https://www.bbc.com/future/article/...town-valmeyer-could-be-a-model-for-relocation
FUTURE PLANET | NATURAL DISASTER
The Illinois town that got up and left
By Marcello Rossi15th March 2022
The US town of Valmeyer relocated decades ago after devastating floods. It may have lessons for communities forced to consider a managed retreat from climate impacts today.
In the summer of 1993, the southwestern Illinois town of Valmeyer took the brunt of a massive flood when, not once but twice in a month, the swollen Mississippi River topped its levee system. The village was engulfed in up to 16ft (5m) of floodwater that lingered for months, damaging some 90% of buildings.
Faced with either rebuilding the town and risking yet another disaster, or simply scattering to other towns or states by themselves, the 900 residents of this tight-knit farming community made a bold choice: to pack up everything and start over on new ground.
In the years that followed, hundreds of people moved out of the floodplain as the entire town was rebuilt from scratch on a bluff a mile uphill. In doing so, the town has become an early example of one of the most radical ways a community can adapt to a warming world: moving people and assets out of harm's way.
They are really a textbook example of how a town can recover, start over and thrive after devastation – Nicholas Pinter
Known as managed retreat, or planned relocation, the approach is often framed as a last resort to be pursued only when no other alternatives exist. But as the effects of climate change intensify, exposing more and more people across the globe to the risk of catastrophic flooding, devastating fires and other calamitous natural hazards, the concept is increasingly making its way into the mainstream as a viable – and necessary – adaptation strategy.
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Hip, hip Hooray to these pioneers!
Floods come and go whether from Climate change or for
mostly Natural Causes.
Sounds like back in 1993 a 4 year old tugged Mommie's skirt and
suggested to move up-the-hill.
Cheers,
