WHY DOES A FLOOD PLANE FLOOD?

[HowHasItComeToThis]

Source: AP

DETROIT - Temperatures rose toward the triple digits along the East Coast on Monday as Midwesterners braced for more rain that could add to days of deadly floods.
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Eight deaths were blamed on stormy weekend weather, most in the Midwest. Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle declared an emergency for 29 counties and President Bush late Sunday declared a major disaster in 29 Indiana counties. Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said nearly a third of his state's 99 counties need federal help.

Flooding was expected to be a continuing problem this week in the Midwest as rivers are swollen with the runoff from heavy weekend rainfall, topped by the 11 inches that fell Saturday in Indiana.

"This thing came on fast with such a radical deluge of water that people were describing going from a feeling of security to waist-deep water in a matter or 15 or 20 minutes," said Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels.

A new storm system was headed toward the Ohio Valley from the southern Plains on Monday — Oklahoma utilities reported nearly 5,000 customers blacked out — and the National Weather Service said as much as 3 inches of rain could fall on already waterlogged Indiana late Monday.

While the Midwest fought to cope with flooding, the East was locked in a steam bath. Heat advisories were posted Monday from the Carolinas to Connecticut, with temperatures expected to hit 100 from Georgia to New York, the National Weather Service said.

"It's just crazy. ... It's really, really hot," said New York City street worker Jessica Pena as she swept a midtown Manhattan street at around 8:15 a.m. The temperature already was in the upper 80s.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080609/ap_on_re_us/severe_weather;_ylt=ApcN9QamRBloNH_vc0UQmtOs0NUE

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NONSENSE

[alphafemale]

1. The flat lands around a river.

It can rise pretty quickly but it is usually with warning.

This is different from a flash flood, where mountain steams can go from a trickle to several feet high in a matter of minutes during a downpour.

[Carnea]

2. When I lived in New York the New Jersey station Channel 9 I believe

would should the same neighborhood every year. I swear every spring we would have a hard rain the neighborhood would flood and the news crew would interview the same people. I swear they just reran the same footage every year.

I never forget the quote from one of the homeowners. "We have lost everything 12 times in the last 14 years I don't know how much longer we can stay"

Now I live in Florida and every year the same neighborhood down here floods every freakin year. Different state same bunch of idiots.

[dipsydoodle]

3. The main issue with flood plains

is that they no longer serve nature's purpose which is absorbency. That's cos halfwits have built houses and roads on them. So - if you get flooded then maybe you shouldn't have been there in the first place.

For a classic example see here : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/photo_gallery/4159523.stm

[Indenturedebtor]

6. I lived in Indianapolis for nearly 2 decades

And it never flooded like that. This is pretty unusual.

[liberal N proud]

4. Because the river is full?

[kestrel91316]

12. Because the land is all paved over with concrete and asphalt.

Just ask Los Angeles.

[liberal N proud]

21. That exasperates the problem

Flood plains are a natural thing. Man just wants to be near the water and builds on them.

In the midwest, the flood plains are very fertile. In dry years they will produce more than the other land combined.

Man vs. Nature. Nature will win eventually

[xxqqqzme]

5. see, there is a really good reason it is called a

flood plain!

[Beregond2]

14. Exactly.

The question is, why are people stupid enough to keep rebuilding there?

[jmowreader]

19. Because land is cheap?

And the reason it's cheap is because it turns into a swamp on a regular basis!

Y'know, the problem in this country is there just aren't enough alligators.

[hedgehog]

7. I will say this - because of development upstream in various places,

water from storms is hitting rivers more quickly in the past so palces that have never flooded befor are flooding now. This is a big problem in New England. The water that used to land on forest or farm fields is now hitting mall parking lots and heading out to sea all at once instead of trickling in. Of course, if people build levees upstream, that also forces water downstream.

[EstimatedProphet]

9. That's exactly what is exacerbating the problem

It's more thanjust the floodplain itself, it's the development in the floodplain. Levees force water that could be absorbed back into the main channel of a river. Development takes away riparina quarters that would normally absorb flooding.

[NewEnglandGirl]

24. When you Said

"This is a big problem in New England" that is so true. Our rivers can't hold the water that they used to so now they are overflowing all over the place. It has been a recent nightmare.

[EstimatedProphet]

8. What's nonsense?

Think this isn't happenning? I assure you it is.

[truthisfreedom]

10. The title of the article is not correct. There are specific rules for posting in LBN.

[gullwing300]

23. But this is not LBN

:shrug:

[melissinha]

11. I'm still waiting to hear about my family

My grandma lives on the "flats" back in Decorah IA, I know my uncle was sandbagging the Upper Iowa last night just 1 block away from her house, the records for the water level are being broken as we speak, haven't heard wether it has crested yet.. Our dikes have worked very well with a few exceptions....

Please be a little respectful while the situation is still going on.

[kestrel91316]

13. Please READ LBN posting rules. Especially the headline rules.

[emmadoggy]

15. The attitude by several in this thread is a bit disturbing.

While I would agree that building and rebuilding in an area that is highly prone to and frequently does flood is questionable at best, I can say that the flooding that is going on here in Iowa is of historic proportions. And we are talking about rural towns, not large urban areas being paved over with huge developments.

Please show a little compassion for the REAL PEOPLE who are being affected by this flooding. The weather we have been having has been HIGHLY unusual and areas that are not usually flood prone are flooding. And areas that are more used to flooding are dealing with new record levels.

When the Gov. of Iowa is saying that a third of the 99 counties in Iowa need help, this is not just some isolated event where one little spot has had a recurrence of typical flooding. Here's a map of Iowa's rivers..
http://geology.com/state-map/iowa.shtml
As you can see, they are plentiful. Hard to avoid them, and many, many towns and cities all over the world are built around rivers.

[blondeatlast]

17. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I've alerted the mods but "compassion" really isn't covered by the DU Rules--on the other hand, it shouldn't have to be...

[blondeatlast]

16. Can we argue about this later? Thanks from the flood VICTIMS. nt

[MadHound]

18. What a crass and classless comment

Perhaps when all the food that these flooded states grow doesn't come in this fall, when the prices of staples such as corn, soybeans and wheat shoot upwards even further, you'll figure out just how real, and devastating this flood is.

To all my fellow Midwesterners getting flooded this year, good luck and all the best to you, and don't let assholes like the OP get to you.

[galledgoblin]

20. it's crass and callous, but true

right now? save as many lives as we can.

in the future? don't let people build there, and save as many lives as we can in the long run.

zoning today can tie floodplain protections to open space preservation and park establishment. it's much easier to clean up a park after a 10-year-flood than it is to clean up the remnants of people's homes, and it means that on sunny days everyone can enjoy the waterfront view.

[emmadoggy]

28. But this isn't a "10-year flood".

As I said upthread, here in my area, this is RECORD flooding. The Upper Iowa River at Decorah shattered their old (1941) record today by almost three feet. Much bigger than the floods of 1993, which were significant. The Cedar River at Charles City, IA also shattered their old record. This is not the "usual" flooding in the "usual" areas. There are places flooding that haven't flooded in DECADES or LONGER. Should small rural towns with a small river running through be separated by hundreds of yards from one side of the river to the other, just to keep anything and everything that "might" flood in 100 years dry? I agree that very flood prone areas should not be zoned for homes or businesses, but I also don't think it's reasonable to expect that nothing be built within 100's of yards of the river. Especially considering that these homes and business are already there. What, do you make everyone tear down their homes and businesses and relocate out to the edge of town? Make farmers sell off their land and try to find land somewhere else that isn't near any river, stream or creek? In Iowa, that would exclude a shitload of farmland.

Not to mention, this isn't just homes and businesses - though that is the worst of it. There are bridges being destroyed, roads destroyed. My sister was at my Mom's house when all this started on Saturday and she is not even able to get back to her home in Charles City. She tried to go today and there was not one single passable way into town - from ANY direction. Her home is not near the river and is not flooded but she can't even get to it.

The river through Decorah is normally about the width of a street. I saw it today and it looks like the freaking Mississippi (And I know what the Miss looks like because it's 15 miles from my house). Thank goodness they have a pretty good dike there which is protecting many homes, but the amount of water is just mind-boggling and overwhelming. It is amazing to me that there haven't been more homes affected.
This flooding is unprecedented for Decorah.

I mean, really. Should we not let people live in California because they might suffer an earthquake? Should we not let people live near the Gulf or on the East coast because there might be a hurricane? Should we clear out the entire midwest because there is the potential for a tornado to hit you if you live there? If we relocated every single home and business in this country that might POSSIBLY suffer a flood during a historic flood event at some point during the course of its life, we would have millions of people trying to find a place to go.

[galledgoblin]

31. sorry, missed that when I read earlier

I hope your family and friends and everyone affected makes it through ok.

yeah, 100 year floods would not be included in my previous statement, although I'd make sure everyone building on a 100 year flood plain was aware of the danger and took proper precautions when building.

I'd be reluctant to let people build on 50 years or fewer floodplains and would require precautions in those areas.

and the same does go for other parts of the country with other devastating dangers. no more building in California at the bottom of hills that are likely to have mudslides, no more building in wildfire areas.

tornadoes and hurricanes... your building is unlikely to be leveled. A building or a number of buildings ARE likely to be leveled. it's playing the odds, and whereas with floods, fires and earthquakes, not everything will be devastated. I'd require safeties like with the 50 year flood plains, but allow building.

[gullwing300]

22. The plane from Spain falls mainly on the plain.

:shrug:

[lumberjack_jeff]

25. "In the unlikely event of a water landing, this plane's seat cushions function as a dictionary". n/t

[KSCFAN]

26. Because of the National Flood Insurance Program?

No insurance company in their right mind would insure a house in a flood plane. But the good ole feds will insure you. Same bunch of idiots that build huge houses on the beach.

http://www.fema.gov/business/nfip/

[LSK]

27. what the hell is "nonsense"?????????

People have lost farms, businesses, houses and you post NONSENSE??????

WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU??

[defendandprotect]

29. Laying low here in NJ --- but think we're on our way to 100's being more common ---

100's will be what 90's USED TO BE . . . something that occasionally happened in late August ---

[Jed Dilligan]

30. All rivers require a meander plain of around 2 mi. to each side

Now that we don't rely on them for transportation, there is no reason not to give it to them.

[Nihil]

32. As pointed out way back in the first reply ...

... a "flood plain" is simply the flat land adjoining a river.

It is not a political, demographic or zoning boundary, it is a
geographical one - i.e., a REAL boundary not a pretend one.

A flood plain can be a great place to grow crops (as periodic
inundation will refresh the nutrients in the ground) but it is
a really dumb place to build a house if you don't want it to
get wet from time to time.

That's life and no amount of swearing or crying will change it.

:shrug: