Personal Reflection

I decided on the topic of floods in relation to emergency preparedness and response because of its broad implications that any person even non-U.S. citizens can understand. Major cities are built around large bodies of water and rivers, including my own home city of Saint Louis. It is divided by the great Mississippi River, as mentioned previously, which along with the Missouri River usually impacts my local area. (CD)

I can remember my parents telling me about the Great Flood of 1993 once I mentioned this project to them. Places they loved to go to like Chesterfield Valley had been a changed landscape forever. Businesses couldn’t be saved by the levees, with some people travelling to the area to watch the flood unfold from a distance as the evacuated area continued to be engulfed. Millions of acres of farmland drowned with towns cutoff from the rest of the state. Key highways like 141 and 44 that my family drove on for sporting events during weekend trips often were closed. I personally have not experienced a major river flood in the house that I grew up in, but the ripple effect impacting my community was definitely present. Detours from flooded highways made longer commutes and hearing about accidents on the morning news before school were also prevalent. Floods can destroy family life and if there is a lack of infrastructure for response and recovery then the daily life for non-impacted communities also gets hit with the burden. Seeing these past experiences and knowing that climate change will very likely create worse floods makes me want to advocate for more Emergency Preparedness and Response initiatives. (CD)