Flooding in Western Washington

[EddMarkStarr]

This is the time of year when it starts raining in Washington State and never stops.

I live north of Seattle in the safety of the Broadview Highlands, but the entire region is on alert for flooding as every river overflows into towns and neighborhoods.

 

[NotHardUp1]

What is the historical context of the flooding? Is this exceptional?

 

[LeicsDom]

Every year we get similar problems in some parts of the UK.
This is entirely down to poor local planning. Houses should never have been built where flooding is likely unless logistical provision is made to drain away excess rainfall.
In my area we have rivers and canals which were built to channel the water away. The local authorities have specific rules that prevent building on what we call flood plains/meadows which absorb the excess rain water. By and large it works and we seldom have flooding problems

 

[unloadonme]

Every year we get similar problems in some parts of the UK.
This is entirely down to poor local planning. Houses should never have been built where flooding is likely unless logistical provision is made to drain away excess rainfall.
In my area we have rivers and canals which were built to channel the water away. The local authorities have specific rules that prevent building on what we call flood plains/meadows which absorb the excess rain water. By and large it works and we seldom have flooding problems

Not only that, but we have residents who buy homes near rivers and then think that the taxpayer should bail them out (as it were) when the inevitable happens.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

What is the historical context of the flooding? Is this exceptional?

Yes, while Western Washington floods almost every year it's usually isolated to one or two rivers in the region. This year Every River is flooding at the same time!
From Northern California to British Columbia, the west coast tries to support and help each region, but we are seeing awful weather everywhere, all at once.
Washington State will gladly accept help because this is only Round One. Round Two will hit early next week just as the rivers begin to recede.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

Every year we get similar problems in some parts of the UK.
This is entirely down to poor local planning. Houses should never have been built where flooding is likely unless logistical provision is made to drain away excess rainfall.
In my area we have rivers and canals which were built to channel the water away. The local authorities have specific rules that prevent building on what we call flood plains/meadows which absorb the excess rain water. By and large it works and we seldom have flooding problems

When the pattern of extreme flooding are posted on local news it's easy to see where cities and towns in Western Washington were allowed to grow into established flood plains.
City planners, real estate brokers and property insurers all have a hand at letting growth spread too close to dangerous rivers.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

Not only that, but we have residents who buy homes near rivers and then think that the taxpayer should bail them out (as it were) when the inevitable happens.

We've reached the point where flood victims who want to rebuild can only do so far away from future flooding plus conditional property insurance - Or Else!

 

[NotHardUp1]

Not only that, but we have residents who buy homes near rivers and then think that the taxpayer should bail them out (as it were) when the inevitable happens.

That's true, but just as in other countries, cities grew up along coasts of both seas and rivers due to transport and commerce.

Making much of that uninhabitable would be probably much more expensive than spending money on flood and hurricane relief.

Time will tell on how recurrent the new wave of disasters might be, as that could change the calculus, obviously.

It will be interesting to see if Trump tries to weaponize FEMA for budgetary reasons as well as punishing California, Oregon, and Washington for their progressive politics. Likely he will just mouth about it to make his base happy, as actually doing it would be reversed in court, plus increase the likelihood of the GOP's ouster in 2026 & 2028.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

That's true, but just as in other countries, cities grew up along coasts of both seas and rivers due to transport and commerce.

Making much of that uninhabitable would be probably much more expensive than spending money on flood and hurricane relief.

Time will tell on how recurrent the new wave of disasters might be, as that could change the calculus, obviously.

It will be interesting to see if Trump tries to weaponize FEMA for budgetary reasons as well as punishing California, Oregon, and Washington for their progressive politics. Likely he will just mouth about it to make his base happy, as actually doing it would be reversed in court, plus increase the likelihood of the GOP's ouster in 2026 & 2028.

It's interesting that since 1980 many of the flooded towns that avoided close proximity to nearby rivers have since grown much closer today. The wisdom from earlier times was seen as an obstacle to growth and prosperity. Newcomers to the Pacific Northwest are getting a lesson we old-timers call, "Christmas Under Water".

 

[NotHardUp1]

I can see the potential for a Day of Reckoning here in Huntsville and surrounding. We are largely living in the Tennessee River flood plain, with a few hills around, ridges the locals often call "mountains".

Much of the building that is going on, and there is a LOT of it, requires bringing in fill and then raising rowhouses and apartments and subdivisions.

Although there are engineers overseeing drainage and storm-water systems, the fundamental nature of the landscape has not changed, and much of it was bottoms land, unsuitable for building with intermittlent flooding.

Add to that the paving of so much area and you have a potential to overwhelm the system when one of the Gulf hurricanes moves inland, but then stalls, as they sometimes do. You don't have to have the mountains and hollows that Asheville has to end up with the watershed being unable to drain fast enough. There are also instances in which an ice storm is followed by a rain, and broken limbs and ice can clog drainage systems, usually shocking everyone with the simplicity of the disaster.

 

[rareboy]

That's true, but just as in other countries, cities grew up along coasts of both seas and rivers due to transport and commerce.

Making much of that uninhabitable would be probably much more expensive than spending money on flood and hurricane relief.

Time will tell on how recurrent the new wave of disasters might be, as that could change the calculus, obviously.

It will be interesting to see if Trump tries to weaponize FEMA for budgetary reasons as well as punishing California, Oregon, and Washington for their progressive politics. Likely he will just mouth about it to make his base happy, as actually doing it would be reversed in court, plus increase the likelihood of the GOP's ouster in 2026 & 2028.

Funny that you would raise that the day that the courts have ordered FEMA to restore funding.

 

[72-Jay]

I've seen that on the news. wow.
Probably related to same reason we're not getting much snow here in CO.
La Nina. Helping push the jetstream & storm-track farther north.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

I've seen that on the news. wow.
Probably related to same reason we're not getting much snow here in CO.
La Nina. Helping push the jetstream & storm-track farther north.

The endless atmospheric jet stream has temporarily moved north into British Columbia.
Washington State has little time before the next line of rain storms resume.

 

[LeicsDom]

Not only that, but we have residents who buy homes near rivers and then think that the taxpayer should bail them out (as it were) when the inevitable happens.

But houses should never have been built in an area that is liable to flood

 

[LeicsDom]

That's true, but just as in other countries, cities grew up along coasts of both seas and rivers due to transport and commerce.

Isn't it true that in Chicago (I believe) the threat of flooding was such that the entire riverside buildings were lifted up by 6 feet?

 

[NotHardUp1]

Could be. I do not recall, but a lot of expensive seaside homes on the east coast were raised after that hurricane flooded NYC recently.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Funny that you would raise that the day that the courts have ordered FEMA to restore funding.

I hadn't seen that story. It just occurred to me that Trump blamed California when she had the terrible fires, and he's making war on Newsom, so needs to make him look bad. But, I also knew it would be a relatively short fight, as states will go to court to defend their rights as states within the Union.