HOUSTON (AP) — After the floodwaters earlier this month just about swallowed two of the six homes that 60-year-old Tom Madigan owns on the San Jacinto River, he didn’t think twice about whether to fix them. He hired people to help, and they got to work stripping the walls, pulling up flooring and throwing out water-logged furniture. What Madigan didn’t know: The Harris County Flood Control District wants to buy his properties as part of an effort to get people out of dangerously flood-prone areas. Back-to-back storms drenched southeast Texas in late April and early May, causing flash flooding and pushing rivers out of their banks and into low-lying neighborhoods. Officials across the region urged people in vulnerable areas to evacuate. Like Madigan’s, some places that were inundated along the San Jacinto in Harris County have flooded repeatedly. And for nearly 30 years, the flood control district has been trying to clear out homes around the river by paying property owners to move, then returning the lots to nature. |
Chinese company issues carbonFamed photographer Annie Leibovitz's STUNNING California estate hits the market for $9 MILLIONCounty in rural New Mexico extends agreement with ICE for immigrant detention amid criticismPlayoff hopes fading for troubled Crusaders in Super Rugby PacificLightning and Islanders searching for answers to rebound from 2Takeaways from the Supreme Court's latest abortion caseVibrant Q1 consumption mirrors China's economic staminaPrincess Charlotte's adorable talent that makes her mother Kate Middleton 'very happy'Contreras has 3 hits as Brewers take advantage of sloppy inning by Pirates in 3Authorities confirm 2nd victim of ex