Flooding in the State of Texas

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Green for yielding me this time and for organizing tonight's discussion on the devastation our State has seen in recent weeks and months. I know that his city of Houston has experienced truly horrific flooding and destruction, and I offer my condolences to him and to the entire Houston community.

These storms have been severe and deadly. We all mourn the loss of nine soldiers training at Fort Hood whose lives were taken way too soon in floodwaters last week. Six other people across Texas have also died as a result of the storms as well. My prayers are with the families and loved ones of all those whose lives were claimed by this terrible flooding.

Some of the most destructive weather that my hometown, San Antonio, experienced was back in April when three hailstorms struck our city. The Insurance Council of Texas estimates that those storms caused more than $2 billion in damage, and the Council projects $1.93 billion in losses from auto and homeowner claims.

It is not unusual for San Antonio to get a foot of rain by early June each year, but rainfall totals are already double that amount so far in 2016. All of this precipitation is a major economic hit to our city, and it poses a real threat to people's well-being.

I urge folks in San Antonio and across Texas to educate themselves on storm and flood safety. I also encourage Texans who have questions about what help the Federal Government can provide during this trying time to reach out to their Members of Congress. You see a number of us here on the House floor tonight drawing attention to this issue, specifically the issue of flooding in Texas. We are deeply concerned, and we are here to offer any assistance that we can.

I would also say to Congressman Green that in addition to what has been the tragic loss of life and the obvious property destruction wrought by these floods, there is also an untold cost in the flooding. I grew up in a few neighborhoods in San Antonio where we didn't have sidewalks, for example.

Often in lower income areas or even in middle-income areas, older parts of the city that don't have sidewalks and don't have the proper infrastructure to deal with even mid-level flooding. People's basements or garages will flood, ruining a lot of property. These are folks who oftentimes are renters or don't have insurance, and so there is really no recourse for them. They end up just paying the price.

It really speaks to the importance of the work that we do, the States do, and the local governments do in making sure that infrastructure is properly built, that it is built across cities and counties, and that flooding is prevented everywhere it can be.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source