Nine Catastrophes Worse Than Snow: #7

7. Flooding 

Image courtesy of Witthaya Phonsawat / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As with droughts and dust storms, flooding is usually easy to predict.  There are some areas of New York where flooding is a concern, especially during heavy rainstorms or winter thaws, but it's not a huge issue for most of the Finger Lakes region.  It's pretty rare in New York for homes to be completely washed away or destroyed due to flooding.  Yet every year in the spring we see news reports of people in other areas of the country being rescued from roofs and trees, or being washed away or drowning during flash floods.  I think I'd rather shovel my driveway every day for a year than require being airlifted off the roof of a barn.

~Sarah Jane