Great Flooding

The Great Flooding was a catastrophic flash flood that led to the destruction of Districts 1 & 2. The flood was caused by a plot that started World War II & it destroyed all of Districts 1 & 2 & drowned little over a half of District 3.

Background information
In 10BY, war began between rebels on the island of Wildwood & their rulers, the evil autocratic Knights of Storm Island. For 10 years, the Knights & rebels clashed. During this time, the Big Apple revolted & separated alongside Wildwood & eventually, the Knights gave up & called for a cease-fire. The civil war between the Knights, Wildwood & the Big Apple became known as the Great War & was known by this name until the time of the Great Flooding.

Boardwalk Dike
When Districts 1, 2 & 3 formed, they built a boardwalk that connected them all & dammed up an area beneath the boardwalk to drain part of the island so the districts could build homes. The dike stopping the flow of the ocean allowed all areas below sea level to remain dry & prevent floods. Every few times it is fixed or plugged up as workers go in to fix the problem.

Tax recession
Tax dollars from the government of Wildwood is where the money for the dike comes from. When the tax wave struck Districts 1 & 2, few were evicted because of this increase in property taxes & refused to pay up. Other districts who experienced this wave, such as 11 & 12, stopped paying taxes altogether. The system of the government & economics runs in harmony when all of the districts pay the taxes. However, the tax wave caused the island's economy to plunge. This failure to pay taxes resulted in less inspections of the wall. Tom Riddle, who lived under the boardwalk & lived close to the dike, noted to John Lemon that it had eroded away in certain parts with some sea water starting to drip through & said that unless people started paying their taxes, the wall was not going to hold up longer, despite Riddle's various attempts to stop the leaks, that would only delay the wall's collapse.

Drowning
The flooding of the districts was immediate. Following the explosion, the water spilled through the hole in the wall & brought the cement down with it. Tom Riddle, being closest to the wall, was the first casualty of the flood. The water destroyed the underside of the boardwalk & immediately rose above the housing level by feet & came to a stop near the Capitol boundary in Districts 1 & 2 & it flooded almost half of District 3. Edward Simpson happened to have finished his job of working in the District 3 sewers. At the moment he came up, he was immediately swept away & nearly drowned. He managed to use his energy to swim to the shores of what remained of District 3. Immediately, people near the waterline noticed & others from all over the island headed to the water.

Aftermath
The public response to this sudden attack was enormous. Outraged citizens began marches at the Capitol to declare war on Storm Island, which the Capitol had no hesitation whatsoever from the second they received the news, starting World War II. Meanwhile, friends & relatives of those who lived in Districts 1 & 2 & parts of 3 mourned the losses. One known death was Tom Riddle, as John Lemon & Ed Simpson searched the waters to find nothing nor hear of him ever again. When looking down from the boardwalk, Lemon noticed the jacket that Riddle always wore floating in the water, along with a silhouette of someone at the bottom of the water, which assumes that Riddle was dead.

Killed

 * Tom Riddle
 * Horace Johnson

Injured

 * Edward Simpson