Message from Jim
Did you know that the Egyptian calendar was divided into three seasons: Akhet, the inundation or flooding of the Nile; Peret, the growing season; and Shemu, the harvest season (Ducksters, 2017)? It almost makes too much sense - plan our existence around events which we cannot, or should not, alter.
Moving many hundreds of years forward, W. J. McGee stated in his 1891 article, “The Floodplain of Rivers” that “as population has increased, men have not only failed to devise means for suppressing or escaping this evil (flood), but have with singular short-sightedness, rushed into its chosen paths”.
Though the National Flood Insurance Program was created in 1968, the process of attempting to address flood waters has always existed in both history and myth. U.S. government involvement dates back into the early years of our country as discussions for a national road system, funded navigational improvements, and the regulation of commerce developed (ASFPM, 2000).
Using the following two facts as bookends, 1) the Central Valley flood in California in 1861-1862 is known as the storm that caused California to go bankrupt. If this event occurred today, the magnitude of this storm due to the increase of infrastructure and development would have resulted in an estimated amount of $725 billion in damage (Brinklow, 2017), and 2) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that between 1970 and 2010, a population increase of 39% (34.8 million people) has occurred in the United States Shoreline County population, it is not a stretch to accept that our flood problems will continue.
Though higher regulation at the state and community levels definitely decreases flood risk and damage, it is our lack of self-awareness and self-assessment inhibiting our growth and progress in flood. In other words, it is our individual choices and behaviors which are required to re-shape the flood program. Heck, the ancient Egyptians understood this concept.
In the book Eyes Wide Open, author Isaac Lidsky made many wonderful points on how losing his eyesight has made him a more compassionate and understanding person. This was accomplished by not being inhibited with vision to create or support inappropriate perceptions, fears, and biases. In other words, he became a much better listener. “Your life is not happening to you. You are creating it. Tell yourself that others control your choices and you are choosing not to choose” (Lidsky, 2017). This book delivers a similar message as the The Ostrich Paradox, which discusses our inability to overcome six core biases as they relate to risk.
What does this all mean for flood? Having a strategy for the future is not just recommended, but required. In 2005, the Multihazard Mitigation Council (MMC) showed that each $1 spent on mitigation saves an average of $4 (FEMA, 2017). The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear of the unknown (Lovecraft, 1925). Education and mitigation is the best weapon to defend against flood. Individual accountability, not just discussing the facts or causes, needs to be the backbone of flood mitigation.