Data Used to Characterize Peak Streamflows and Flood Inundation Resulting from Hurricane Harvey of Selected Areas in Southeastern Texas and Southwestern Louisiana, August-September 2017

Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) worked in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to document the August and September, 2017 Hurricane Harvey storm event in southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana. Hurricane Harvey was the most significant rainfall event in United States history in scope and rainfall totals since rainfall records began during the 1880s. From August 25 through September 1, 2017, some areas in southeastern Texas received more than 60 inches of rain; large areas received more than 40 inches of rain. This data release contains the flood inundation polygons, flood-depth rasters, mapped boundaries, and high-water mark (HWM) locations for the selected river basins, coastal basins, and coastal areas in Texas and Louisiana that flooded during the August and September 2017 flood event. The five heavily flooded river basins are drained by the following rivers and their tributaries: Brazos River, Neches River, Sabine River, San Bernard River, and San Jacinto River. The coastal basins flooded by Harvey consist of East and West Matagorda Bay Basins, East and West San Antonio Bay Basins, and Aransas Bay Basin, all of which are along the southeastern coast of Texas. Texas coastal areas flooded by Harvey begin at Matagorda Bay near the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge south of Freeport, Tex., continue along the coast through the communities of Matagorda, Palacios near Tres Palacios Bay, Port O'Connor, Port Lavaca, Austwell, and Rockport, and continue on to the northern side of Corpus Christi Bay at Port Aransas and San Jose Island.