An Interesting Point of View
09:43 AM EDT - 24 April 2001

Davenport, Iowa is a rather nice sized town along the Mississippi river, and it's facing flooding problems... again.

As terrible as it is, it could have been prevented. They don't have any permanent method for flood protection, and have been through this several times.

Joe Allbuaugh, director of FEMA, even said, "The question is how many times the American taxpayer has to step in and take care of this flooding, which could be easily prevented by building levees and dikes."

The riverside of Davenport is beautiful, but it comes at a cost. When the rain floods the river, the river comes to town. The trade off would be building dikes that would take away some of the beauty, but remove the costly flooding.

In Florida, quite a few beachside buildings are not on stilts (like many in North Carolina), and they take the risk. Similar to what goes on in Davenport. When a major system crosses part of the Florida coastline that is built up, afterwards you will see a lot of changes in the way things are built... until the awareness fades again. It's important to learn from past events like Hurricane Andrew, and remember it isn't if, but rather when. Is it worth the risk to go for form over function?

Thankfully strong landfalling Hurricanes are a rare event, but they still do happen. Many love living along the coast, and those along it should know the basics, and be somewhat prepared. Nothing is worse than a tragedy that could have been adverted with minor planning.

For this season be prepared.