![]() White advocated greater use of non-structural solutions to flood control such as flood proofing, elevation of structures, building restrictions, flood abatement zoning, etc. White suggested that instead of trying to control natural events we should learn to live more compatibly with the natural occurrence of floods. White and others, backed by extensive research, demonstrated that many engineered solutions were inadequate and in some casesĪctually increased flood vulnerability (White, 1945). In the early 1940’s, it seemed that engineered structures would be enough to minimize flood damage. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) assumed responsibility for building and maintaining flood control structures such as dams, levees, and other public works built to prevent rising waters from encroaching on the built environment. These measures expressed “…the sense of Congress that flood control is a proper activity of the Federal Government” and that “…the Federal Government should improve or participate in improvements…for flood control purposes if the benefits to whomsoever they accrue are in excess of the estimated costs.” Under authority granted in these laws, the U.S. As a result, the Flood Control Act of 1928 and the Flood Control Act of 1936 were passed. Congress to examine the appropriate role of the federal government in flood control. flood policies at the workshop.įloods of the early 1900’s, such as the 1927 lower Mississippi flood, prompted the U.S. Galloway, who has studied and influenced flood policy for over three decades, provided the following history and background of U.S. ![]() ![]() Although there are many other examples, the Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood in 1889 is another “great flood” in the United States. Damages from this flood totaled $15 billion, 50 people died, hundreds of levees failed or were overtopped and thousands of people were evacuated, some for months (FMRC, 1994). The most devastating flood in recent memory was the 1993 midwest flood. Historically speaking, floods are part of the American culture and “great floods”-large floods that devastate a region and occur in every generation-often become pivotal events that change lives and landscapes. ![]()
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