GALVESTON, Texas – Houston, a Gulf Coast city that barely rises above sea level, has long worried about a worst-case weather scenario — a direct hit from a powerful storm that sends a wall of water barreling into the region's petrochemical facilities, possibly triggering an environmental disaster.When it was spared a blow from Hurricane Laura last month, the city breathed a sigh of relief.
Now the close call has renewed a debate about whether the Houston area should build a massive and expensive barrier to protect against storm surge.Even if such a barrier had been in place, it would have offered no protection this week from Tropical Storm Beta, which flooded roads and filled waterways.“No hurricane storm surge barrier will ever protect us.