Phil Bedient News Today

Our Ten Years series explores a decade of flooding and efforts to mitigate it.

Engineering study is next step for SSPEED Center’s proposed hurricane barrier

The centerpiece of the project is a surge barrier system across the Bolivar Roads, the gaping mouth where Galveston Bay opens to the Gulf of Mexico.

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- In coastal Texas and many other places, walled cities are making a comeback. It’s quite a turnabout, as the efficacy of defensive walls had declined precipitously since the age of the long bow. Barbarians still menace, of course.

Rice University builds flood alert system that could help save lives Tags:  Rice University builds flood alert system HOUSTON – Engineers at Rice University have developed a new flood alert system that can help predict where it could flood and help people safely evacuate before the water gets too high. “What we do is we take the rain that’s falling, we measure that really, really accurately and we use that to predict the inundation levels,” said Dr. Phil Bedient, with Rice University�...

Rice University crafts pivotal new Houston flood tracking system  The recent Houston deluge is a sobering reminder of the constant potential of flooding here, especially in at-risk areas. To that end, a local university has devised a new tool to tackle high water threats in vulnerable spots. Engineers at Rice University have crafted a new radar-based flood assessment, mapping and early-warning system to help planning for and responding to flooding at Houston hospitals and other critical faci...

Share Early-warning system covers hospitals, nursing homes, other critical facilities on Brays, Sims, Hunting and White Oak bayous City officials have a new tool for planning and responding to flooding at hospitals and other critical facilities on the watersheds of Brays, Sims, Hunting and White Oak bayous. Built by Rice University engineers, the city’s Flood Information and Response System (FIRST) is a radar-based flood assessment, mapping and early-warning system. Developed under a federal ...

 E-Mail IMAGE: A Rice University model shows the predicted atmospheric concentration distribution in parts per billion of a downwind diesel plume six hours after Hurricane Harvey. Rice engineers modeled the hypothetical threats... view more  Credit: Rice University HOUSTON - (Feb. 1, 2021) - When aboveground storage tanks fail during a storm and their toxic contents spread, the threat to human health can and probably will flow downwind of the immediate area. Rice University engineers...