I'll begin with one of the saddest beginnings of a joke that there could possibly be in these troubled times. "Did you hear about two Vlads that got in a fight in a bar?" (Yes, I know that one is really “Vladimir" and the other is "Volodymyr").
Yet, we have a sad situation here in Sussex County that, too, does not evoke happiness. I am speaking of the lack of oversight and planning that has led to the sprawl of Sussex County. The past and present county councils and the planning & zoning commission have turned their attentions only to constant development that has turned to these acres after acres of land being build upon with no attempt to care for and protect residents, long-termed or otherwise.
If this picture had only been planned for small communities and municipalities instead of sprawl, communities could have a town council to whom to appeal. We might have designed communities with town police, town water/sewage, zoning for business and housing, grid system roads with intersections, buffer areas, mandatory forestation, etc.
Instead, these leaders have chosen to ignore the wants and needs of the persons within the county. To my understanding, the county has not even published the new FEMA flood maps, has not attempted to increase buffer areas, or get emergency plans underway for evacuation. I, too, bet many of our leaders have never seen "The Storm of '62" documentary about the storm that destroyed 2,000 homes here, flooded coastal and central Sussex, and did not get restored for four months after the storm by the work of the National Guard. I was there, rode over it in a pontoon raft, and knew that full power was not restored from March 6 through the end of June.
This is at a time when we are very aware of the strong possibility of Sussex County flooding due to major weather changes. When, not if, the next storm of the century hits us, we will be totally flooded if no one prepares for this.
Attached is a map of Delaware that shows the low-lying areas of Delmarva by color coding. It was published five years ago for measurements done the previous year. Since the publication of this elevation map, the sea level has risen by six inches while we already know that Delaware is sinking too. The combined impact of this is set to equal 14 inches of depth by the end of 2022. Predictive maps over the years have a little behind the reality of the real numbers due to the unanticipated melting of the Arctic. Be aware that this is based on daily mean tide and does not account for sea surge.
Also, be aware that the population of Sussex has increased 224 percent over the last 60 years and is predicted to have its biggest growth spurt ever over the next five years.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
