Environmental groups hired a private firm after the flooding and found higher than normal levels of dangerous chemicals in the air around a refinery.
Kiah Collier
Kiah Collier was a reporter for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative initiative from 2020 through 2023. She previously worked at the Tribune as a reporter and associate editor, covering energy and the environment through the lens of state government and politics. Kiah has reported for numerous other publications across Texas since 2010, including the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle. Her beats also have included government and politics, public education and business. Kiah’s work has been honored with numerous prizes, including a George Foster Peabody Award, a Gerald Loeb Award, the Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism, the National Edward R. Murrow Award for best investigation and the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award. A seventh-generation Texan, she grew up in the Austin area and graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in journalism and philosophy.
Posted in
Protecting the Coast
Post-Harvey, Houston officials hope Congress is up for funding Ike Dike
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Tuesday gave his strongest endorsement to date for constructing a physical coastal barrier to protect the region from deadly storm surge.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
Texas GOP leaders pushing for high-dollar, long-delayed flood infrastructure projects
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other state leaders are eyeing a long-delayed reservoir project experts say would’ve saved thousands of Houston homes from flooding.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
A year before Harvey, Houston-area flood control chief saw no “looming issues”
Experts say the flooding in the Houston region could have wreaked far less havoc if local officials had made different decisions over the last several decades. But the former head of a key flood control agency strongly disagreed with that take in an interview last year.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
Houston’s historically black neighborhoods devastated by flooding, with little safety net
Houston’s historically black neighborhoods were hit hard by Hurricane Harvey — and many don’t have the safety net that residents in other parts of town can rely on to recover.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
As Harvey leaves Texas behind, Houston shelters remain a lifeline for thousands
More than 10,000 people remain in Houston shelters, where Texans rescued from rising waters figure out their next steps and search for provisions.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
In Harvey-swamped Houston, rescues by canoe, kayak — even monster truck
After Hurricane Harvey hit, Texans from near and far heeded calls from law enforcement to rescue trapped neighbors, rallying kayaks, canoes and fishing boats. In Houston, Chris Ginter took it to a whole new level — with a monster truck.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
Why Houston’s reservoirs aren’t likely to fail after Hurricane Harvey
As Tropical Storm Harvey continues to pummel an already devastated Houston, many residents are terrified that the dams on two of the region’s massive reservoirs will fail. Here’s why government officials say that is not going to happen.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
Analysis: Four things Houston-area leaders must do to prevent future flooding disasters
Here’s what local leaders could have done to protect the Houston region from Harvey-related flooding — and what they must do to prevent such disasters in the future.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
This is already Houston’s “worst flood.” It’s only going to get worse.
As swamped officials struggled to respond to a deadly crisis Sunday, southeast Texans were bracing for their troubles to multiply over the coming week. Harvey is on track to produce even more devastating floods.
