The next disaster is imminent. It always is. That might be a Debbie Downer attitude, but it’s the truth, especially when you think about disaster on a more local scale. While a hurricane can impact a dozen states and trigger an emergency declaration by the president, there are a lot of small communities that face their own disasters much more frequently.
In January, the Army Corps of Engineers opened the flood gates of Thurmond Dam, allowing levels on the Savannah River in Georgia to rise. In some cases, that meant flooding homes in its path. Localized flooding like this is relatively commonplace around the U.S. While it might not earn a federal disaster declaration, it sure feels like a disaster to the local community that is impacted. It can take weeks for the water to recede, and even longer to clean up and restore properties.