Nov. 30 – Webinar: In Retrospect – Hurricane Harvey and the Impact on African-American Neighborhoods

November 21, 2018 / APAPA-SE / Comments Off

In Retrospect – Hurricane Harvey and the Impact on African-American Neighborhoods

This webcast is hosted by APA’s Planning and the Black Community Division

Time: 2 PM – 3:30 PM – 11/30/2018
Speakers: Derek Hull, Rick Flanagan, John Cooper, Ph.D., Joy Semien

Register at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/389822346745988097

For more webinars visit www.ohioplanning.org/planningwebcast

For many people living near the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast line, August 25, 2017 will always be a day to remember. On this day, twenty-seven trillion gallons of water began to pour into the region as the category four hurricane, Harvey, traveled along the Coast line (Zarracina, 2017).

The havoc caused by Hurricane Harvey affected tens of thousands of people living within the region destroying homes, and business forcing thousands to evacuate into shelters. This massive 1,000-year storm destroyed over 40,000 homes and caused over $125 billion in damages (Blake, 2018; FEMA, 2017). As the people residing within this geographical region began to rebuild, one area of interest worth examining is the equitability of the preparedness, response, and recovery processes among minority populations, specifically African Americans.

Historically, research has shown that “low-income communities and communities of color don’t get the necessary protection (Bullard, 2017).” It was clear throughout Hurricane Harvey as the local and national media highlighted areas of Houston that did not contain a high minority population, despite Houston’s overall diversity. This study uses a combination of GIS mapping, informal interviews, and content analysis to examine the impacts Hurricane Harvey had on the Black Community, specifically in historically African American communities in Houston, Texas.

The paper will discuss the measures that the local, state, and federal governments used to prepare, respond, and rebuild the community. In addition, the paper will discuss any disproportionate impacts and injustices that the Black community endured to decide if the African American population was more or less prepared than their counterparts. Hear from the PBCD Fellow who conducted the research, City officials and leading Hazard Mitigation educators discuss Hurricane Harvey and its impact on the Black community.