I hope so too - the pictures on TV are frightening.

I am a firm believer in flood insurance - the govt program is better than nothing, but I have discovered that there are private insurance companies who offer flood insurance also. In my opinion it is a much better way to go, especially if you can get the flood insurance from the same company which writes your house's fire, etc. insurance. That eliminates the disputes over which policy covers the damage, or whether it is covered at all, as happened after Katrina.

I did that, and was able to get much better flood coverage (covered the basement, for example) from the carrier we were already with. Also, they happily accepted my request for a very large deductible, while the US Govt program insisted we could only carry a $200 deductible - what insurance company would do that? None, except the govt.

Jackie

We have flood insurance through FEMA which has a $1500.00 deductable for us here...We had it through State Farm but FEMA took over all policies here in Pa...

I hope everyone from South Carolina is ok also!

How terrible. Yes, insurance sounds very important there.

Carol

I thought about the same thing these couple of days. Hope the people in SC are all safe during this difficult time. It is " the worst flood in 1000 years"......how could that happen?! Hope the water goes down really fast. Our neighborhood doesn't require flood insurance, but now I am thinking about it, should look into it.

Wishing the best for everyone involved in this tragedy. Wonder how Roses Unlimited faired. I've been there but don't remember the terrain thou I remember hills (I think). People, pets and wildlife are so much more important. Yet it's still sad to think of all the beautiful roses that were planted in those cities.

Can plants, roses survive if the water goes down within a week? I hope the water goes down really fast. Peggy Martin rose stayed in the salt water for 2 weeks without any damage, I hope all the roses in SC can hold on for a week.......I am streching out a rose wish.

I'm worried for a number of folks we know from the coast.

Also a worry for the huge and excellent rose garden in Orangeburg, just up the interstate from Charleston, with several thousand roses and a great collection of Noisettes. It's sited in a broad creek valley (not good) next to and along a railroad track.

And there's the garden at Hampton Park, as well.

I didn't know there is a well known rose garden near Charleston, Edisto beach is not too far from there, next time we go down there have to visit the garden. I hope the roses there are ok, the water can run down to the sea........I hope.

Countrygirl, Greenville is a lovely place. The city of Greenville is flooded, saw it on the news. Glad to hear you and your family are ok. You must be up on the hills which is a good thing.

Yes, I am near the NC line, as close to Hendersonville NC as Greenville, SC. Right at the edge of the mountains.

There are so many places where common sense would dictate that, at least in recent times since we know better, no building should ever have taken place. Builders have taken their money and run, probably in collusion with local government officials, and built in places that no geologist would ever condone. It happens everywhere all over the U.S. Flooding on this scale, like so many other natural disasters that have broken all records lately, are undoubtedly due to global warming, but that's not to say that these places haven't been flooded before. It's difficult to know how to fix past mistakes at this stage.

Towns were built near rivers and oceans because that was our first source of transportation and commerce. The soil in the valleys is the best for farming, and the climate there is better. "Common sense" says if it hasn't flooded within the last 200 years, it's not a dangerous place to live. Climate change is happening far faster, and in more severe ways, than anyone expected when they built there 50 years ago.

You're right, Cindi, and that's why I said "at least in recent times" because the reasons you cited all made sense at the time. I don't know whether there's been a building boom in the last 20-30 years, when we did know better, in low-lying areas, but where I live , in spite of the drought which everyone knows will get worse instead of better, housing developments are still going up like there's no tomorrow. NO one benefits except the builders and their cronies, but it's still a frustrating fact of life, and no one seems to know how to stop it.

It's headed your way England. Hope it has a gentler nature before it gets too you.

We had lots of rain here in Georgia, but no flooding. Most of the flooding was in Columbia SC, which isn't near any water. There was just too much rain in a short period. I have relatives there, luckily they are ok.