Ancient humans surely knew to escape floodplains and coastlines when severe weather threatened. Modern humans, confident of our ability to control nature, are not as wise.
Indeed, we continue to build in flood-prone areas as we decimate natural habitat across the globe. Of course, we often suffer the consequences as we saw with Hurricane Ian in Southwest Florida, the ongoing California floods and along the Mississippi River this spring. Some enlightened cities have established broad greenbelts along their streams but the urge to live near water is too strong for many humans.
Water may offer the best protection for many natural ecosystems as climate change increases the intensity of storms. Recurrent flooding may force humans to abandon the risk zones, thereby returning bottomlands, barrier islands and coastal wetlands to native flora and fauna.
