In early October torrential rain flooded almost the entire state of South Carolina. At least 17 people died. The cost of the flooding could top $1 billion, Senator Lindsey Graham said. Interstate 95 was closed for 70 miles. At least 11 dams failed. Another 35 dams were at risk. The rain event set records all over the state, flooding entire towns. For some locations, this historic rainfall qualifies as a 1,000-year rain event, meaning in a given year there is a 1 in 1,000 chance of observing rainfall totals of this magnitude.
They would like to think that floods of this magnitude won’t happen again for another 1000 years. However, the truth is that with global warming and climate change floods like these are becoming a much more common occurrence, not unprecedented and historical as some have described them. [Read more…]