Rick Morain is the former publisher and owner of the Jefferson Herald, for which he writes a regular column.

Fifteen inches of rain in northwest Iowa. Unbelievable. We don’t have drenchers like that in this state. But we did.

Most of us remember well the eight, nine, or ten inches (depending on whom you talk to) that fell on Greene County back in 1993, which flowed down the mighty Raccoon River to devastate Des Moines. Last week’s total near the state’s northwest corner puts that event to shame. Some rivers reached record flood levels, causing damage never seen before in towns large and small. The Iowa Great Lakes and its surrounding communities shared in that damage.

It could just as easily have happened last week in and around Greene County instead. The vagaries of weather fronts, wind direction, etc., steered it to northwest Iowa, southeast South Dakota, and southwest Minnesota. Pictures of the flooding are jaw-dropping. Where the next deluge occurs is anyone’s guess. But it won’t be long until another one strikes somewhere in Iowa.

This year is shaping up to be full of more weather catastrophes in the United States than in any other year that most people can remember. Scorching heat, long-term drought, tornadoes, hurricanes, incredible rainstorms, storm-induced wildfires—seems as if not a week goes by without some devastating weather event somewhere on American soil. So-called “500-year” floods seem to happen every few years nowadays.

People step up to help following weather emergencies. The aftermath of last month’s storm in Greenfield—among the most powerful tornadoes recorded in 25 years—is a typical example. Private citizens, non-profit groups, and the state and federal government converged on Greenfield, and other damaged locations in the state, starting shortly after the wind stopped blowing. They’re still there, doing what they can, and financial assistance follows right behind.

In some places, people are preparing for the next disaster. Government agencies harden dams, dikes, and levees, improve warning systems, and stockpile emergency supplies.

All those steps help. But they don’t solve the problem. Americans have yet to take climate change seriously enough to do much about it. Most farms focus on moving excess water off the land as quickly as possible, thereby contributing to river flooding downstream.

Insurance companies are raising premiums and/or reducing coverage, in order to keep up with claims losses from the continuing flow of weather catastrophes. Those responses hit all Iowans in their pocketbooks, and any future respite from that trend is a crapshoot.

Our inability to prevent such emergencies can be frustrating. We can be warned about severe weather, take steps to protect ourselves, and do what we can for our families, neighbors, and friends.

But little can be done to stop a flood, or a tornado, or a heavy downpour, or a long-term drought. Reducing the frequency of those weather events would require addressing climate change—there’s no longer any doubt about that. And even if Iowans “got religion” about climate change, it would take similar conversion experiences of people around the nation and around the world to make a serious difference.

Not much sign of that on the horizon.

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Top photo of Hawarden was among the images Governor Kim Reynolds’ office released on June 22 following her tour of flooded areas in northwest Iowa.

Editor’s note from Laura Belin: Iowans needing assistance following extreme weather events, or those who want to donate to reputable organizations helping others in need, can find resources at the state of Iowa’s Disaster Recovery website.