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Houston Chronicle: Hurricane Harvey Flooding Victims Get their Day in Federal Court

May 7, 2019 Gabrielle Banks of the Houston Chronicle

Residents and business owners whose properties upstream of the Barker and Addicks reservoirs were flooded after Hurricane Harvey argued in Houston federal court Monday that authorities knew for decades that the lakes would likely not be contained during a major flooding event and did nothing to prevent it, resulting in property damage for which they should now be compensated.

The case in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims focuses on 13 test-case properties that the parties agreed upon that were surrounded by rising waters in the wake of the catastrophic 2017 storm. The first batch of lawsuits to go to trial involves what are known as the upstream properties, which were severely flooded as water built up in two “flood pools” west of Houston.

Hundreds have sued the federal government for damages, and other property owners may also reap the benefits should the court find the federal government liable. The Army Corps of Engineers maintains the dams.

“People lost everything. People lost possessions, memories,” said Daniel Charest, an attorney for the residents and business owners, as he clicked through a slideshow of people fleeing their homes in makeshift rafts.

William Shapiro, an attorney for the Justice Department, countered that Harvey, which dumped up to 51 inches of rain on some parts of the Houston region, was a “historically large rainfall event.” Between the two reservoirs, Shapiro said, this was a 770-year to 840-year flood event.

“Flooding in a storm of this size was inevitable,” said Shapiro, representing the Army Corps. “Dam failure would have risked hundreds of thousands of homes and structures and hundreds and thousands of lives.”

Properties downstream were also flooded after officials released water amid concerns that the dams could fail. Downstream flood damage is the subject of another batch of federal lawsuits that has yet to go to trial.
Harvey made landfall on Aug. 25, 2017 before moving inland and soaking the Houston area with heavy rain. Nearly 80 people across Texas died during the storm, which caused an estimated $125 billion in damage in the Lone Star State.

The upstream trial before Sen. U.S. Judge Charles F. Lettow is set to last two weeks and will include a visit to the reservoirs and test properties by the federal judge, lawyers and experts.

Dozens of property owners filled the courtroom gallery, with the test-case plaintiffs seated in the front row.

After opening statements, the first day was taken up with one witness, who was questioned by a lawyer for the property owners for more than five hours. Shapiro, of the Justice Department, interrupted with objections about certain documents, some of which dated back to 1940, being entered as evidence.

For a longer version of this article and continued coverage of the trial, please visit HoustonChronicle.com. 

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