Rain, Floods and Drought

In response to your editorial “A Flood of Questions, a Wave of Heroes,” Feb. 14:

To say that the flood control system failed in Los Angeles is to discount the general safety that the people of Los Angeles enjoyed despite the nuisance of several inches of rain falling in record time. The cases of tragedy and mishap that have been reported over and over again are truly regrettable, as all such cases are. However, the flood control system performed as it was designed, retaining and regulating the massive volumes of water and redirecting floodwaters exactly as designed.

The failures that you speak of are management failures, both by officials and individuals. But to expect authorities to provide total protection regardless of individual carelessness is to spell bigger budgets, higher taxes and bureaucracy to no end.

Why is it not common sense among the people of Los Angeles to recognize the grave danger that a winter storm presents? Where I live, we have a flood control channel not more than three houses away from us. During the storm, to my alarm, a group of teen-age kids, much like young Adam Bischoff of Woodland Hills, were playing in the channel. My shouted attempts to remove them from there were relatively in vain. Why so careless?

It may seem that I lack sympathy for the flood tragedies. That is not true. What I lack is understanding. It seems that educating people to be aware of danger, be it from flood, earthquake or other natural forces, is going to be a difficult job.

TOM HONLES

Sunland