We need to do something about the threat of flooding
I remember being a kid the first time I saw a person’s home flood from the rain. A friend lived in a mobile home that I can recall her having to leave once or twice due to the threat of flooding. Maybe it happened more than I was aware, but it certainly seemed to be a rare occurrence in those days.
I remember laughing, talking about how some school districts in low-lying areas didn’t use their snow days in winter for snowstorms, but kept them for springtime because of known flooding issues. I thought it was quaint.
As a young woman, I remember the aftereffects of Hurricane Ivan and the devastation in our region. People lost their homes, vehicles, livestock, and so much more. On our own farm we were required to move several pieces of equipment to higher ground as the water levels rose.
The occasional nature of the events make them stand out in my mind. But these days, it is no longer an occasional event.
Three times since the beginning of this calendar year our school district has delayed or closed due to flooded roads made impassable to buses. I have seen the same homes evacuated by truck and boat several times. It has been questionable whether I would be able to make it home from work on two occasions. My neighbors become trapped on their property from high water, and my sister has been unable to leave her neighborhood because all three ways out have been shut down.
We can no longer call it a fluke, an improbability or a rare occurrence for disastrous levels of flooding in our community. Why is that? Are we getting more rain? Has our terrain changed? Have our areas become more developed, causing excess runoff?
Maybe all those things are true. I honestly don’t know.
I know that it is terrifying to be unsure how I can safely get home to my children. And it is heartbreaking to imagine having to leave my home with only what I could carry, as some of our community’s residents have been forced to do over and over and over again.
And while I have already acknowledged not understanding the entire problem, I think I understand at least part of the solution. Currently, regulations prevent creeks from being tampered with as far as using any equipment, but downed trees and logjams occur, and people need to be able to remove those things. Also, driving along flooded roads, I often see culvert drains packed with garbage and debris that people have thrown out their window with no regard to the ramifications that could follow.
We need to become reinvested in our communities, in our properties, and in our neighbors. We need to pick up trash, and we need to be allowed to clean logs and debris from our streams.
I don’t know what percentage of flooding could be reduced from these actions, but I know that it causes me pain to see all the suffering and even think that we could do something about it. How can we help prevent this from happening the next time it rains? What can we do to protect our neighbors? How can we work together as a community? Does anyone have any suggestions?
Laura Zoeller can be reached a zoeller5@verizon.net.