Real Reason We’re So Shocked By Deadly Floods

The Real Reason We’re So Shocked By Deadly Floods Is Because We’re So Good At Preventing Them Deaths and damages from floods in Europe have declined dramatically over the last 150 years by Michael Shellenberger The floods in Europe that killed over 150 people in recent days were a result of climate change, many people say. “Deadly Floods Show World Unprepared to Cope with Extreme Weather,” read the front page headline of The New York Times. “‘No One Is Safe.’” Said a German climate activist, “This is the climate crisis unravelling in one of the richest parts of the world.” The country’s interior minister agreed. “This is a consequence of climate change,” he said. But the reason the floods were so deadly is because European nations were so unprepared for them. Last fall, the German government held a national “warning day,” when loud sirens and text messages were supposed to alert people to danger. “It was a debacle,” The Times of London reports. “Most of the technology didn’t work.” A professor of hydrology who helped build Europe’s flood prediction and warning network said there was a “monumental failure of the system.” She added, “We should not be seeing this number of deaths from floods in 2021.” And there is evidence that Germany failed to prevent dams from collapsing. “I noticed that, for the last three weeks, all the dams were just 20 – 30 centimeters from the brim,” a resident told a television reporter. “Why didn’t they release some of the water in a controlled way much earlier? This whole thing should not have happened if there had been 10 or 20% more available volume in the dams.” The reporter added, “That’s criticism I’ve heard again and again today.” It’s true that flooding is affecting more people and more areas […]

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