Destructive Houston storm: Could underground power lines help prevent outages? A UH expert intervenes

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Many neighborhoods in Spring Branch were still without power Monday, following last Thursday’s deadly storm.

There were long lines of people throughout the day at the nearby Boys and Girls Club on Pitner Street, where authorities set up a food distribution center. The area is primarily made up of Spanish-speaking immigrants.

The people waiting in line needed the essentials.

Young children were seen carrying bags of ice to their apartments across the street, where the lights had not yet come back on.

“I’m most worried about my children. My son had an allergic reaction on his skin from the intense heat,” said Jennifer Montes, who came from Long Point Road.

Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones was joined by other city leaders to discuss recovery efforts.

“We learned that there are 900 children under the age of 5 living within three-quarters of a mile of here. There are apartment complexes everywhere. It’s a severely underfunded area,” Briones said.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire said he was calling for more aid to the region after running out of resources Monday morning.

“One family told me they walked 40 minutes from Hammerly and Long Point to get here. They were disappointed we didn’t have the resources, but we took care of it,” Whitmire said.

“This is the first time I’ve seen this. My neighbors and I were talking about it. This is the first time we’ve received such help,” said Floricel Bautista, who lives in Spring Branch.

Some of these people have been without power for five days. As hurricane season approaches, ABC13 examined how much of Houston’s infrastructure is to blame.

SEE ALSO: What is the difference between tornado damage and straight line wind damage?

The wind was deadly, causing trees to fall onto power lines.

“Energy controls most of our conversations,” Whitmire said of the recovery process.

Energy was also the focus of Eyewitness News reporter Alex Bozarjian’s one-on-one with Whitmire, which fittingly took place in a Spring Branch apartment complex without electricity.

Bozarjian asked: “Do you feel happy with the rebound or do you think you could do better?

“I feel great. I don’t know where there’s an area that we’re lacking, other than years of neglect,” Whitmire said.

What has been neglected, according to Whitmire, is some of the city’s infrastructure.

As of Monday afternoon, 80% of residents had power back, which doesn’t mean much for the 20% still in the dark.

SEE MORE: CenterPoint Energy still working to restore power to 192,000 customers, utility company says

“It comes down to resilience. Resilience requires multiple solutions at multiple levels and that’s where I think things are evolving, but technology is perhaps a step or two behind,” Dr. Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice-president president of energy and innovation at the University of Houston, said.

Krishnamoorti added that underground power lines might solve one problem but could create another.

“We start putting a lot more of these power lines underground, and the next thing we know, we get something like Hurricane Harvey-like flooding, in which case we not only have flooding, but we remove also all electrical energy,” Krishnamoorti said.

He said the bigger picture is more complex and involves upgrading our power substations.

He said we’re not in the best position heading into hurricane season, but at least these storms give us time to prepare.

“Making sure our trees don’t get too close to these overhead power lines. Those are some of the things we can collectively address better,” Krishnamoorti said.

Whitmire said the city came together and resources were deployed across the state.

Unfortunately, Houston still faces a budget deficit.

“Finances are a challenge. We’re going to be successful this season. If anyone can point us to something we can do better, I’m always open to suggestions,” Whitmire said.

For updates on this story, follow Alex Bozarjian on Facebook, X and Instagram.