Flood Risk & Texas' Colonias
Associate Director William Donner was awarded a two-year AXA Award to conduct an interdisciplinary study of the social and environmental vulnerabilities of south Texas colonias, specifically examining how residents in these communities respond to flood risk.
For this project, Dr. Donner used electronic mapping tools to identify and map the colonias, and co-investigators in the natural sciences analyzed flood risk in these areas. Dr. Donner also conducted a survey of colonia residents in randomly selected settlements to determine how they prepare for floods, whether they respond to flood warnings, whether they have suffered any flood damage, and to find out their views on the major threats to their community.
Through a better understanding of both flooding risks and emergency preparedness in South Texas, Dr. Donner hopes to inform policy to protect residents of colonias and other vulnerable populations in coastal areas.
For more information and a video about this project, visit to the AXA website.