After digging itself out of "Snowmageddon" over the holidays, western Washington was hit with heavy rainfall this week, causing massive flooding. Roads, including major arteries like I-5 (pictured above), are closed and entire neighborhoods evacuated.
Sure, Seattle’s known for its rain, but this is ridiculous! So who’s responsible? Well, us, it turns out.
Scientists say a man-made triple whammy of logging, development, and climate change are to blame. And we shouldn’t be surprised …
A year ago (almost to the day), University of Washington geologist David Montgomery issued a warning to state legislators about the flooding that ravaged the region in 2007:
"It appears to me that the flooding and landslide problems (from) this December storm stem from the combination of an unusually large storm and decades of risky behavior both in upland forestry practices and downstream floodplain development.
"The combination put people at risk and will do so again under the present system."
Silly scientist! What does he know?
