Climate change, infrastructure and the economic impacts of Hurricane Harvey

Houston, the fourth largest city in the nation with an economy the size of Sweden, and many other cities and towns in southeastern Texas have been devastated by the torrential rains and flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey. Estimates put total rainfall in some areas as high as 52 inches, shattering the record for highest rainfall from a single storm in the continental United States. Casualties continue to mount as heartbreaking stories emerge of the human toll of the catastrophic event. Before it’s over, Harvey could impact as many as 13 million people along the Texas and Louisiana coastlines.