disaster tourism, 1962: Frank Slide of 1903, Crowsnest Pass, British Columbia
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Lest one think these are wilderness and provincial issues, London is a world city, the hub of its country, yet London had dreadful floods throughout its history, plagues, fires, poverty, epidemics – why were these things considered unimportant in the siting and the development of the city? And why did the Romans in their founding of Londinium, 47 AD, ignore Vitruvius, 80-15 BC , who clearly said that lowlands were unhealthy, vulnerable places to live and hills were best? He was a military man, Londinium was a military outpost, who wasn’t listening?
There were most likely short-term expeditious reasons for overlooking the force of climate, weather events, the development of poverty and social inequity, plus power struggles between individuals, charismatic leaders and the quick buck. Our belief in power derived from technology and its eternal refinements is proving, two millennia later, to be chimerical. Flood mitigation does not stop floods; our fingers are in the cracks of a dyke we don’t even recognise, so blinded are we by the beautiful view.
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