Here in Winnipeg, in 1969 we had a premier with the bright idea of building a very large and very expensive diversion, the red river floodway, to protect the city from spring floods. It was very controversial, and people laughed at it and called it duffy's ditch. After the flood of 1997, people didn't laugh at it anymore, and since it was built, it's now been expanded and raised. It cost millions, but it's saved and estimated 10 billion dollars in damage over the years. It's looking like it's going to go into use again this year too.
It's been really interesting, through the tragedy, to see what a difference preparedness makes in a situation like this. I bet if it had happened in a 3rd world country, the number of casualties would be exponentially higher.
Times like this make me want to write a story about a natural disaster; only in a fantasy setting. It's not something that gets handled in genre fiction much. I'd just need a plot.
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yati
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Date: 2011-03-15 08:20 pm (UTC)It's been really interesting, through the tragedy, to see what a difference preparedness makes in a situation like this. I bet if it had happened in a 3rd world country, the number of casualties would be exponentially higher.
Times like this make me want to write a story about a natural disaster; only in a fantasy setting. It's not something that gets handled in genre fiction much. I'd just need a plot.