Texas is getting a preview of life in a billion-dollar disaster zone?but it doesn?t have to be this way In March of last year, ProPublica and the Texas Tribune jointly published a damning report cautioning that Houston, the nation?s fourth-largest metro area, was facing a dire threat of being devastated by a hurricane. ?Scientists say Houston?s perfect storm is coming,? warned the piece, ?and it?s not a matter of if but when.?
The series is being widely shared as Hurricane Harvey (downgraded to a tropical storm as of Saturday) continues to dump an unprecedented amount of rain on the region, causing widespread damage across Southern Texas that will not be able to be fully assessed until the skies clear.
At least ten people have died in the Houston region, a number that officials hope does not increase as rescues continue. But even without the full extent of the damage known, Harvey is part of a startling string of Texas weather events which may end up being the costliest in U.S. history. "We need to recognize that it is going to be a new normal. A new and different normal for the entire region,? said Texas Governor Greg Abbott today, in an attempt to show the state?s resilience to rebuild.
Recognition is one thing, acceptance another. This doesn?t have to be the new normal.

Gov. Abbott: "We need to recognize that it is going to be a new normal. A new and different normal for the entire region." pic.twitter.com/Dfyki2xOKi? CBS News (@CBSNews) August 28,...