although they have also been responsible

for one of the most memorable clips

in the history of broadcast news.

Good morning.

Well, obviously we're getting a nice break from the rain,

but not the flooding.

-This is essentially now... - (AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

...a part of the Passaic River in this neighborhood.

That's it.

Fuck James Cameron and fuck Titanic,

because that is now officially

the greatest boat disaster ever captured on film.

It's over.

Now, floods were everywhere this summer.

Think of them as the "Despacito" of natural disasters.

Persistent, ubiquitous,

and absolutely no fault of the Puerto Rican government.

And floods are always threatening.

Ninety percent of all natural disasters in the U.S.

involve a flood.

Which is, I assume, the reason that FEMA's website

once referred to flooding as

"America's number-one natural hazard,

exclamation mark."

Which is a pretty weird tone to take

when describing something horrible.

It's like saying, "Boils: America's number-one

staph infection!"

Or "Parks: America's number-one place to die unnoticed!"

And floods are only going to get worse

due to climate change.

And I know that there are people who will dispute that,

and we just don't have time tonight

to litigate whether extreme-weather events

are exacerbated by climate change.

So for now, let's just say...

(DRAMATIC MALE VOICE OVER)

-Yeah. -(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

They just definitely are. I mean...

-Sure, sure... -(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

...it is-- It is a complicated issue,

and we may not have definitive proof

until the late 1980s.

But-- But, while floods are often referred to

as "natural disasters,"

the truth is the damage they do is often to some extent

within our control.

Because we have made certain decisions

that put and keep people and property

in the path of flooding.

And that is what this story is about.

And before we go any further,

let's acknowledge that people live near water

for all sorts of reasons.

For some, it's where their families have lived

for generations, or a necessity for the work that they do.

And for others, it's a luxury.

And living next to the water is undoubtedly attractive,

despite the risks, like flooding,

or stepping on pointy seashells,

or mistakenly giving a Tostito to a seagull

without realizing that that means

you will now spend the rest of your life haunted

by a Tostito-addicted seagull.

The point is, whatever the reason

-to live by the water... -(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

-(SEAGULL SQUAWKING) -many do-- Oh, for fuck's sake!

You've got to be kidding! I don't have any Tostitos!

I've been telling you that for six years!

Look, no Tostitos!

No Tostitos! Get out of here.

Get out of here, you flying beach rat.

-(AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) -Sorry.

The point is,

the dangers of waterfront living are real.

But many people, like this man,

who lives on the water in Tampa Bay,

feel the benefits outweigh the risks.

REPORTER: Mark knows that life here is tenuous.

But he doesn't dwell on it.

Every morning when I walk out to get the paper,

I see dolphins frolicking in the bayou,

and Roseate spoonbills

walking around the edge of the bayou, so...

it tends to make you forget about all those sorts of things.

Sure, I can imagine that seeing a Roseate spoonbill

would take your mind off things,

because you're spending your whole day

trying to figure out how a flamingo

could have gotten its stupid bird face

stuck into a panini press.

-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) -I'm just saying,

even people who like birds don't like this bird.

The Audubon society,

an organization whose entire purpose

is to champion birds, says they are, quote,

"Gorgeous at a distance and bizarre up close."

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

Which is like the American Kennel Club saying,

"We celebrate all dogs and honor them as man's best friend,

but the Dandy Dinmont has a trash personality,

and looks like a scotty fucked Phil Spector.

And look, look...

If you are literally overlooking a bayou like that guy

you are probably aware that flooding is a risk.

But not every flood-prone area is directly along the coast,

and sometimes aggressive development

can exacerbate the risk of flooding,

even considerably inland.

Just look at Houston,

which was recently rocked by Harvey.

REPORTER 2: The metro area's development has exploded.

One study found the Houston area

has added 25 percent more pavement over 15 years,

replacing soil-rich wetlands that could absorb water

with concrete-covered suburbia.

Exactly, and that made Harvey's damage significantly worse.

Concrete isn't good at absorbing water.

That is why people don't dry off at the beach

by rolling around in the parking lot.

But it's not just global warming or unchecked growth

that have put more people in risky, flood-prone areas.

It's also the fact that

it's frequently only possible for people to take that risk

because they have flood insurance.

Just look at Buying the Beach.

It's a House Hunters type show

for people who want to live near the water. And one episode

featured two brothers named Mitch and Daniel

arguing over a particular beach house

which led to this exchange...

What do you think about the island house, Mitch?

MITCH: Well, I think there was a lot of good and a lot of bad on it.

Right off those steps into the beach, can't be beat.

DANIEL: We are really close to the water.

That's just another thing that's got me concerned.

Well, that's what insurance is for.

"That's what insurance is for."

That may be the most reckless statement

ever said on a boat.

And I'm very much including,

"I can definitely make this shot work."

And, "Hey! Let's feed these gulls some Tostitos."

-(SEAGULL SQUAWKING) -I don't have any!

All I did was said the word. Get out of here!

No Tostitos! No Tostitos!

But Mitch-- No Tostitos!

But-- But Mitch... Mitch isn't wrong.

That if they bought that house, they could get flood insurance

and surprisingly cheaply.

And it's worth taking some time to understand why

that is the case, because

unlike other forms of homeowner's insurance,

flood protection is actually underwritten by the government,

through the NFIP,

or National Flood Insurance Program.

It started nearly 50 years ago, after historic floods

wiped out many people's homes in the 1960s,

and the government back then realized

that there was a real problem.

Insurance companies wouldn't cover floods

at an affordable cost, because it was too risky,

so because of that, the government was spending

way too much on disaster relief,

so they stepped in, and created the NFIP,

which offered significantly discounted insurance

to encourage people to buy it, and that sounds great,

but crucially, the aim at the time was not

that people would be staying in at-risk homes permanently,

as the program's current administrator explains.

They presumed that if we told

people they were at risk, they would move.

They presumed that over the life of the program,

those discounts wouldn't need to be continued,