Topic: Levees

Major flooding in Hamburg, Iowa, is attributed by local officials to federal regulations that forced the town to lower its secondary levee. While media reports often frame such events as unprecedented results of climate change, the town's mayor noted that the Army Corps of Engineers prevented them from building a 14-foot levee, mandating a 5-foot limit instead. The surge eventually reached nine feet, overwhelming the restricted system.

A reported recommendation in New Orleans suggests the media should avoid the term "Katrina disaster," as the flooding was caused by levee failures rather than the hurricane itself. George W. Bush's comments on the speed of disaster relief are also critiqued.