History of Floods, Flood Prevention & Failed Flood Policies

An Octopus In A Garage!

The last two months have almost been apocalyptic. A flood in Italy this week. One in southern India about two weeks ago. A third of Pakistan is underwater now. Bangladesh and China have also experienced deadly floods.

Back home, we’ve had floods in Yellowstone; Kentucky; Dallas-Forth Worth metropolitan area; Death Valley (the driest place in North America); St. Louis, Missouri; New Mexico; and Georgia. To boot, some of these floods are categorized as a 1-in-1,000-year event.

Now you see that my use of the term ‘apocalyptic’ isn’t too dramatic after all.

So… here comes a did you know…

Did you know that at one point in our recent history, the Army Corp of Engineers and local developers encouraged Americans to live in the very shadows of our levees? These are flood-prone areas. Lots of developers and landowners made money. Local politicians won elections. And then, the levees broke and all those homes were flooded. And it keeps on happening.

This general narrative applies to the infrastructure and property developments of many urban areas. It’s a history of politics, corruption, and just failed flood prevention policies. This history would not be complete without talking about home…