[Keith in Iowa]

http://minneapolisfed.org/pubs/fedgaz/01-09/harm.cfm

[kabar]

This is not a solution for New Orleans and other major metropolitan areas. You can try to manage the risk through various flood prevention measures, buliding codes, zoning regulations, etc., but you are never going to be risk free. When the big one strikes San Francisco, many people will lose their lives. The big one did strike NO and the rest of the Gulf Coast. This area of the country was hit by one of the most powerful hurricanes ever. Insinuating that they deserved what happened because of where they chose to live is despicable. This is a national tragedy.