In October, a group of investors shepherding $20 trillion in assets signed an appeal for clear, long-term policies as incentives for low-carbon economies. Later that month, a study listed the nations and mega-cities most at risk from climate impacts. Then, a report on refugees found that nations must prepare to help millions re-settle in the coming decades. The link between these headlines is climate adaptation: reconfiguring our world’s economies and policies to work under a more extreme climate. While that might seem like an old conversation, it’s not; mitigation — reducing ... Read More
Mississippi River Flooding Creates Louisiana, Venice Comparison
May 13, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
As spring thaws and storms dump water into middle America's rivers, floods have been wreaking havoc along the Mississippi River and its watershed. Memphis has been hard hit, and thousands of acres of farmland have been submerged. Some 12,000 acres of farmland flooded on May 12 in Louisiana when the river overtopped a natural levee. Emergency steps are being planned to protect Baton Rouge, New Orleans and the string of petrochemical and petroleum plants between the two, but flooding is simply the natural state of the river in spring. At this time of year, the river carries a large load of ... Read More
The Great Floods of Mulegé
June 22, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
Voyage of Kiri blogger Kristian Beadle sees firshand the effects of water from the sky impacting water on the ground. Location: At the river mouth in Mulegé, a town on the fourth largest oasis in Baja. The green river winds past palm trees before opening into the Sea of Cortéz. Conditions: Humid with the buzz of crickets and mosquitoes. Bougainvilleas and trees filter the morning light. Discussion: "The water was up to here," said Saul Davis, pointing above his head at a mark on the wall. "There was mud everywhere." Davis is the charismatic owner of a small market in Mulegé, a town ... Read More
Before the Flood
October 26, 2009 • By • 4 Comments
Mike Kline ambles across the highway atop the Park Street Bridge, toward the guardrail overlooking the Roaring Branch River. It's early summer, long after Vermont's mountain snow has melted, so the sometimes-mighty waterway is now just a stream piddling between tree-lined banks and stony riprap. Though I can barely hear the river above the buzzing motorcycles, Kline tells me locals dubbed it the Roaring Branch for a reason: During storms, huge boulders barrel down the river, slamming against each other to produce a thunderous sound. The boulders and sediment move with so much force, they ... Read More
California Floods of 1995
October 12, 2009 • By • Leave a Comment
DATE: January and March 1995 LOCATION: California DEATHS: 27 ESTIMATED COST: $4 billion* WHAT HAPPENED: "El Niño" conditions brought strong storms, producing floods that led to federal disaster declarations in 57 of the state's 58 counties. Along the Russian River, the accumulation of vegetation and debris reduced the stream's capacity, raising water levels to record highs. Heavy development in floodplains elsewhere led to bridge collapses and flooded downtowns, including San Jose's. In the Sacramento River Valley, a particularly hard-hit area, storm drainage system failures were ... Read More
Midwestern Floods of 2008
October 12, 2009 • By • Leave a Comment
DATE: June 2008 LOCATION: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin DEATHS: 24 ESTIMATED COST: $15 billion* WHAT HAPPENED: Despite lasting just weeks and breaching only a few dozen levees, these Midwestern floods still caused serious damage, partly because more people and property were at risk than in the 1993 floods that affected many of the same areas. In the 15 years between the two storms, the population in the areas' 500-year floodplain increased by 17 percent, with the number of the people living in the area flooded in 1993 rising by 18 percent. *All costs estimated ... Read More
Great Flood of 1951
October 12, 2009 • By • Leave a Comment
DATE: July 1951 LOCATION: Kansas and Missouri DEATHS: 28 ESTIMATED COST: $21 billion* WHAT HAPPENED: Intense rainfall from the Great Plains caused Kansas River flooding that overtopped levees in two states, inundating both state capitals and Kansas City. About 2 million acres were flooded, 45,000 homes damaged or destroyed, and bridges and locomotives washed away. *All costs estimated in 2009 dollars. ... Read More
1972 Black Hills-Rapid City Flood
October 12, 2009 • By • Leave a Comment
DATE: June 1972 LOCATION: South Dakota DEATHS: 238, with more than 3,000 injured ESTIMATED COST: $826 million * WHAT HAPPENED: Rains over the Black Hills produced record floods on Rapid Creek and other area streams. Heavy debris in the floodwaters clogged the spillway of the Canyon Lake Dam, which failed, sending a flood wave into Rapid City. Much of the damage occurred because people were living in the floodway. After the event, housing was relocated, but many businesses were allowed to remain. *All costs estimated in 2009 dollars. ... Read More
Great Flood of 1993
October 12, 2009 • By • Leave a Comment
DATE: May through September 1993 LOCATION: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin DEATHS: 47 Estimated COST: nearly $30 billion* WHAT HAPPENED: Sustained rainfall generated exceptional flood levels throughout the region. Hundreds of levees were breached along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and 70,000 homes were damaged, many in areas that people assumed to be safe. *All costs estimated in 2009 dollars. ... Read More
Forecasters Work to Avoid Next New Orleans
April 4, 2008 • By • 1 Comment
Whether contemplating several feet of snow on a ski resort roof or watching a drenching storm pelt a windowpane, you know all that water has to go somewhere. How ironic that, during the week when the scarcity of water in many places around the globe was highlighted with the celebration of World Water Day (March 22), untamed water wreaked havoc on some 250 communities in a dozen states in this country. There goes that pesky weather again. But, as Mark Twain opined, nobody does anything about it. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, however, is doing its part in terms of ... Read More
