# Flooding



## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

So... this is what a good chunk of Montana looks like right now....












This is right next door to where my mum and my little sister (username PsychoFish) used to live:


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## Mr. fish (Mar 8, 2011)

Yea I feel bad for them... That deff sucks


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## julem35 (Dec 22, 2010)

I'll be sure to keep all of those people in my prayers. Hope all is well for them.


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Why is it so flooded? Rain? Broken levee?


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## Mr. fish (Mar 8, 2011)

From what I heard it was all by the Storm ALONE.

6 Inches of rain, then the Bighorn River was the addition.


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## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

I hope you all get 10% of the aid we are able to send overseas. That should be enough to rebuild the entire state. We should curtail so much aid to foreigners and take care of our own!


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Just another great point BV77. If this sight had karma points, you would have just earned some.


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## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

Thanks, guys! From what I've heard, there are several states experiencing flooding. Some parts of Montana are worse than this. In one area, where my bf was supposed to be working today, I saw pictures of a hotel that has water almost up to the roof.

It is mostly from persistant rain. And that rain isn't supposed to be letting up for another week.

We are blessed, because our neighborhood isn't flooded. And I know what that's like because our house flooded during a tornado last year! We were forced to move.

I feel especially bad for my mom's old neighbors, who's house caught on fire. They are going to have a terrible time dealing with the insurance company.... That neighborhood has been known to flood before, cuz there's a giant canal in the middle of it.


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## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

It's really crazy to see all the water on the freeway exit by Little Bighorn. That area is a toootally dry desert. I'm a little concerned that the gravestones will get washed away.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Looks really unpleasant. Did you read about the tornado in MO? So much damage already and it is still early in storm season.


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## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

Yeah I just read about it. 

I was hoping we would be done after all the tornadoes that hit that one day when Alabama had the one that was a mile wide. My mum has a friend down there, his daughter was at the college. He was all over trying to help wherever he could, and called mum to give her updates and let her know he was safe.

If the news was half as terrifying as the stories he told us...


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## Albino_101 (Aug 14, 2008)

I feel bad for all these people, but I have to ask why do we build cities under the sea level, in tornado alleys, and in lands prone to bad flooding? It seems we are asking for it.


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## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

Well... as for the flooding, we build our cities in areas prone to flooding because we have always needed to build next to water...

I think anywhere you live is going to be prone to some sort of natural disaster or extreme storm.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

tornado alley is huge. If someone didn't live there, we wouldn't have a corn crop. You can build storm cellars. Tornadoes are easier to survive than earthquakes. At least you have a chance at getting warned and protected. We always build near water for drinking and for transportation. There will always be port cities that are vulnerable to flooding. 

Flooding will get worse and worse as we drain wetlands and pave the ground with 'impervious' surfaces and build more walls and levees. It takes time for water to soak down into the earth and refill aquifers. We no longer give it the space to do so and we squeeze it into smaller areas and expect it stay put. Nature doesn't alway 'behave'. 

But there are places in the flood plain that flood once or twice a decade and people keep living there. Often because they can't sell a home in the flood plain. But also because rebuilding with 'flood insurance' payouts is cheaper than moving. Private insurance companies won't pay you anything for water from the ground (you get paid if the storm rips off the roof and it rains in). Flood insurance is underwritten by our tax dollars. We need to get a lot smarter about not subsidizing rebuilding homes in flood plains and on hurricane-prone barrier islands. We need to get better at mapping flood plains and redrawing maps to match changes caused by development, and moving people who get flooded more than once. 

There isn't any place that is disaster-proof. If you build your house on stilts to avoid flooding, it is more likely to 'pancake' and kill in an earthquake. Improved building codes that suit local risks can help, but stuff happens. The more people we have alive, the more die in every event.


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## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

Well said...


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## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

So it would seem that only one person died in our flood here in Montana. He was trapped under an escavator and swept away.


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## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

The flooding has officially reached Billings. It's not too threatening yet. Mostly just some roads washed out and some intersections where cars are floating because the drivers didn't realize how deep the water was... two feet in some places.

A couple of those intersections are within a mile or so of me. I'm watching the water rise in the parking lot next to our driveway. Just kinda waitin....


There are also waterfalls and rockslides happening in town. And lots of people were smart enough to build their houses right on or under the cliffs...

There are three deaths in the state so far that are related to the flood.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Careful where you park. Someone I know went out of town and came back to a flooded car at the airport. They totaled dozens of cars because a parking lot is apparently an acceptable flood plain use. Don't drive through standing water. Even if you don't get swept away you can mess up electrical systems in the car.

Be careful with water changes, expect chlorine spikes or alternate water sources if the pumps or sewage treatment plants get flooded. Maybe do some now before things get bad or you lose power.


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## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

Thanks for the advice! 


Looks like the water has receeded for now. But I'm glad I didn't leave the house. Things were pretty bad just a couple blocks away! Lots of stranded cars. I was pretty worried after we got flooded out of our house just five blocks from here last year. I guess our new location is a bit higher!

By the way, this is not the norm here. This is bizarre. Two years in a row...


Here is a picture I got from the Billings Gazette website. This waterfall doesn't normally exist! There is no stream or river anywhere near there. It's really... stunning.


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