Within two days between March 1 and 3, 1997, a killer storm developed
             from the Gulf of Mexico from Mississippi all the way to West Virginia and
             carrying with it a deluge of rain as the worst flood in 33 years (Mazzola
             1997). Right on day 1, it was an unusually moist type of weather with a
             terrifying potential for torrential downpours. It turned violent, bringing
             thunderstorms and tornadoes across a 250-mile spread of destruction. In
             five hours, Arkansas experienced 14 tornadoes, which killed at least 24. It
             lashed nearby states, killing one person a day in Mississippi and Tennessee
             and its high winds, claiming two lives in Texas.
             Rains continued on day 2 through Kentucky and Southern Ohio, as
             swollen streams and creeks poured into the Ohio River (Mazzola). Their
             levels rose to a foot a day until day 3. Licking River rose to 52 feet, or
             12 feet above flood stage. All through day and night 3, 12" rainfall
             crashed through 40,000 homes and businesses in Louisville. Leaving the
             place desolate, it drove east to Clermont, Brevin, Adams, Scioto, Lawrence
             and Gallia counties, before heading for West Virginia, where it eased a
             bit. By then, 16 West Virginia counties had been declared to be in a state
             of emergency, as Ohio and Kanawha Rivers filled their banks. Not quite out,
             it proceeded east-northeast on day 4, but was broken up by a cold front
             until dissipating in the Great Lakes area.
             Floods had gone in and out of the Ohio Valley, but past floods could
             not compare with the wrath of March 1997. The weather freak produced a
             variety of floods, from flash flooding in hilly terrain and poorly drained
             areas, to small stream flooding in rural and urban areas. These were
             followed by very serious flooding along the Ohio River and many of its
             tributaries (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 1998).
             It poured into the rivers in northern Kentucky, including the Rolling...