Latest news with #AdnanRajib
CBS News
4 days ago
- Science
- CBS News
UT Arlington lab develops rapid flood maps to aid recovery and improve future flood warnings in Texas' Hill Country
The day after the catastrophic floods hit the Hill Country, the H2i Lab at the University of Texas at Arlington got to work. The team of engineers and scientists specializes in data and water, water hazards, and water security. In less than an hour on July 5, the H2i recreated a map of the Kerr County floods, using data from the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The maps show how high the water levels got at certain times during the morning of July Fourth. University of Texas at Arlington professor Adnan Rajib oversees the team. "These buildings, camp buildings, are underwater. This is 45 feet," said Rajib. "We actually didn't have a lot of idea how devastating the situation was, until we overlaid on Google Art with all these buildings and stuff, then we realized that this is going to be much more significant than what we knew at that particular time." The maps also show the number of structures that were inside the FEMA 100-year flood zone. "It was a tsunami," Rajib said. "In our estimate, we found at least 1,800 building footprints within Hill Country's flood-affected areas, that's a lot." The team believes their findings can also help recovery crews and authorities locate people's remains by targeting hotspots in the area. "Imagine you're a first responder, this is a warning that our model generated, where you go… you know that this is the pocket, this is the hot spot, so you'll go there first," he said. "By recreating how the flood changed over time, we can find out… we can look at those moving hot spots, and probably track how the flood eventually moved along the river." Rajib said we need to focus not only on emergency alert systems, but also on a flood warning system that gives people real-time information of "risk" in a specific area. Based on past flooding events in Hill Country, the team said they are not surprised by what happened on July Fourth, but said it's important to pay attention to the data and learn from the past. "Let's not lose our hopes, let's rise again, and see what we can do with all the smart technologies we have," he said. The H2i Lab hopes to share its findings with officials in Kerr County.
CBS News
5 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Kerr County officials consider lake draining as search for missing continues amid ongoing flood threats
On Monday, during the Kerr County commissioners meeting, local leaders thanked law enforcement and emergency personnel for their work since the floods hit Central Texas. They also discussed ongoing search and rescue efforts, saying that the recovery of those missing is the top priority. "That's where we have people out on the river basin doing a lot of the work, trying to get a handle on things," said county judge Rob Kelly. One of the topics briefly mentioned during the meeting was draining a county lake. "There is a plan in place right now to accomplish draining the lake. We can't go any further than that, then to tell you that is being looked at right now," said Commissioner Tom Jones. Commissioners didn't specify which lake in the county or why, but said it is part of the ongoing search effort. They did not return CBS News Texas' request for more information. Currently, there are still at least 160 people missing since July Fourth. "Just know that's going to be an enormous undertaking because of the endangered species that we have," said Kelly. University of Texas at Arlington civil engineering professor Adnan Rajib agrees. He said draining out any large body of water would be a challenging task. "Not because of the nature of the job itself, but also how dynamic things have been in Kerrville and in the flood-affected areas," Rajib said. "We just had a moderate flood [Sunday], so how things are changing, that's going to impact all these decisions." Rajib said not only is the volume of water they're working with tough, but also the steep and rocky terrain. He said it would take several pumps and generators, lots of money and manpower. "Essentially, it requires you to dam a certain portion of the river and trap the water and then drain the trapped water out of it. It's going to take a number of days to drain the whole volume of water, and again, given all the dynamic conditions there, you drain some portion and then more water will go," he said. Rajib believes focusing on other strategies, like recreating where the flood waters were when the floods hit and where they are today would be more beneficial. "Finding out those hotspots, that's going to help you to make things more efficient, finding out the pockets where the human settlements were within the floodplain," he said.
