By Melissa Klimkiewicz and Brandy Hood (September 12, 2017, 11:55 AM EDT) -- Hurricane Harvey is the most significant in a recent series of catastrophic coastal and riverine floods impacting communities across the United States. This "1,000-year flood" follows two consecutive years of "500-year" floods in Houston, and Houston is not alone.[1] Just ask Missourians about the "1,000-year" rainfall they experienced this spring,[2] the residents of coastal Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia about Hurricane Matthew, or Louisianans about last August when a no-name storm triggered "1,000-year" rains, dumping over 2 feet of water on parts of Louisiana.[3] And, the extent of Hurricane Irma's devastation is still a major unknown. Of course, it doesn't take a "1,000-year" or "500-year" flood to wreak havoc on a community, as has become all too familiar for communities like Norfolk, Virginia, where it floods so often that the media has dubbed flooding a "certainty."[4]  Indeed, flooding is the most common and expensive U.S. natural disaster,[5] with all 50 states having experienced floods or flash floods in the past five years.[6]...