Final Report – Ike Dike Concept for Reducing Hurricane Storm Surge in the Houston-Galveston Region

A consortium of universities and other partners, led by Texas A&M University at Galveston, is investigating the feasibility of a coastal barrier to greatly reduce hurricane-induced coastal flooding in the Houston/Galveston region. In 2008 Hurricane Ike produced considerable storm surge and damage in the area, raising awareness of the flooding threat to the region posed by hurricanes. Had Ike tracked and made landfall 20 to 40 miles farther to the southwest, storm surge in the Houston/Galveston region would have been much more devastating. In support of the feasibility study and as members of the study team, Jackson State University and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (ERDC) are collaborating to quantify the reduction in flooding that can be expected with a long coastal dike and gate system. This protective measure, called the Ike Dike concept, has been proposed and advanced by the Texas A&M University at Galveston (Merrell 2012). This report presents results from the initial assessment of the Ike Dike’s flood mitigation benefits.