HOUSTON, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Houston City Council agreed Wednesday to require new homes built in the flood plain be elevated higher off the ground, the city's first major regulatory response to the widespread flooding Hurricane Harvey that caused huge damage last August.

The new rule means all new construction in the city's flood plains will have to be built 60 centimeters above the projected water level in a 500-year storm. This will be the first time Houston is imposing minimum elevation requirements within the 500-year flood plain.

More than three hours of contentious debate preceded the unusually tight nine to seven vote of the city council.

The new rules take effect on Sept. 1 and apply to all new buildings within the 500-year flood plain, which is deemed to have a 0.2 percent chance of being flooded in any given year.

Hurricane Harvey blew ashore on Aug. 25, 2017 as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and damaging nearly 200,000 homes. Texas officials estimate that the state needs 61 billion U.S. dollars for recovery.