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use, flood proofing would allow development in these hazardous areas. Because of the adjustments made, however, the potential flood damages are reduced and the pressures for a public floed control project are likewise reduced. From this vantage point, flood proofing techniques are important, not only to individual property owners, but to public officials interested in proper flood plain management. A flood control approach now being considered is to clear the flood plain through a system of tax rebates which reduce a property value to zero over a 10 or 20 year period. In such an approach, flood proofing could furnish protection to a building during the amor- tization period prior to its demolition. Flood Proofing and Flood Insurance Flood proofing and flood insurance are interrelated and can be considered together in a comprehensive program for flood damage reduction. Effective noro proofing could be used to reduce flood risks to a level where it would be possible for private insurance firms to underwrite flood insurance at a marketable rate. This is the situation in the Golden Triangle of Pittsburgh, where flood insurance on a private commercial basis is available to the J. P. Horne Company because of their flood proofing program. Flood proofing is used to protect against the losses that would otherwise occur from the more frequent flood events, while flood insurance is used to protect against losses from the less frequent event--the large magnitude flood which occurs so infrequently and has such a high stage that it is not economically feasible to flood proof against it. If flood insurance becomes more widely available, the effect should be to stimulate flood proofing, since the insuring companies would encourage protection of the insured properties and would reward such protection with reduced flood insurance rates. In a federally sponsored flood insurance program, for example, the premium schedule would probably reflect degrees of flood risk. A flood proofed building able to withstand a flood stage that was considered a low risk would most certainly obtain a more desirable pre- mium rate. The potential dollar savings in premiums could serve to encourage property owners to use flood proofing measures. Flood Proofing Decisions The protection of property from flood losses depends, in part, upon the owner's awareness of the flood hazard and a willingness to do something about it. To arrive at feasible decisions pertaining to flood proofing, the property owner must recognize potential flood prob- lems and their related effects. This knowledge can be obtained in several ways. The worst way, of course, is personal experi- l' ence~-to have seen one's own building damaged and its contents ruined (Figure 1) and to have suffered the labor and cost of cleaning up (Figure 2). There are other ways, however. A building owner may become aware of a flocxl hazard from a "near miss" when a flood almost caused a catastrophe. U flooding occurred before the present owner located on the site, he may have been informed by others that the property he now oc- cupies had been severely damaged in the past. The owner may have been unaware of his flood 1 ... - Figure 1. - Learning of the flood hazard through experience. 3