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Nebraska town’s grim choice: can it pick up and move?

Following devastating floods last March, the tiny eastern Nebraska town of Winslow is debating whether to move 100 feet higher to a nearby hilltop or face being washed away in future floods. It’s a choice more riverside communities may face as climate change increases flood risks. Since the creation of a buyout program in 1989, federal and local governments have poured more than $5 billion into buying tens of thousands of properties threatened by persistent flooding to avoid rebuilding. But instead of nearing completion, the buyout task seems to be growing, with more places in danger as heavier storms send river levels and tides higher.

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