Portal:Houston/Selected article/May 2008

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Tropical Storm Allison was a tropical storm that devastated southeast Texas in June of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. The first storm of the season, Allison lasted unusually long for a June storm, remaining tropical or subtropical for 15 days. The storm developed from a tropical wave in the northern Gulf of Mexico on June 4, and struck the northern Texas coast shortly thereafter. It drifted northward through the state, then turned back to the south and re-entered the Gulf of Mexico. The storm continued to the east-northeast, making landfall on Louisiana and then moving across the southeast United States and Mid-Atlantic. The storm dropped heavy rainfall along its path, peaking at over 40 inches (1000 mm) in Texas. The worst of the flooding occurred in Houston, where most of Allison's damage occurred. There, 30,000 became homeless after the flooding destroyed 2,744 homes. Downtown Houston was inundated with flooding, causing severe damage to hospitals and businesses. 23 people died in Texas. Throughout its entire path, Allison caused $6.05 billion (2006 USD) in damage and 41 deaths. Aside from Texas, the places worst hit were Louisiana and southeastern Pennsylvania.