i still think that if people had exercised good judgement and followed the rules laid down for their safety there would not have been a total of 7 deaths. however in a state of over 8 million (i believe) that's a considerably low number. a lot of the devastation was caused by people thinking that they knew better then the authorities. i.e. don't turn on the lights. don't try to drive. go to high ground. stay in a shelter.
they couldn't have saved their homes, but they could have avoided injury.
and by not doing what they were supposed to do, they put others in harm's way to save them.
and to return to my original rant, all that pavement didn't help with the runoff and washouts. that's one reason you get swollen rivers and fallen trees.