In early 1980, Phoenix experienced a series of damaging winter floods. The Salt River goes through the center of town and is usually an utterly dry bed of pebbles and rocks; therefore, city streets are laid right across the river, as if it had long since gone extinct. In 1980, however, it rolled cars like boulders—cars whose owners were so used to driving through the riverbed that, despite repeated warnings on the radio, they didn’t bother to detour and cross on a bridge as the waters began to rise. Even if they had, it wouldn’t have done them much good. Only two of Phoenix’s bridges were
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