"Don't move next to a BIG river! Duh!" or "Americans must just be...dumb"

It seems recently, that we are bombarded on an almost daily basis with flooding story after flooding story. "The has overflowed, due to torrential rainfall...The levees have failed in three places...state declaring emergency..." Now, you would think people would eventually get it into their heads...DON'T BUILD YOUR HOUSE IN THE VALLEY NEXT DOOR TO THE MISSISSIPPI!! Apparently this has not sunk in for some, and the promise of shiny new trailers and whatever else passes for cheap luxury in the midwest overpowers people's common sense. For goodness sake, look where you live. Check your local town records. See if there is a history of flooding. Don't move in near any really large river, especially one that overflows regularly. If the Army Corps of Engineers has your town on speed dial...for goodness sake, move somewhere else!! Don't expect the rest of us taxpayers to come to the rescue with swooping helicopters and replacement homes. Do your homework first. Learn to read a topographic map.