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  • Floods. They are clearly catastrophic, traumatic events,

  • 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,