The recent multiple, prolonged deluges that our state endured last month proved to be catastrophic for many people. Over a billion dollars in damages. “Low-lying areas” are problematic during times of interminable rain or high surf, but this time we saw major problems as relentless downpours affected hills, high roads, dams, effluence areas, parking lots, erosion zones, parks, and other areas usually unaffected by “normal”
heavy rain.
Water always finds its way, and man-made barriers and infrastructure represent mere stumbling blocks that it powers through or around. The term “100-year storm” doesn’t mean a storm of huge magnitude happens only once a century. According to the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, there is a 39% chance that you’ll of experience a 100-year storm by the time you are 50 years old. GFDRR has a predictive model that charts the odds for such a storm over the course of your lifetime. And it’s not just once every hundred years…
Major pre-emptive, intervention measures are extremely costly and thus difficult for governments to justify as they’re held accountable by tax-paying voters/consumers. There are no simple answers. Local infrastructure needs to be regularly monitored and revisited to see if mitigation efforts make sense, and cents.
Living in Hawai`i, we understand the inherent risk of a historic earthquake, tsunami, or hurricane affecting our lives. Luckily, what didn’t happen during the madness of March rains was actually a relief in terms of serious injuries or lives lost, but we’d be naive to assume (for example) that additional erosion hasn’t occurred in areas where (so far) nothing fell, rolled down, or burst last month.
The powers that be (elected ones) and the brain trust they’ve installed (selected ones) must now ensure that as many safety protocols as possible are in place to prevent a natural disaster from being any worse than will be. Make mitigation magic. Snarky comment- those in charge are some of the same people who allowed our State Capitol building to leak repeatedly for 35+ years and did little to remedy that obvious flow flaw. Just saying…
Historical charts, risk assessments, and cause and effect analyses must be updated to reflect today’s weather realities. This might lead to real action addressing high stress areas- hillsides, rivers, dams, roads, rock formations, forests, wetlands, low-lying housing areas, et al.
Nature’s next nudge will occur- and it won’t wait 100 years. Forewarned is forearmed.
Think about it…