Flooding costs Americans billions of dollars each year.
Each year, flooding and natural disasters cost Americans billions of dollars in property damage and loss of business. Hundreds of human lives are lost. Any area can potentially be impacted by a natural disaster. Some events such as flash flooding can occur with little or no warning.
Types
Of all the types of natural disasters, flooding is the most common, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Floods, like most natural disasters, can potentially affect any area, with some areas deemed at a greater risk than others. On the opposite end of the spectrum, droughts have plagued the U.S. every year from 1896 to 1995, according to the Drought Mitigation Center. The center further reports that in their worst years, over 18 percent of the nation can be affected by droughts.
Significance
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), flooding alone takes 140 lives each year and accounts for over three-quarters of declared federal disasters. Flooding has many causes, not the least of which is storm events. According to the Storm Prediction Center, approximately 1,000 tornadoes occur in the U.S. each year, causing on average 60 deaths. Hurricanes are equally as devastating with a staggering amount of property damage. For example, over $20 billion of property damage occurred in 2005, the year of Hurricane Katrina, according to the USGS.
Risk Factors
Several factors play a role in how natural disasters will impact humans. First, there is the population which lives in vulnerable areas. According to the USGS, more than half of Americans live within 50 miles of U.S. coastal waters. Not only are these areas at risk of experiencing hurricanes, but the very land on which they live is eroding up to 3 feet each year, according to FEMA. This land lost will affect landowners, but it also sets up a scenario for even greater impacts of storm surges as coastal wetlands are lost. These wetlands absorb the brunt of tropical storms. Their loss can cause even greater land loss due to erosion.
Vulnerability
Areas at the greatest risk have been identified by agencies such as FEMA and the USGS. FEMA created the flood zone maps to assess flood risk. The USGS identified southern California as one area of the U.S. that is especially vulnerable to natural disasters such as flooding and landslides.
Prevention/Solution
It is not possible to prevent all floods or other natural disasters. The role of government and communities is to increase awareness about the risks of natural disasters. It is almost impossible to believe that at one time the Weather Bureau forbade the use of the word "tornado" in a weather statement for fear of how the public would react. Today, sophisticated weather monitoring helps scientists predict not only the occurrence, but the path of storms. Advances in seismic monitoring systems allow scientists to identify potential natural disasters caused by earthquakes and volcano eruptions.
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