Flood Season

I hope people look at the latest news of midwest floods and for once realize that, like it or not, humans live and will continue to live in, develop, and otherwise make economic improvements to areas definied as flood zones, despite the fact that, yes, there will be floods. And it's not a question of being ignorant. There are traditional reasons to live in or around flood prone areas--in rural areas, this is as often as not where you'll find the best conditions for agriculture; traditional urban centers sprang up as ports or hubs for trade, which requires ease of transport.

One thing a lot of folks might NOT realize, though, is that there are remarkably few places in the United States NOT prone to flooding:


Source

Further note that the unshaded areas aren't by any defition "safe," they simply didn't have events during the data collection period.

Human endeavour will ALWAYS have risk--one ingenious method we've developed to deal with risk is by pooling it among members of the community.

When people suggest abandoning major cities, or regions, what they're actually suggesting is community destruction, which in the end, only weakens us all...as not only do we end up more isolated, but we also lose the benefit accrued from sharing risk, i.e., the agricultural bounty or ease of trade.

And besides, where will people go? It's not like there's a "safe" place.

Oh--and sadly, residents of New Orleans know all too well what this situation is like:

Pigeon Creek normally flows about 200 yards from Valerie Ferguson's house, but the water had crept to within 10 feet and was not expected to crest until Sunday.

In 2006, the Fergusons piled more than 1,000 sandbags around their home and still sustained about $1,000 in damage. This time, they don't have help from Valerie's husband, Tim, who is serving in Iraq with the Indiana National Guard.

Local National Guard troops unable to assist...because George W. Bush sent them to Iraq.

The only thing missing is the ugly specter of Karl Rove behind-the-scenes doing his best to pin blame on "local authorities."