[microcolonel]

The other thought, I imagine, is that they felt the probability was low that they would see a flood of this scale even within their lifetime; that ended up being a poor bet. Even so, flood insurance is also cheaper when the perceived likelihood of a flood is low.

[robotresearcher]

Since cities usually survive much more than one human lifetime, this is not good reasoning.

[microcolonel]

People build houses, cities don't.

[robotresearcher]

As you almost certainly know, the city controls permissions for every building.

A city that gives planning permission for a development that is probably going to be destroyed with loss of life in the next hundred years is not serving people well.