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Drown your town: real life Austin, Texas edition

A flooded Austin, Texas as seen from the air and water.

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


A couple of weeks ago I shared a project by Andrew David Thaler called Drown Your Town that used Google Earth to show what cities around the world would look like under water.

Well, we got a real life dose of that here in Austin, Texas last night. A massive storm system traveled along the I-35 corridor and dumped up to 11 inches of rain in the last 24 hours. Unfortunately, Austin does not have a flood control system like Tokyo (see "This massive underground complex protects Tokyo from floods").

Here are some pics from around town:


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Thanks to Reagan Hackleman and the Austin Police Department for the photos.

David Wogan is an engineer and policy researcher who writes about energy, technology, and policy.

David's academic and professional background includes a unique blend of technology and policy in the field of energy systems. Most recently, David worked at Austin Energy, a Texas municipal utility, implementing a Department of Energy stimulus grant related to energy efficiency. Previously, David was a member of the Energy & Climate Change team at the White House Council on Environmental Quality for the Obama Administration.

David holds two Master's degrees from The University of Texas at Austin in Mechanical Engineering and Public Affairs. While at UT, David was a researcher in the Webber Energy Group, where his research focused on advanced biofuel production to offset petroleum use in the transportation sector. David holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, where he researched nuclear non-proliferation measurement technology.

David is a 2013 Aspen Institute Journalism Scholar, joining a select group of journalists from Slate, ABC News, and The New York Times.

David lives in Austin, Texas. Follow along on Twitter or email him at david.wogan@me.com.

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