A "For Sale" sign

That's what I'd put on my front lawn if I had been flooded out in Houston because Houston is -- and always has been -- a flood plain.  It's 15 vulnerable metres above sea level; Calgary is 1,049.  Do the math, fifty- to 100-year flood events will now be happening every five to 10, thanks to melting sea ice and glaciers -- the case with all coastal cities in North America.  Even Toronto is not immune, witness the flooded islands this past Spring. 

"Houston has been wet since birth," says an article in 'Bloomberg Week'.  The Brazos River prairie, just outside town, was an endless swamp paved over by Houston as it grew and grew.  With nowhere to go, water now has no choice but to flood, a fact that is not going to change.  According to this article, Houston (and Texas in general) has one of America's most relaxed approaches to building codes and other protections.  The motto there is "build first, ask questions later". 

It's all about money and stupido (see "Two Words" blog, August 19th).  As for flood insurance?  It's a joke, with adjustors granting peanuts to those making claims.  Homebuilders' associations violently oppose increased regulation and codes so they can continue to make money with gay abandon and the city endorses it because of the tax revenues development generates.

It's a win-win for them and a lose-lose for home owners who will eventually face another major flood.  Don't worry about renovating and re-building because it won't matter what colour you paint your new kitchen, everyone knows it will flood again.  So unless you plan to re-make your wet bed and lie in it again, stick a "For Sale" sign on your lawn and move to higher ground.  How about Austin?  Lovely place.