World
Houston keeps buckling under storms like Beryl. The fixes aren't coming fast enough
HOUSTON (AP) — Sharon Carr is frustrated. Like many others who lost power after Hurricane Beryl slammed into the Texas coast earlier this week, she went to a cooling center in Houston to get relief from summer heat while the city’s utility company warned that restoring everyone’s electricity could take longer than they might hope.
“There’s too much wind, we don’t have power. It’s raining a long time, we don’t have power,” said Carr, who also went without electricity for a week in May when a destructive storm known as a derecho swept through the area.
Carr, who works for the city’s transportation and drainage department, thinks more could be done to keep the lights on — or at least restore them more quickly — if Houston and other urban areas prone to severe weather would stop focusing on immediate problems and look at the bigger picture, including climate change.
“This shouldn’t keep happening,” she said. “If it’s broke, let’s fix it.”
Hurricane Beryl is the latest in a long line of devastating storms to paralyze Houston, underscoring the city’s inability to sufficiently fortify itself against weather events brought on by climate change. Past storms such as Hurricane Ike in 2008 and Harvey in 2017 made clear that the city needed to remove trees, bolster its flood-plain protections and bury more power lines underground, but those efforts fell short or were completely overwhelmed by recent storms that have inundated the city and knocked out power to millions.
With climate change heating up ocean water, fueling storms that are more powerful and intensify much faster, experts say cities need to rethink how they prepare and respond to such events.
“It’s a totally different game that we’re playing today,” said Michelle Meyer, director of the Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center at Texas A&M University. The old playbook, she said, “doesn’t work anymore.”
If we rebuild it, it will flood again
Where and how developers build is one obvious issue, said Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under President Barack Obama. He said that became evident to him 20 years ago while working in Florida, where four successive hurricanes were not enough to stop beachfront development.
“You’ve got to ask yourself, how many times do we need to rebuild something before we either build it back differently or we don’t build back in that same spot?” he said.
Fugate thinks taxpayers are increasingly shouldering the burden, supporting expensive insurance programs for at-risk areas when instead, developers could stop building in storm-prone areas and residents could move out of the floodplains.
“It is the hardest system to implement because people resist,” said Jim Blackburn, co-director of the severe storm center at Rice University. “People really like where they live, as a general proposition.”
Buyouts instead of insurance payments are one way to get people to move, but Fugate notes such programs often take too long to kick in after a storm hits. By the time such funds are ready, persuading someone to take a buyout is “almost impossible,” he said.
Problems with known solutions
In many cases, officials know what actions are needed to mitigate severe weather disasters, but find them hard to implement.
For instance, the city of Houston commissioned a report documenting how falling trees caused power outages after 2008’s Hurricane Ike. But no one wanted to cut down the trees that still stood. Today, utility officials note, they install underground electric lines for every new construction project.
Updating the city’s electrical infrastructure could also go a long way toward preventing power outages, Meyer said, noting that North Carolina did so after Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
“They were really forward-thinking, like, ‘OK we’re not going to be in this situation again,’” she said.
CenterPoint Energy, which provides Houston’s power, has partially installed an “intelligent grid” system that automatically reroutes power to unaffected lines during an outage. A document on the utility’s website noted that 996 of the devices had been installed as of 2019 — less than half of the grid at the time. It’s not clear if more progress has been made since then. The company did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
A changing reality
With more storms like Beryl expected under climate change conditions, cities have to plan for the worst — and the worst is getting nastier.
“It’s all about learning to live with water,” Blackburn said.
After Hurricane Harvey — the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade when it slammed into the Texas coast in August 2017 — Houston passed a $2.5 billion bond measure to finance flood damage reduction projects in Harris County, which includes the city. The action resulted in “a lot of improvements,” Blackburn said, but was based on old flood projections.
In addition, a task force Republican Gov. Greg Abbott created in 2018 made dozens of recommendations in a nearly 200-page report, including investigating ways to harden utilities and creating an inventory of mitigation and resiliency projects that are needed across the state.
But with weather becoming more and more unpredictable, even cities that make improvements can be caught unprepared if they don’t plan with the future in mind. The “diabolical” component of climate change, Blackburn said, is that the goalposts keep moving: Just as cities adjust to a heightened risk, the risk escalates again.
Scientists are more equipped than ever before to make decisions about evacuations, development and other measures using computer systems that can predict the damage a certain storm will inflict, noted Shane Hubbard, a research scientist at the University of Wisconsin.
And yet, he added, all the computing power in the world can’t match the unpredictability of climate change. Warming oceans are driving rapidly intensifying weather events that defy models and quickly change conditions on the ground.
“That’s the thing I’m most concerned about” in the future, Hubbard said.
Complicating matters in Texas is that some leaders still don’t acknowledge climate change. The report issued by the governor’s task force in 2018 noted that powerful natural disasters in Texas would become more frequent because of a changing climate. But it made no mention of “climate change,” “global warming” or of curbing greenhouse gases in Texas, the nation’s oil-refining epicenter that leads the U.S. in carbon emissions. Texas is a state where politicians, at least publicly, are deeply skeptical about climate change.
Cities must be willing to face the scientific facts before their planning can truly improve, Blackburn says.
Asked whether coastal cities in general are prepared for climate change, Meyer said simply, “No.”
She said prevention and mitigation measures must evolve to the point that a Category 1 hurricane “will be no problem moving forward.”
A city like Houston “should not be touched by a Cat 1,” she said.
___
Walling reported from Chicago. Associated Press/Report for America writer Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report. Follow Walling on X: @MelinaWalling.
___
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Published on •Updated
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said on Monday there was “no appetite” to extend the mandate of the EU’s naval mission Aspides into the Strait of Hormuz despite growing calls for Europe to help secure the waterway and prevent major disruptions to global oil supplies.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
“The discussion was that it (Aspides) should be strengthened because it does not have too many naval assets,” Kallas told reporters at a press conference following a gathering of foreign ministers in Brussels. “But the discussion on whether we are also extending this mandate to cover the strait of Hormuz (…) there was no appetite from the member states to do that.”
“Nobody wants to go actively in this war,” she added.
Kallas spoke after the EU’s 27 foreign affairs ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss how Europe should respond to the impact of the war with Iran, which has triggered what analysts describe as the largest disruption to global oil supplies in history and sent oil prices above $100 a barrel.
Her remarks also came a day after US president Donald Trump increased pressure on Europe to help protect the Strait of Hormuz, warning that NATO faces a “very bad” future if its members fail to come to Washington’s aid.
Ministers discussed in particular whether to strengthen Aspides, which was established in February 2024 as a defensive operation following repeated attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis on international shipping.
Aspides is aimed at protecting vessels, safeguarding freedom of navigation and monitor the maritime situation in a vast area comprising of the Strait of Hormuz but also the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.
But on Monday, Trump’s appeal produced little results as EU countries were not eager to expand the remit of Aspides.
Going into the meeting, German foreign affairs minister Johann Wadephul ruled out any German participation into the operation, while his Romanian counterpart Oana-Silvia Toiu suggested that Bucharest doesn’t want to get involved in the Aspides mission, as the country needs to keep its focus on its naval capabilities in the Black Sea.
Luxembourg’s foreign minister Xavier Bettel echoed some of those reservations and stressed that the EU is not directly involved in the war.
“With satellites, with communications, we are very happy to be useful but don’t ask with troops and machines,” he told reporters ahead of the Foreign affairs Council.
Historical drama “The King’s Warden” continued its exceptional run at the South Korean box office, crossing the 13 million admissions threshold during the weekend of Mar. 13–15.
According to data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the film maintained a commanding 76.36% revenue share, holding the top spot for its sixth consecutive weekend.
“The King’s Warden” earned $8.2 million from 1,253,733 admissions over the weekend. Directed by Jang Hang-jun and starring Yoo Hae-jin and Park Ji-hoon, the film centers on a village chief protecting a deposed teenage king during the 15th century. Since its Feb. 4 debut, the film has amassed a massive cumulative gross of $86.8 million from 13,467,811 admissions, moving further up the list of South Korea’s all-time highest-grossing films.
Pixar’s “Hoppers” held steady in second place, earning $1.1 million from 173,213 admissions. The animated feature has reached a cumulative gross of $3.5 million since its Mar. 4 launch.
The local horror-mystery “Samakdo” debuted in third place, earning $246,268 over the weekend. Directed by Chae Ki-jun and starring Jo Yoon-seo and Kwak Si-yang, the film follows an investigative reporting team that uncovers the existence of absolute evil while looking into a mystery believed to have disappeared during the Japanese colonial era. Since its opening on Mar. 11, the film has earned $354,305.
In fourth place, Brad Pitt racing drama “F1” saw a re-entry into the top five following a re-release. The film added $322,138 over the weekend, bringing its South Korean lifetime total to $37.1 million from over 5.2 million admissions.
The espionage thriller “Humint” took fifth place, earning $109,668. Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan and starring Zo In-sung and Park Jeong-min, the film has now reached a cumulative gross of $13.2 million from nearly 2 million admissions.
The Japanese anime film “Attack on Titan The Movie : The Last Attack” re-entered the charts in sixth place with $92,656. Directed by Hayashi Yuichiro, the film provides a cinematic conclusion to the series. Its cumulative total in South Korea now stands at $6.6 million.
A re-release of Joe Wright’s 2005 film “Pride & Prejudice” took seventh place, earning $57,934.
Rounding out the top 10 were the musical drama “Choir of God” in eighth place with $40,397 (total $9.1 million), the local comedy-drama “Mad Dance Office” in ninth with $32,424 (total $254,019), and the Oscar-winning Norwegian drama “Sentimental Value” in tenth with $37,966 (total $394,081).
The overall market collective gross for the weekend was $10.8 million, down from last week’s $14.2 million.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A new terrorist group with suspected links to the Iranian regime emerged in Europe last week. Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya (The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right) has claimed responsibility for four attacks on Jewish targets across the continent.
A synagogue in Liège, Belgium, was the first target of an explosive attack on Monday. An arson attack on a Rotterdam synagogue followed overnight on Friday and an explosive device was set off at a Jewish school in Amsterdam the next evening.
Several sources have linked an additional attack at a Jewish site in Greece on Wednesday with the group, though no specifics were given about the target or method of attack.
BROTHER OF MICHIGAN SYNAGOGUE ATTACKER WAS HEZBOLLAH TERRORIST, ISRAEL ALLEGES
The scene of an explosion at the synagogue in the rue Leon Fredericq, in Liege on March 9, 2026. The synagogue was hit at around 4am by a blast. A previously unknown terrorist group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, claimed responsibility.
Joe Truzman, senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of the FDD’s Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital that when he saw the statement from the organization following their Monday attack, he “thought it was a little bit amateurish.” Truzman said that after videos from the group became to emerge, he “realized that there’s probably something more here to this organization.”
He said that the war in Iran has likely “compelled the group, for whoever is behind this, to start launching these attacks.” Truzman said he “suspect[s] this organization is being directed” and that there is “an entity behind it.”
Truzman says he suspects the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) itself, which he says “has been active in Europe” and has “attempted to eliminate or assassinate dissidents.” Though he does not discount them being entity of an Iraqi militia group.
A pedestrian walks past a synagogue on ABN Davidsplein in Rotterdam, western Netherlands on March 13, 2026 after an arson attack. A formerly unknown terrorist group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, claimed responsibility. (Media TV via ANP / AFP via Getty Images)
In addition to anticipating further attacks from Ashab al-Yamin, Truzman said that he is concerned that “the dissemination of [terror] videos online may compel other people to commit antisemitic attacks” in Europe. According to Truzman, Ashab al-Yamin’s videos are “starting to gain traction. They’re starting to get the views, and people are seeing it. And maybe the ones that are radicalized already or are going to be radicalized, may be influenced by these videos, and may commit an antisemitic attack or an attack on a Jewish site.”
He said that the attacks “have been mostly unsophisticated, but things may change, and they may start targeting people, too, during the day, when it’s busy.” So far all attacks have come at night.
TRUMP WARNS OF IRANIAN ‘SLEEPER CELLS’ AS CANADA IS ACCUSED OF HARBORING REGIME OPERATIVES
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on X that the group was tied to the regime in Tehran. “A jihadi group tied to an Iranian proxy” was responsible for the string of attacks. They noted that “the IRGC continues to sponsor and export terror across the globe.”
Onlookers are increasingly tying the attacks back to the war in Iran. The World Jewish Congress raised alarm bells about Ashab al-Yamin on X, stating that “security analysts believe the group may be part of Iran’s expanding network of proxy actors operating far beyond the Middle East.” The Congress called on governments to “treat this threat with the seriousness it deserves, dismantle the networks behind these attacks, and ensure Jewish communities can live and worship in safety.”
Amichai Chikli, Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Minister, called the attacks “part of a troubling pattern.” He explained that “terror networks linked to the Iranian axis are trying to expand their arena of activity into European cities and Jewish communities.”
Military members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in western Tehran, Iran (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The State Department did not respond to questions about whether it had previously been tracking Ashab al-Yamin, or if it planned to issue a warning to Americans traveling abroad to avoid Jewish institutions, but an alert from the U.S. embassy in the Netherlands on Monday warned, “Following recent targeted explosive incidents in the Netherlands and in other major European cities, the U.S. Mission to the Netherlands reminds U.S. citizens to maintain good personal security practices and exercise heightened situational awareness, consistent with the Department of State’s recent Worldwide Caution alert.”
The alert added, “As noted in the Travel Advisory for the Netherlands, terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in the Netherlands. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Israel’s National Security Council recently warned its citizens traveling abroad to conceal items that might identify them as Israeli or Jewish and to “avoid visiting sites identified as Jewish or Israeli” following the first of three shootings at Toronto synagogues in early March.
Kallas says ‘no appetite’ to shift mandate of EU Hormuz naval mission
Trump predicts US will have ‘honour of taking Cuba’ amid power blackout
Video: Fast-Moving Fire in Queens Kills 4, Including a Child
Red Wings erupt for four goals in second period, douse Flames
Plastic pillars installed at SF intersection where girl was fatally struck
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Kallas says ‘no appetite’ to shift mandate of EU Hormuz naval mission
Trump predicts US will have ‘honour of taking Cuba’ amid power blackout
MTG on Trump’s Iran war: ‘Why would an American president do that?’
Video: Michael B. Jordan Celebrates Oscar Win at In-N-Out
Dem senators call to fund DHS after voting to block it 4 times amid shutdown fight
-
Oklahoma1 week agoOSSAA unveils Class 6A-2A basketball state tournament brackets, schedule
-
Oklahoma2 days agoFamily rallies around Oklahoma father after head-on crash
-
Michigan1 week agoOperation BBQ Relief helping with Southwest Michigan tornado recovery
-
Southeast1 week ago‘90 Day Fiancé’ alum’s boyfriend on trial for attempted murder over wild ‘Boca Bash’ accusations
-
Nebraska4 days agoWildfire forces immediate evacuation order for Farnam residents
-
Health1 week agoAncient herb known as ‘nature’s Valium’ touted for improving sleep and anxiety
-
Business1 week agoCommentary: In two new court cases, judges find that AI does not have human intelligence
-
Technology1 week agoTime’s running out to get a free gift card when you preorder a new MacBook