Principal Investigator: Dr. Philip Bedient, Co-Principal Investigator: Jim Blackburn, Rice University.

Funded by the Houston Endowment, this major research project will address the problems that are caused by the impacts of Hurricane Ike in the Houston-Galveston Area, and will develop recommendations that can assist in the protection of human lives and property in the most susceptible areas of the region and ultimately guide us to a sustainable, long-term future. The project will identify the best management practices for land development and resettlement after the disasters and will make specific recommendations to protect critical infrastructure. The results of the study will help understand the relationship of surge flooding to critical infrastructure and the various alternative actions that are available to the region in order to respond to the potential of another major hurricane event. The project will address disconnects between flood plain mapping and hurricane surge tide risk, and between current building practices and the reality of surge tide flooding across the region. Specific recommendations will be made regarding the rebuilding and resettlement process for the heavily impacted areas along the coast, specifically for the Bolivar Peninsula. One of the first products of this research will be a monograph on Hurricane Ike with over 10 contributors

Other investigators: Dr. Gordon Wells and Dr. Clint Dawson, UT-Austin; Dr. Sam Brody, TAMU, Mary Kelly, EDF; Dr. Hanadi Rifai and Dr. Thomas Colbert, UH; Dr. Jamie Padgett, Dr. Ron Sass and Dr. John Anderson, Rice University; Dr. Carol Lewis, TSU. 

Funded by: Houston Endowment, Inc