In a May 8, 1984 file photo, Josephine Thompson, seated center, is joined on her porch by daughter Bernice Thompson, left, Michelle Clemmons and Vernie Akers, right, as floodwaters rise around her house in Martin, Ky., at the confluence of the Left and Right Beaver Creeks in Floyd County. Martin has flooded no fewer than 37 times since 1862 _ four in the past decade alone. Rather than give up on Martin, townspeople have enlisted the federal government in an ambitious project to rebuild it on higher ground. (AP Photo, File)
When do you just give up and leave? For one town in Kentucky, its when you have been flooded out about once every 4 years since 1862, including four times in the past decade alone. Martin, a coal mining town in the Appalachians, is being relocated to higher ground with the help of the Army Corps of Engineers.
I am not as familiar with Corps of Engineers programs as I am with FEMA, which has mitigation funding of its own that has been used for similar purposes. Specifically, the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program provides planning, projects, and technical assistance that is aimed at reducing the risk of loss within the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Projects can elevate, acquire, or relocate structures. The way one may qualify is by suffering one or more flood-related losses greater than $1000 in value within a 10-year period. The community must participate in the NFIP and, though this is not clear, the property owner may have to have a flood insurance policy. This is just one more reason to get flood insurance, especially if you are anywhere near a stream and its floodplain.
Tags: Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA, floodplain, mitigation
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