My hometown floods! I've never seen it like this before!

My hometown of Rockford, IL almost goes under water! This is footage from June 18, 2018. I highlight some issues in our future with flooding.

When the planet comes to take back what it once owned it will reclaim without prejudice.

A flash flood hits my hometown of Rockford, IL on June 18th, 2018. I started to see signs of it through my facebook when someone posted a photo of Spring Creek, and there was a car submerged underwater. The windows were still visible in that photograph. I couldn’t believe it so I had to reach out back home and it was confirmed. The Great Rockford Flood of 2018 was underway.

Florida was hit in late May; North Carolina just received deadly flood and landslides. Storms cause a flood emergency to be declared in West Virginia. Damaging floods just hit Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and Puerto Rico’s death toll is saddening.

Studies say there’s accelerated sea levels driven by climate change is projecting to worsen for flooding in the USA, putting as many as 311,000 coastal homes at risk of chronic flooding within the next 30 years, according to a new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

UCS adds that, by the end of the century, as many as 2.4 million homes and over 100,000 commercial properties could be at risk, amounting to property currently worth more than $1 trillion.

The biggest impacts are likely to be felt in Florida, where about 1 million homes, or more than 10 percent of the state’s current residential properties, will be at risk of flooding by the end of the century.

New Jersey with 250,000 homes, and New York with 143,000 homes. States that could lose the most in home property values by 2100 are Florida at $351 billion, New Jersey at $108 billion, and New York at nearly $100 billion. Decreases in property values also mean a lower property tax base. Florida, New York and New Jersey will see the biggest hits to their annual property tax revenue with municipalities losing about $5 billion, $1.9 billion and $1.7 billion total respectively.

Economic consequences could also hit some communities harder than others. Nearly 175 communities would expect to see 10 percent or more of their homes at risk of chronic flooding by 2045, with nearly 60 of those communities experiencing poverty levels above the national average. Additionally, of the roughly 75 communities with 30 percent or more of their property tax base at risk, about one-third of these have poverty rates above the national average. The places that could be hit hardest in this way include communities in: Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Similarly, communities with large African American or Hispanic populations—many located in California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina and Texas—could also be at an inherent disadvantage in taking steps to prevent or recover from chronic flooding, due to longstanding social and economic inequities. This is information from the floodlist.com. They have more details in there that might intrigue you more. Links in the description.

Jon Oliver does a great piece on flooding that I have added in the descriptions below.
Before talking about insurance Jon Oliver says - “You shouldn’t expect the government to help”

I don’t know what the answer is here. The national guard is only deployed if it’s close enough or if the conditions continue to get extremely dire in flooding areas. IN the case of what happened in Rockford such as a flash flood. The city and the people are pretty much on their own.

Here’s a possible solution to protect parts of your house from flooding. It’s easy to say “Why don’t you just move,” When it’s not your city, your country, or your home.

FOOTAGE PROVIDED BY:
THE COMMUNITY OF ROCKFORD, IL
ROCKFORD SCANNER

Flood facts:
http://floodlist.com/america/usa/flooding-sea-level-rise-threatens-over-300000-homes

John Oliver on Floods: