[Lil Flower]

Should I ask why people live in these areas that could flood?

[bboop]

Why people live there? Haha, because it never rains here in California. Unless it does. We get droughts and flash floods here. The Sierras get an amazing amount of rain and snow, and Oroville is very close to the mountains.

The ‘viros also think dams are really bad. They didn’t have dams in the Garden of Eden, did they? They have taken a bunch of dams out/ although I have no idea if that has impacted this particular area.

Fruits and nuts here, but a good number of Trump voters also.

[blueplum]

farmland

[verum ago]

Should I ask why people live in these areas that could flood?

No, because (no offense intended-really!) it's a dumb question. It's like asking why people could live where there could be bad weather or earthquakes or liberals. Just facts of life. Nowhere is 100% safe from disaster. Given the mountainous but dry-ish nature of much of the west, there's an enormous number of reservoirs to catch water. Practical considerations mean they tend to be concentrated in the mountains, while other practical considerations mean the towns (which are generally older than the dams)) are mostly downstream of the mountains. The only way to avoid this situation would be to abandon the western third of the United States. In making this statement I'm exaggerating surprisingly little. It just is what it is- part of living in the west. A better question would be why do people in California keep voting for idiots who'd rather spend money on solar panels and high speed rail moonshot projects than on maintaining critical infrastructure that kills people when it breaks.

[Sivad]

Go ahead and ask why people choose to live in a
flood area. While you are at it ask why people choose
to reside in tornado or hurricane or forest fire or
earthquake or volcano or landslide or heavy drought areas.

[mosaicwolf]

"Should I ask why people live in these areas that could flood?"

No problem the Federal Govmnt flood insurance is cheap. It is underwritten by us taxpayers that live on high ground.

[roadcat]

Should I ask why people live in these areas that could flood?

And they would say because it costs cheaper than other areas. Major areas of Sacramento and suburbs are in a flood area. Used to flood often until they built dikes, which may fail if the Oroville Dam fails. You may see lots of homes damaged in Sacramento area. I have relatives who bought in the area, much cheaper than San Francisco area. Very cheap in comparison.

[TexasTransplant]

*** “Should I ask why people live in these areas that could flood?” ***

Location, Location, Location