[Pontiac]

They can't sell those houses and most probably have mortgages.

What I don’t understand is buying a house in the flood plain of a huge dam in the first place.

Why build a whole town in the flood plain of a huge dam?

Has no one ever heard of the Johnstown Flood . ?

[grania]

Floods from dams bursting are actually quite common in US history. There was one way back near Northampton MA that took out an entire factory town. What's shocking is that dams aren't being properly maintained.

People buying those houses? It's a human nature thing. People just don't prepare for everything that might happen. If they're in a flood plain, they probably have insurance. They trust their government to provide these basic services, while they spend money on all sorts of stuff the gov shouldn't be doing.

What's mind-boggling is that CA is one of the enviro-whacko states. They're concerned about climate change, but weren't concerned about keeping dams safe? Does not compute.