled in part by a system of bayous that include parks and trails. The petrochemical industry, as well as thousands of documented sources of environmental pollution make recreational areas susceptible to environmental contamination during flood events. Recreational areas and toxic exposure sources were geocoded by subwatershed boundaries and overlaid with the area of Hurricane Harvey inundation. A total of 121 of 349 (36.78%) parks were flooded; 102 of 121 (84.30%) were located in subwatersheds with at least one exposure source. A total of 337 exposure sources (6 Superfund, 32 municipal solid waste, and 299 petroleum storage tanks) in 30 subwatersheds were flooded. Though parks provide flood mitigation and other postdisaster benefits, their susceptibility to environmental contamination should be considered, especially in areas with a large number of toxic exposure sources.

Keywords: Environmental exposure; Flooding; GIS; Hurricane Harvey; Parks.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Houston Metropolitan Area by counties and population, Texas.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Parks and flooded Superfund Sites, Municipal Waste Sites, and Petroleum Storage Tanks by watershed in Harris County, TX
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Recreational park exposure by sub-watershed and source type in Harris County, TX
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. 2010. “Toxicological profile for ethylbenzene.” Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Public Health Service, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. - PubMed
    1. Ahern Jack. 2011. “From Fail-Safe to Safe-to-Fail: Sustainability and Resilience in the New Urban World.” Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity, April https://scholarworks.umass.edU/larp_grad_research/8.
    1. Ahern Mike, Kovats R. Sari, Wilkinson Paul, Few Roger, and Matthies Franziska. 2005. “Global Health Impacts of Floods: Epidemiologic Evidence.” Epidemiologic Reviews 27: 36–46. 10.1093/epirev/mxi004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ahmed FE 2001. "Toxicology and human health effects following exposure to oxygenated or reformulated gasoline." Toxicology Letters 123(2-3):89–113. - PubMed
    1. Alderman Katarzyna, Turner Lyle R., and Tong Shilu. 2012. “Floods and Human Health: A Systematic Review.” Environment International 47 (October): 37–47. 10.1016/j.envint.2012.06.003. - DOI - PubMed