40 years is a drop in the statistical bucket. Flip the coin long enough
and you'll eventually get 10 heads in a row... or whatever number you
choose. In the US one can buy flood insurance from the government via
but not from private insurers. The rate that's paid is based on flood
zone maps which purport to show the probability of being flooded in a
given period of time. The flood insurance program is deeply in the red
since the flood probability projections developed by the US Army Corps
of Engineers are in significant error and further complicated by the US
Congress's unwillingness to charge a break even value for the insurance.
Which ticks me off because I end up paying the taxes for those foolish
folks who choose to live in the flood plains without paying their fair
share.
Chuck Norcutt
On 2/12/2014 1:32 AM, Chris Barker wrote:
> There are some who might agree with you with regard to the Levels,
> Chuck, but there presumably was some sort of expectation on the part
> of the inhabitants that the authorities would maintain the anti-flood
> measures.
>
> Just to the north of me is the Fens of East Anglia, drained in the
> 17th century (with the help of those wonderful Dutch engineers).
> It's therefore a flood plain, and there are water meadows to help to
> absorb rainfall when it comes and before it can be drained to the
> sea. It's reasonable for the inhabitants to assume, I reckon, that
> the current anti-flood measures will remain effective for the
> forseeable future. I suspect that the Levels' inhabitants took the
> same view.
>
> In addition, I have been listening to interviews with inhabitants who
> have been there over 40 years without a major problem.
>
> Chris
>
> On 11 Feb 14, at 23:12, Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
>> I was just checking the map and see that this is near Taunton. My
>> father is from Taunton, Massachusetts which was named after it.
>> The two towns maintain some sort of ties.
>>
>> The area where I live in New York has seen two "once every hundred
>> years" floods in a 5 year period. I live on the top of a hill but
>> those who live along the Susquehanna River are getting a bit weary.
>> But, if you choose to live in a known flood plain...
>
--
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