As cities grow, flooding becomes more frequent because their infrastructure cannot accommodate the drainage needs of land that's paved and highly developed. Moreover, aging dams and levees are prone to failure, leading to the kind of devastation that New Orleans saw after Hurricane Katrina.
There is hope, however. In Japan, England, the Netherlands, and other low-lying countries, architects and civil engineers have developed innovative new technologies for flood control.
Next: Water Gates in Japan
