Midwestern State University (MSU Texas) students working with Dr. Jonathan Price will have a unique opportunity over the next four weeks.

The students will travel to small communities in the Red River Basin of the Texas Rolling Plains to interview residents who have experienced flooding as part of an outreach study for the Canadian-Red River Regional Flood Planning Group (RFPG).

MSU Texas is partnering with Drs. Erick Butler, Erik Crosman and Nathan Howell and students from West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) in Canyon.

Uising the collected data, the RFPG will develop, write and present a regional flood plan. The process was created by the Texas legislature in 2019 in response to Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

“The results of these flood plans will be higher coordination across the state on flood mitigation and planning, and the distribution of financial assistance for the resulting projects,” said Butler, the study’s lead investigator and associate professor of environmental engineering at WTAMU.

“Texas ranks highest in flood fatalities in the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, and flooding, after extreme heat, is the No. 2 weather-related killer in Texas,” said Crosman, assistant professor of environmental science at WTAMU.

MSU Texas and WTAMU teams will cover the Upper Red River-Canadian River Planning Region, stretching from the top of the Panhandle out to the Saint Jo area.

“This region is one of the most rural basins in the 15 that make up the state,” Butler said. “That makes it one of the most difficult to ascertain flood risk and to set up mitigation strategies, so it’s important that we can hear from a variety of voices in these rural communities.”

Residents who have knowledge of flood damage or need for flood aid in this region are encouraged to contact Butler at 806-651-2271 or 806-881-5555 or via email at ebutler@wtamu.edu.

“This constitutes an important opportunity for our students to engage small communities in the region and learn firsthand about surface water issues,” said Price, chair and Prothro Distinguished Associate Professor in the Kimbell School of Geosciences at MSU Texas.

MSU Texas student surveyors plan to visit the following unincorporated and incorporated communities: Saint Jo, Nocona, Ringgold and Montague in Montague County; Henrietta, Bellevue, Petrolia and Byers in Clay County; Scotland, Windthorst, Archer City and Holliday in Archer County; Electra, Iowa Park and Burkburnett in Wichita County; Vernon, Lockett, Oklaunion and Harold in Wilbarger County; Seymour in Baylor County; Benjamin and Truscott in Knox County; Crowell in Foard County; Goodlett, Chillicothe and Quanah in Hardeman County; Paducah in Cottle County; and Guthrie in King County.

They will split the following communities with WTAMU students: Carey, Tell and Childress in Childress County; Flomot, Northfield, Tee Pee City, Matador and Roaring Springs in Motley County.

MSU Texas students taking part in the project include graduate students Aarron Hillard and Chris Alexis, and undergraduate students Kathryn Brown, Elizabeth Elkins James Mora, Christa Pegram, Rowann Remie and Wesmond Williams.