Do you ever wonder if flooding is increasing or are you imagining? You are not imagining.
On balance most places still likely get the same amount of precipitation they have always received.
The annual averages will vary in any given month or year but over the long haul those averages are accurate.
So why more flooding? The single biggest reason for more flooding is more runoff.
Every time another structure goes up, a road gets built, a shopping mall or housing edition is developed there is more surface runoff and less ground to absorb the water.
Infrastructure designed to handle storm water and all other kinds of wastewater are designed for the average amount of precipitation that can be expected from storms in any given locale, not hundred year rains.
The assumption is that flooding will happen and when it does the plan is to evacuate.
There may be construction and development far away from your location that adds more water to your creeks, rivers or lakes.
Your County Conservation office will have maps showing the watershed area for any bodies of water near you.
The watershed area can be very large.
Check what is going on in the entire watershed area.
If the ground is being increasingly covered over with parking lots, roads, structures and various other "improvements" the amount of runoff will increase instead of being absorbed into the soil.
Roads, parks, golf courses, neighborhoods and campgrounds in low-lying areas and along streams and lakes will notice the increase first.
Keep a close eye on land use plans and from time to time check out what is happening along every road in the watershed.
This will give you a reliable way of gauging if and when the flood danger will increase at your location.
Remember: for every square foot of additional roofs and road there is one square foot less of ground to absorb water.
That's the formula for a tough choice: increased spending on storm drains or increased risk of flooding.