Ahhh, I think I might have carried some angst against comments made by relatives over the holiday season into this conversation! Sorry Steve - well said. I agree, we shouldn't be subsidizing new development in danger-prone areas where possible. My addition is this: Part of the multi-faceted solution is going to require some solvency for the vast swathes of land that are going to begin flooding regularly. We can't relocate entire regions of the heartland. A huge part of the problem here is that we lack adequate infrastructure to handle flooding on the scale we've been getting it, and the infrastructure that does exist is crumbling. Attack climate change, and mitigate the results of it where necessary - and with this, I believe it is necessary.