1. HISTORIC FLOODING IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA May 23, 2015 - and following Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA

2. RECORD FLOODING: May 23, 2015 - and following

3. MAY 29, 2015 "There's so much water in Texas and Oklahoma that it's going to take quite a while for the rivers to recede," said Mark Wiley, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Fort Worth, Texas.

4. May 29: The confirmed death toll has now reached 24, but at least 12 people are still missing.

5. MAY 29, 2015 The Colorado River in Wharton and the Brazos and San Jacinto Rivers near Houston are the focus of attention as floodwaters from North and Central Texas move downstream toward the Gulf of Mexico.

6. At Richmond, 30 miles southwest of Houston, where flood stage is 16 m (48 ft), the National Weather Service expects the river to top flood stage Friday morning and rise to 17 m (50 ft) by late Friday night or Saturday.

7. Forecasters say that the Colorado River at Wharton, 100 km (60 mi) southwest of Houston, could crest at 15 m (44 to 45 ft) Saturday morning, causing major flooding.

8. MAY 28, 2015: REGIONAL RUNOFF SWLLS RIVERS

9. MAY 27, 2015: GOOD NEWS– NO F-5 TORNADO AS ON MAY 27, 1997

10. WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 BAD NEWS: The death toll in Oklahoma and Texas reached 19 as record rainfall continued in Texas where 37 counties have already been identified as disaster areas by Texas’ Governor GregAbbott.

11. WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 BAD NEWS: “The worst economic losses ever from flooding in Texas” Texas’ Governor Greg Abbott.

12. WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 The flooding in Houston has affected virtually every part of the city and paralyzed some areas.

13. WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 Firefighters carried out more than 500 water rescues, most involving stranded motorists on interstate highways.

14. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27; HOUSTON HWY 288

15. HOUSTON: WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 At least 2,500 vehicles were abandoned by drivers.

16. HOUSTON: WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 1,400 Houston-area homes have now been damaged.

17. CENTRAL TEXAS: WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 Thousands of homes were also damaged or destroyed in the central Texas corridor that includes Wimberley — 744 of them in San Marcos alone---- said Kenneth Bell, emergency management coordinator for San Marcos.

18. TUESDAY, MAY 26 Floodwaters kept rising Tuesday across much of Texas as storms dumped 28 cm (11 in) of rain on the Houston area, stranding hundreds of motorists and inundating the famously congested highways that serve the nation's fourth-largest city.

19. HOUSTON: INTERSTATE 45

20. HOUSTON: Some motorists were stranded on I-45 all night, sleeping in their cars until the traffic backup was cleared -- about 8 a.m.

21. HOUSTON: RESCUE OPERATIONS

22. SAN MARCOS: LOSS OF FUNCTION

23. SAN MARCOS: A RESCUE (Credit: REUTERS)

24. TUESDAY, MAY 26 Meanwhile, the search went on for at least 13 people who were still missing, including a group that disappeared after a vacation home was swept down the river and slammed into a bridge.

25. TUESDAY, MAY 26: DEATH TOLL REACHES 14 Several more fatalities were reported — three in Houston and one more in Central Texas-bringing to 14 the number of people killed by the holiday weekend storms in Texas and Oklahoma.

26. Over the May 23-25 Memorial Day weekend in the USA, heavy rain fall, flash floods, tornadoes, and inundation occurred from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes

27. History was made as Texas and Oklahoma experienced continuous periods of heavy rain, catastrophic flooding, mass evacuations, and an urgent demand for emergency services.

28. TEXAS FLOOD ZONES

29. 37 counties in Texas were declared disaster areas by the Governor

30. FLOODING

31. Tornadoes swept across the southern plains, destroying dozens of homes in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska

32. TORNADO NEAR CHICKASA, OKLAHOMA

33. THE CAUSE: National Weather Service (NWS); Norman, Oklahoma “The widespread heavy rains were caused by a prolonged warming of Pacific ocean sea surface temperatures that results in cooler air and rain when coupled with an active southern jet stream and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.”

34. PRELIMINARY IMPACTS The central part of Texas was hit hard, especially San Marcos and Wimberley, near the Blanco river – which crested at 13 m (40 ft) the highest level since 2010. At least 2,000 residents were forced to evacuate their homes.

35. CENTRAL TEXAS: IMPACTS 1,000 homes were damaged in San Marcos, Wimberly and other communities in Hays County, a fast-growing area between San Antonio and Austin, the capital.

36. WIMBERLEY

37. OVER 2,000 EVACUATED

38. CENTRAL TEXAS IMPACTS Rivers rose so fast that whole communities woke up on Sunday morning surrounded by water.

39. CENTRAL TEXAS IMPACTS The Blanco River crested at a height more than double its flood stage of 4 m (13 ft), swamping Interstate 35 and forcing closure of parts of the busy north-south highway.

40. DALLAS AREA IMPACTS Dallas faced severe flooding, with the Trinity River expected to crest near 13 m (40 ft) on Monday (25 th ).

41. SEVERE WEATHER IN DALLAS AREA

42. In Johnson County, just outside Dallas, residents had to cope with the third flood in four weeks, a rare small earthquake, and a mile-wide tornado that touched down.

43. NORTH TEXAS The Red and Wichita rivers also rose far above their flood stage.

44. OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma City set a new monthly rainfall total this weekend – 45 cm (18.2 in) through Saturday, beating the previous mark of 35 cm (14.5 in) set in 2013.

45. FLOODING

46. LOW DEATH COULD RISE At least three people have died, but, at least 12 are missing in Texas and Oklahoma.

47. Forecasters predict more storms through Monday that will likely hinder rescue and recovery operations and exacerbate the already overwhelmed waterways and saturated grounds.

48. LOCATION MAP

49. FLOODS

50. YOUR COMMUNITY DATA BASES AND INFORMATION HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS HAZARD MAPS INVENTORY VULNERABILITY LOCATION RISK ASSESSMENT RISK ACCEPTABLE RISK UNACCEPTABLE RISK FLOOD DISASTER RISK REDUCTION PREVENTION/MITIGATION PREPAREDNESS EMERGENCY RESPONSE RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION POLICY OPTIONS

51. FLOOD HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS ) TOO MUCH WATER DISCHARGED WITHIN THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM TO BE ACCOMMODATED NORMALLY IN THE REGIONAL WATER CYCLE EROSION SCOUR MUDFLOWS

52. RISK ASSESSMENT INTEGRATES RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE GAINED FROM “FLOOD DISASTER LABORATORIES,” WITH EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND THE COMMUNITY’S POLITICAL PROCESS.

53. LOSS OF FUNCTION OF STRUCTURES IN FLOODPLAIN FLOODS INUNDATION INTERACTION WITH HAZARDOUS MATERIALS STRUCTURAL/CONTENTS DAMAGE FROM WATER WATER BORNE DISEASES (HEALTH PROBLEMS) EROSION AND MUDFLOWS CONTAMINATION OF GROUND WATER CAUSES OF RISK CASE HISTORIES