
A visit to Houston on Friday by the Dutch queen highlighted a long friendship between Texas and the Netherlands that grew from their fight against a mutual enemy: flooding.
While meeting with Houston’s mayor, Queen Maxima learned how the Netherlands has worked with local officials on efforts to mitigate the impact of flooding following the deadly destruction that Hurricane Harvey wreaked on the city in 2017. Harvey dumped more than 50 inches (127 centimeters) of rain on parts of the Houston area. The storm caused $125 billion in damage in Texas.