We hear a lot about flooding these days. Hurricane Katrina reminded us that those who are exposed to wave wash or flooding need to have federal flood insurance. In 2007, remnants of the first hurricane of the season to make U.S. landfall brought little wind to Texas, but tons of water. Flooding covered the Southwest. Then, weather turned bad in the upper Midwest, the Chicago rivers overflowed, and people took to rowboats.
The “Worst” Disaster?
Despite many claims that Hurricane Katrina was “the worst disaster,” in comparison with other American catastrophes, it was only perhaps in the top 10, maybe even top 15. What about the 1900 Galveston hurricane that wiped out the city? Or the one that hit the Florida Keys in 1936? Or the Mississippi River flood of 1927? What about earthquakes, and Sept. 11? And what about the more than 2,000 people killed by the May 31, 1889 flood in Johnstown, Pa.?
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