biostudies-literatureWalker JRU.S. Environmental Protection AgencyTexas Parks and Wildlife DepartmentNational Science Foundation (NSF)National Science Foundation81https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9723638biostudies-literatureUnknown2(1)Estuaries provide many ecosystem services and host a majority of the world's population. Here, the response of microbial communities after a record-breaking flood event in a highly urbanized estuary was followed. Hurricane Harvey (hereafter Harvey) was a category 4 hurricane that made landfall on the Texas coast in 2017 and lashed the Houston area with 1.4-1.7 × 10¹⁰ m³ of rainfall, disrupting the natural gradients of nutrients and salinity. Here, we utilized metagenomics to analyze how Harvey altered the microbial community of Galveston Bay over five weeks following the storm. We hypothesized that the community would shift from a marine dominated community to that of a terrestrial and freshwater origin. We found that following the storm there were changes in the distISME communicationsFunctionally diverse microbial communities show resilience in response to a record-breaking rain event.PMC97236381801367Quigg ASteichen JLWoods ACPierce MKWalker JRKaiser KLabonte JMfalseFunctionally diverse microbial communities show resilience in response to a record-breaking rain event.Estuaries provide many ecosystem services and host a majority of the world's population. Here, the response of microbial communities after a record-breaking flood event in a highly urbanized estuary was followed. Hurricane Harvey (hereafter Harvey) was a category 4 hurricane that made landfall on the Texas coast in 2017 and lashed the Houston area with 1.4-1.7 × 10¹⁰ m³ of rainfall, disrupting the natural gradients of nutrients and salinity. Here, we utilized metagenomics to analyze how Harvey altered the microbial community of Galveston Bay over five weeks following the storm. We hypothesized that the community would shift from a marine dominated community to that of a terrestrial and freshwater origin. We found that following the storm there were changes in the dist2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Sep2026-05-27T21:04:45.972Z2025-04-04T08:33:53.51ZS-EPMC97236383793867410.1038/s43705-022-00162-z