As far as the crane goes, the article indicates that "Wind could cause the block to move like a pendulum, but the crane’s trolley is programmed to counter the movement." That actually seems like the most interesting part of this system.
"Houston is experiencing its third ‘500-year’ flood in 3 years. How is that possible?" - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/08/29/houst...
Huston got unlucky, but the real worry is the new 100+ year storm, because that will be even more brutal in the changed climate.