Letters to the Editor: We can’t stop the tides, but smart policy can mitigate the damage
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To the editor: The article on record-breaking tides along Southern California’s coast highlights a familiar and costly pattern: flooding, emergency response, repairs and the threat of doing it on repeat (“SoCal coast braces for more flooding as El Niño’s high tides break records,” Oct. 29). With coastal communities already experiencing flooding and more extreme tides expected in the months ahead, policymakers must look beyond temporary fixes and invest in lasting mitigation solutions that reduce future damage.
Breaking that cycle means reducing risk where people live and, to the extent possible, avoiding it where they rebuild. Stronger coastal infrastructure and natural flood defenses can protect existing neighborhoods. Accurate flood maps and modern building standards can guide safer development. State, local and federal disaster funding should help communities across Southern California make these investments now, not only after the damage is done.
No policy can stop the tides. But sound policies can reduce the harm they cause, protect families and businesses and spare taxpayers the costs of rebuilding the same vulnerabilities again and again.
Chris Brown, Washington
This writer is executive director of SmarterSafer Coalition, which promotes environmentally responsible and fiscally sound natural disaster and flood risk policies.
