Humanity continues to depend on water to sustain itself, and therefore remains at its mercy. Climate science is unanimous in the conclusion that global warming is the cause of more extreme weather, and this will only get more extreme as the planet’s temperature rises. Storms will become more fierce, rainfall heavier, and flooding will be more common. Waterfront communities will become more prone to dangerous flooding. New York State, and especially the Southern Tier, is particularly vulnerable, as its topography is ideally formed to trap storms in the valleys between the abundant hills. This uneven rainfall makes accumulation difficult to forecast, and the shallow streams are not able to absorb large amounts of water. If effort is not put into reducing the human impact on the environment, and into putting more preventative measures in place, floods like that caused by Agnes will only become a more regular reality to the residents of New York State.