Entire town relocates to higher ground after devastating flood
A small Illinois town has relocated to higher ground after a massive flood nearly wiped it out more than 20 years ago.
When the floods hit the area in 1993, most of the area's buildings were destroyed. Almost immediately after, Dennis Knobloch, who was mayor at the time, made the decision to pack up the community of about 1,000 residents and move 3 km away, up onto a bluff.
"I saw how the people suffered in '93," he recently told CNN.
"I didn't want to see future generations have to go through that."
In the years since leaving the flood plain, the town has developed a quarry underneath the bluff to preserve national archives and records, in the event of another natural disaster.
Upon seeing the town's success, other flood-prone areas are looking to Valmeyer as a template.
According to Nicholas Pinter of the University of California, Davis, up to a third of US communities will face increased risk of flooding by mid-century.
"Worldwide, the numbers are really big on the order of 100 million people -- it's estimated -- are going to be displaced by rising sea levels alone by the end of the century," he told CNN.
Knobloch says the town is happy with the decision it made.
"I don't have to look over my shoulder and wonder if the river is sneaking up on me. That's for sure," he said.
