Katy woman reflects on Hurricane Harvey experience and the aftermath of storm 8 years later

Monday marks eight years since Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas. Harvey was the first major hurricane to make landfall along the US in over ten years, since the record 2005 hurricane season.

The storm brought a record amount of rain, nearly 50 inches falling in just four days across Harris County. The resulting catastrophic flooding is something Katy resident Lynette Aldion hopes to never witness again. She recalls how she feels eight years later to ABC13 Meteorologist Elyse Smith.

Today Lynette’s emotion is not out of remorse anymore. More so grateful she was, and still is, that so many came to her family’s aid. “As it continued to rain, we were watching the weather and keeping an eye on how high the water was getting,” she tells ABC13. Eventually, floodwaters began to surround her home along South Mayde Creek. And she knew it was only a matter of time until those floodwaters would be in her home. So she got her son and dogs ready to go, and they were rescued by the National Guard.

The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service estimates that over 200,000 homes in Harris County flooded during Hurricane Harvey. Lynette had about six inches of water in her home after Harvey. “I know of places that flooded all the way up to the ceiling, still a flood is a flood,” Lynette said. And it was enough to cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

As for flood insurance, her family didn’t have it at the time of the flood. “We never thought we would need it. And now, you know, now you need it. And now we know why.” In fact, over one-third of Harris County lies within a FEMA designated floodplain. And while that may not come as a surprise, a 2023 study from the Kinder Institute claims that the growth of a city like Houston, which has seen its population climb by 176 percent since the 1960s, makes the Houston area even more susceptible to flooding. That’s because of urban sprawl and new construction in these floodplains. You can learn more about flood insurance and floodplain maps here.

Otherwise, Lynette recommends to any new Houstonian to learn more about their risk when it comes to flooding from either tropical systems or heavy rainstorms.

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