OT sad picture of the flooding

dear oh dear....I just figured out what those brown beasts are !!!

I saw this US map photo and it really put things in perspective. The Mississippi

In the last few days I've crossed both the South and North Platte Rivers in Colorado and Wyoming.  They are both about as full as I've ever seen them this early in the year.  There is going to be a lot of water coming down the Missouri river in the next few weeks.

Yes you don't hear any stories about the animals that have been left behind, but I'm sure a lot have perished. Very sad.

Nathan- some places out where you are can only drain straight up...  you can actually see the curvature of the earth while standing atop my truck...  it's so flat that construction projects require a 30' long level incremented in thousanths of an inch per foot, in order to determine if  things really ARE correct.  It's so flat that you have to turn off your high-beams 34 minutes before oncoming traffic arrives.  Buddy of mine from up there said it's so flat that when the sunlight angle is 'right', you can stand on the moon and see your reflection in the surface of the Dakotas.

I'm not so worried about the deer... they've found a high enough spot to ride it out... but farm animals in confinement are much worse off.  Hogs and cattle that can't be moved to high ground typically perish, and the only thing worse than cleaning up a muddy flood... is cleaning up rotting carcasses of your annihilated herd.  No amount of insurance or subsidy replaces the thousands of hard-work hours it takes to build the living portion of a formidable livestock operation...  but the stark reality, is that a floodplain is a floodplain- it's not a matter of if... it's a matter of when.

To understand what the floodgates are really about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morganza_Spillway

Basically, Morgan City is in a swamp which has been encircled and protected from flooding by a system of huge levees... when the river's floodwaters get so high... they'll eventually breach the levees and overtake the swamp, and homes in the basin very rapidly.  The floodgates allow water to be diverted into the basin selectively, but it only holds so much... and land and homes therein will be submerged.  If they DIDN'T open the gates, the levees will fail, destroying everything.  If they open the gates, it floods, and at least gives warning time for evacuation, and the opportunity to do a little damage control.

EVERY levee presents this problem- you can push back mother nature a little bit, for a little while, but you can't do it forever... and when she pushes back, either you give up a little and let her win, or she takes it all.   the OTHER way to contend with flooding, is to go without levees, and remain vigilant on dealing with floodwater... being aware of it, being prepared for it, and not getting accustomed to being under the eternal protection of something that will eventually fail under the worst conditions.

The people who suffer worst, are the people who move into a neighborhood that is naturally a flood-prone environment, believing that the presence of a levee removes that risk.  Anyone who coerces or convinces them that there is no risk, is beyond evil.



Edited by DaveKamp - 18 May 2011 at 2:52pm