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Houston is trying to get buyout offers to homeowners quickly

Oct 11, 2017
After hurricanes, government officials buy homes that are "hopelessly at risk" for future flooding and demolish them.
Jean Olson's home in Bellaire is one of many on her street that is inside-out. Even family heirlooms are in her front yard because her house is still uninhabitable.
Filipa Rodrigues/ for Marketplace

In Houston, small business revenue was back on track a week after Harvey

Oct 4, 2017
While rebuilding will take time, many small businesses have rebounded quickly.
Anastasia Gentles, co-founder of  NightLight, stands before the storefront of  the north Houston branch, which was flooded. She says she still has to turn customers away all the time. 
Florian Martin/ for Marketplace

The food community comes together in Houston

Sep 20, 2017
Monica Pope, a Houston chef, has seen the food community in her town unite in recent years.
Members of the Franklin Church of Christ from Franklin, Texas cook hotdogs for the congregation of the Fifth Ward Church of Christ in Houston on September 3, 2017.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

Their homes escaped flooding, but the fear lingers

Sep 1, 2017
"Everyone becomes on edge when you hear any type of heavy rainfall," a Louisiana homeowner says.
A flooded street in Cypress, Texas, northwest of Houston.
Courtesy of Marcy Matyas

Economists don't think price gouging is a problem. But what about our social values?

Sep 1, 2017
High prices limit hording and increase supply. But that's bad for business, one expert argues.
People wait in line to buy water at the Coastal Industrial and Specialty gas welding supplies store yesterday after the water supply to the city of Beaumont, Texas, was shut down from the effects of Hurricane Harvey.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

After Harvey, Houston's faith community develops plans for aid

Sep 1, 2017
Local congregations know the neighborhoods and have a built-in system for collecting and distributing donations.
A flooded street is seen after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 31, 2017 in Port Arthur, Texas. 
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Congress should have seen the signs that a Harvey-like event was coming

Aug 31, 2017
Politico's Michael Grunwald discusses a decades-old report about repetitive losses in the Naional Flood Insurance Program.

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After shelters, some Harvey victims will move to vacant Houston apartments

Aug 31, 2017
Just over 10 percent of the apartments in Houston are sitting vacant. As the storm clears, survivors can get money to help them move in. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

Harvey’s honor roll of heroes has lots of ordinary folks

Aug 30, 2017
Many of the first responders in Houston have been civilians organized into rescue squads. Their work has the support and approval of government agencies, who have realized that local volunteers can move faster than any bureaucracy. It’s an approach to disaster management that has become codified into policy. Click the audio player above to hear […]

Schools open their doors to young flood victims

Aug 30, 2017
More than 120 school districts remain closed Wednesday as a result of Tropical Storm Harvey, according to Texas education officials. In Houston, public schools aren’t expected to open until after Labor Day at the earliest, affecting more than 200,000 kids. Meanwhile, dry schools in nearby towns and cities are opening their doors to evacuees.  Click […]