The cities appear fuller because they are. It might, in theory, seem wiser to decamp to higher ground, to places where the crush is less overwhelming, but in truth the cities are often the only places capable of sustaining any infrastructure. It is hard to shore up places that have been left without insurance, without plans for a future that looks like this. People make tracks for rural communities, only to find them ill-prepared, ill-financed, and drowning.
