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The NOAA just released an ominous map that shows 'unprecedented' flooding across the US that might affect 'more than 200 million' Americans

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A BNSF train sits in flood waters from the Platte River in Nebraska. Nati Harnik/AP

  • NOAA's National Water Center released an ominous map that shows what flooding could look across the US in 2019.
  • "This is shaping up to be a potentially unprecedented flood season, with more than 200 million people at risk for flooding in their communities," the center's director said.
  • Across the Midwest, the recent floods have already caused an estimated $3 billion in damages.
  • Rainfall in the eastern US is now between 29 and 55% heavier than it was 60 years ago.
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"This is shaping up to be a potentially unprecedented flood season, with more than 200 million people at risk for flooding in their communities," said Ed Clark, director of NOAA’s National Water Center, in a press release. That represents about 60 percent of all Americans.

Across the Midwest, the recent floods have already caused an estimated $3 billion in damages — a total that will surely rise. Extremely heavy snowfall in the upper Midwest this winter, combined with a forecast for a wetter-than-normal spring, set the stage for this calamity. With the exception of Florida and New England, soil moisture in much of the eastern United States is above the 99th percentile — literally off the charts. When the ground is this saturated, there’s nowhere for water to go but into streams and rivers, taking precious topsoil with it and carving lasting changes into the land.

noaa_flood
NOAA

And that’s exactly what’s been happening in Nebraska, where flood-protection infrastructure has been utterly overwhelmed by record-setting water levels. Virtually every levee on the Missouri River between Omaha and Kansas City has been breached in the last week. "I don’t think there’s ever been a disaster this widespread in Nebraska," said Governor Pete Ricketts.

Several states and tribal nations throughout the region have declared a state of emergency. President Trump has approved a federal disaster declaration for Nebraska, and one is pending for Iowa. In a tweet showing an aerial video of the flooding, the Nebraska State Patrol wrote: "The Missouri looks like an ocean."

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The flooding can’t be considered without the ongoing effects of climate change. Since a warmer atmosphere can retain more water vapor, extreme precipitation is becoming more frequent and more intense. Rainfall in the eastern U.S. is now between 29 and 55 percent heavier than it was 60 years ago, depending on the region.

Ironically, U.S. efforts to control flooding have mostly served to make things worse. Over the past hundred years, we’ve built levees to transform free-flowing rivers into pathways for shipping and commerce — straightening their routes to allow for easier and more predictable navigation. And the illusion of flood control has led to development in historically risky flood plains, adding to the potential for catastrophe. In the context of climate change, a complete rethink of floodplain development in the United States can’t happen soon enough.

Read the original article on Grist. Copyright 2019. Follow Grist on Twitter.
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