Zoning restrictions limit flood damage Flood-plain zoning, which places restrictions on the use of land on flood plains, can reduce the cost of flood damage. Local governments may pass laws that prevent uncontrolled building or development on flood plains to limit flood risks and to protect nearby property. Landowners in areas that adopt local ordinances or laws to limit development on flood plains can purchase flood insurance to help cover the cost of damage from floods. Dams and levees can reduce the risk of floods Flood-control dams have been built on many streams and rivers to store storm runoff and reduce flooding downstream. Levees are artificial river banks built to control the spread of flood waters and to limit the amount of land covered by floods.
Levees provide protection from some floods but can be over-topped or eroded away by large floods.
For example, levees failed to protect vast areas in the Mississippi and Missouri River valleys during the record-setting floods that occurred in 1993.