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<br />SCRIPT-TASK K. RECONSTRUCTION PLANNING <br />(15 minutes to read the script): <br /> <br />Slide Kl. Task K. Reconstruction Planning <br /> <br />In Task K, you will use all the information you have developed so far to prepare a <br />reconstruction plan for the flooded areas. This task marks the beginning of a planning <br />and rebuilding process that will dominate staff and political time for several years to <br />come. In the previous tasks we explored in increasing detail the damage caused by <br />your flood and the fate of individual buildings. Now we stand back and take a broader <br />perspective. The question you will be asking during this task is: "What are the best uses <br />of the floodplain in our community?" <br /> <br />Slide K2. Thebes, Illinois on banks of Mississippi River <br /> <br />In their natural state, floodplains carry floodwaters, provide wetlands and wildlife <br />habitats, and offer sites for camping, fishing, hiking, and picnicking. People originally <br />settled on floodplains for access to water, transportation, flat land for easy building, and <br />fertile agricultural soils. This shows the town of Thebes, Illinois settled on the banks of <br />the Mississippi River many decades ago. <br /> <br />Slide K3. Downtown Elmira, New York protected by floodwall <br /> <br />When floods came, people in riverside towns usually responded by trying to control the <br />floodwaters. They built flood levees and floodwalls (like the one shown here protecting <br />downtown Elmira, New York); they built dams and reservoirs to impound water <br />upstream for measured release into the stream channel; they lined stream channels with <br />rocks or concrete to regulate the flow of floodwaters; they diverted channels. For <br />decades, people living in floodplains have turned to engineered flood protection <br />systems to alleviate losses caused by periodic flooding. <br /> <br />Slide K4. Floodwall overtopped, Elmira, New York <br /> <br />After several generations of a structural approach to flood hazard reduction, we are <br />discovering that flood losses are increasing rather than decreasing. This shows water <br />spilling over the flood wall designed to protect downtown Elmira, New York from <br />flooding. One reason flood losses are growing is that once a flood control structure is in <br />place, people seem to believe that the floodplain is now safe, and construction in the <br />floodplain increases. Sooner or later, comes a flood larger than the structure was <br />designed to contain. <br /> <br />Script-Task K <br />