Yr. hm, a poss. Katrina 2010/11?

[ina/puusty]

Headline news has its value..but..the 'instant information feeds'..plus assorted political/cultural agendas..tend, to color individual events...more highly. (To double-check'..the effect of one viewpoint vs. one or more others..I always talk about..dropping back 500 years, 4,000 yrs..or even 50,000 yrs...and 'speaking in the ..Talking Heads style'..of the medias (assorted). (I have been told I do a stellar ancient history ..news blip on locust invasions and on floods.) So..that brings me to the 1996 floods here in Lane County, Oregon. Since the much vaunted 'horrors' (media and newby-locals with little clue as to history..but GReat focus on housing developments and the McMansions)of what was billed as an 'unexpected 100 year flood'..which caused damages all over our area..I have been increasingly..dinging-away..at the local city dads and the county planning boards. Ya know..all those for whom..a clear designation of ..Flood Zones..would ..'tend to HAMPER the fullcourt press..for submerging farm lands bordering the river (gee isn't the river, the conduit whereby..the ..Wet Stuff..has flowed through here for thousands of years?????) An employee of a fed. gov. group who said as much..was pressured..in about 1998..enough so..that he withdrew his comments on the dangers..and then..our ..local assorted planning commissions got busy promoting a 'computor schematics'..which ..showed how NOT a problem..building out here..would be. No sir-e-bob..we are good to go..and open for business! Those of us in our late 60s through a few in their 90s..who had both verbal and pictoral evidence of exactly where the rivers ran..were ignored. The housing flurry which each of you..in your various communitys has seen..has blossomed.until..the downtick in 2007ish. Fast forward to the local news media..and local governments..releasing ..chunk at a time..the information on the restructuring of dams. They quietly..for almost 18 months..have been retrofitting the earthen dams on the Willamette river. These were put in..when I was just starting elem. school..and I have a picture of my dad holding me..as we are on the forestry road..looking down into a valley soon to be innundated by the river. Prev. to this flood..of info in the last week..no one would 'get around' to talking about these dams. 1996 to 2010..think about it!! Questions/comments..ignored or passed around to other addys or emails..and they always ..dropped out of sight..with..'no action' taken. In the last week..the state and county are releasing information about some retrofitting having been done..and, further.. a 2 year plan..on-going..as we speak. Add to that..the fact that the public..living anywhere they or their travel/homes/..might be impacted..are being told to read-up on floods, and get sandbags ready. Why..ya ask? (Hoped ya would ask... the ..retrofitting will mean that all the dams in the Willamette system will be reducing their 'hold back' water amounts..by..15 %! In flood years..that is NOT..an ..inconsiquential..amount. Lastly..do remember to add-in..the heavy increase in earthquake activity..in the area..so far as the monitering has shown. Convergence..anyone? We cannot avoid weather patterns, and climatic changes..but..we can..each in our own locals..study the history..and plan for the changes..as they become apparent. Here..the big business and the builders and developers..were..running the store..now we have not only individ. landowners..scrambling (the official types ..released this info. on a weekend time frame..Of Course!!)..but the huge hospital that was 'pushed through'..would not now..have been permitted..because of the flood zone situations. Look therefor..to your farm/subdivision home and busness..no matter where you live..and..ask for the historical maps/history..of where your family..will find itself..this Winter, next Winter..and all the seasons to come. Standing at..your computor..this moment in time..face in ALL directions..and imagine 50 to 100 miles..each way..what is there? Educate yourselves because Katrinas can happen..almost..Anywhere! ina n HB n Kesa

 

[twright1231]

Seems more and more, whomever has the most money, power, influence....regardless of the well being of the community, region, planet.

 

[KodysGrandma]

I have always felt that IF you want to live in a disaster prone area (whatever kind of disaster) that is your privilege and right, just don't ask ME to pay for it- via repair taxes or benefits etc. Way I feel about people who live on the beaches here, or people who live close to a river, or in a fire area like parts of CA. etc. etc. If you are too foolish or stupid to check the flood maps then I have very little sympathy. There are plenty of areas here where the "authorities" did the same kind of thing and people bought into it. After hurricane Ivan they did at least amend the regulations to force you to put your home up on stilts, at least 12 feet and any structures at ground level must be break away types. People need to get back to being resonsible for themselves, not leaving it to governments to determine if any area is safe. The Army Corps as not always been a blessing and the parts of NO for example way below sea level should not be rebuilt. You can't successfully fight Mother Nature over the long haul.

 

[Windancer]

And I agree with Emmie....Why should tax dollars rebuild homes in unsafe locations??
more stupidity...as far as the convergence, Ina....look out 2012 ?

 

[NinaA]

When we bought our current house I contacted the Army Corps of Engineers and had them check the flood history of our house (yes, you can do it by house). Our house was in an area that had not flooded in over 100 years, including the 1937 flood. But, we live with a large creek on 3 sides. Due to the above history, we were not eligible for flood insurance. In about 2003 we had one of those 100 year floods. While our house still did not flood, I could see the water across the street. In a year we were eligible for flood insurance and you better believe I got it. Ina is right. Those 100 year floods can happen anywhere, but look around. Think about the history of your area, also. Louisville is built in a swamp. 200 years ago they took Indian shell mounds and used them to fill in the swamps. In 2009, we had a huge flash flood that "went back to the swamp", and places like Churchill Downs and the University of Louisville that hadn't had a problem since the 1937 flood went under water in a matter of minutes. How many people in NYC are prepared for a hurricane? Think about where you are.