The secretary general of the Organisation of American States, José Miguel Insulza, also noted the "unreasonable nature" of the rains, and said "the flooding raises once again the impact of climate change in the Caribbean region".
"It is absolutely massive -- the relentless tsunami-type power of this wave of water". The historic and anomalous nature of the flooding raises an important question: Is this climate change in action?
Federal officials recently fast-tracked a $4 billion plan to guard petrochemical facilities against future floods, raising levees around Port Arthur.
When Mr Brown took over, his calm handling of incidents as varied as a terrorist plot and summer floods raised hopes that he could at least run a competent if uninspiring government.
Construction did not get far, before an ice flood raised the river to the second story level of Milanville homes.
So a combination of increased rainfall and rising sea level is clearly increasing the risk of flooding, and raising costs for both homeowners and insurers.
Instead, the money was spent on measures that accepted the inevitability of future flooding, like raising vents, relocating electrical systems to rooftops and replacing drywall with building materials that could be easily dried and disinfected.
He said that because of Highlands's low elevation, its compact downtown — roughly 1,500 feet at its widest and just over a mile long — and the terrain's quick rise to steep cliffs (hence the town name) that limit the flooding geographically, raising the town could work in Highlands in ways that are not appropriate elsewhere.
Billiot's family is still repairing their home from the 2005 flooding, including raising it up a full 19 feet above the ground.
They brought the concept from the Netherlands (from the Dutch stoep or "small porch") where the threat of flooding made raising the front parlor a practical necessity.
