HOUSTON, TX – AUGUST 30: Flooded homes are shown near the Barker reservoir following Hurricane Harvey August 30, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(Bloomberg) — The U.S. government may be on the hook for as much as $1 billion after a federal judge found it responsible for the flooding of thousands of homes and businesses in Houston during Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
U.S. District Judge Charles F. Lettow in Washington ruled Monday, Dec. 16, 2019, that the government failed to buy enough land to hold water that engineers knew could accumulate in a pair of reservoirs during a record-breaking storm, making it liable for the flood-related damage.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
