Crystal Beach before and after
Posted on 09/17/2008 8:54:58 AM PDT by Westlander
"It's a very positive sign for sensible management if the State of Texas does take a new look at how we rebuild extremely vulnerable shorelines," says Rob Young, director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C. "But I'm also skeptical, because the people who are being shut out of rebuilding tend to be wealthy and politically influential. People say, 'Those people must be nuts to build on the West End of Galveston,' but it's actually the taxpayers who are nuts for subsidizing that development."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Leave it entirely up to the property owner & his money. Taxpayers should have absolutely nothing to do with it.
Simple solution: if they choose to rebuild and can afford to do so, and can afford the increased insurance premiums, let them go ahead. But stop federal subsidies for flood insurance in historically disastrous locations, and let them restore their own infrastructure.
It is extremely possible to rebuild Galveston and even New Orleans sensibly. There are engineering hurdles and codes that would work just fine. It would be expensive. No, it should not be subsidized.
At least Galveston is a little above sea level, unlike large parts of New Orleans. But, it seems we MUST rebuild New Orleans.
Don’t forget the insurance companies though - flood insurance is through the government, and now that they own a big stake in AIG I guess we taxpayers are included in this whether we want to be or not.
I wrote this in 1992 after Andrew, whose path was eerily similar to that of Katrina – and now Ike! That should tell ANY sane person that THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN AND PROBABLY IN LESS THAN 12 YEARS GIVEN THE MORE AGGRESSIVE HURRICANES IN THIS CYCLE. And this cycle is predicted to last another 15 years!!
Simply change some of the names.
If they rebuild NOLA on the present site – and DON’T get folks OFF THOSE BEACHES ALONG THE ENTIRE HURRICANE-PRONE U.S. COAST — keep this for the NEXT catastrophe. Insanity is defined as doing the same things over and over while expecting a different result. Whom God would destroy, He first makes insane. Has this nation lost its mind? Look to NOLA – BUILT 8 FEET BELOW THE SURROUNDING WATERWAYS – for the answer for that. If NOLA is rebuilt, those low-lying areas ought to be allowed to revert to their original state as wetlands and swamps. The folks necessary to operate that vital port and petro/chemical infrastructure need to live in reinforced dwellings ABOVE future anticipated flood levels.
And now that Rita and Ike have come and gone, taking most of these coastal dwellings and structures with them, it is time to consider turning a 10 to 15 mile strip of our hurricane prone coastal areas into RV parks or campgrounds with MINIMAL SEMI-PERMANENT – and I stress “SEMI” — STRUCTURES. Anyone building a structure in that strip is ON HIS OWN RE. SHOULDERING THE FINANCIAL LIABILITY FOR ITS LOSS!!!
************
WHAT GEORGE SHOULD HAVE SAID
by Dick Bachert
On the evening of September 1st, 1992, President George Bush went on national TV to announce that the already empty federal coffers would pour forth uncounted billions of dollars to totally rebuild the Florida and Louisiana communities destroyed by Hurricane Andrew. A vast majority of Americans seem to agree with this action, providing yet more evidence (as if more were needed) that we have come very, very far from the philosophy of self-reliance articulated by one Colonel Davey Crockett. (See “Not Yours to Give” available from FEE at www.fee.org)
Instead of attempting to purchase his reelection with plundered resources, this is what George Bush should have said.
“My fellow Americans:
As you all know, a devastating hurricane has struck the southern tip of Florida and Louisiana. Our hearts and prayers go out to all who have lost so much.
“There is now a great cry for the federal government to “do something”.
“And we shall.
“I have dispatched otherwise idle military resources — men and women involved in our national defense who will profit from what will amount to a real-life field exercise — to the area to render whatever aid the local authorities deem appropriate to restore basic communications and public safety infrastructure. But, beyond that, we can do little else. Before you brand me a heartless monster, allow me to explain:
“The area involved has been regularly struck by many such storms since long before we have inhabited this continent. There is reason to believe that this pattern will continue. All who have vacationed or visited there will agree that it is a beautiful area and by driving a short distance, residents there can avail themselves of the ocean waters and sandy beaches of that coastal setting. I, too, understand the attraction. That’s why I spend as much time as possible
in Kennebunkport. That’s the upside of living in such an area.
“The downside is that the area is regularly struck by these terrible storms. Which is why responsible and intelligent residents of the area insure their property against the inevitable resultant damage.
“That the largest private insurers have determined that certain of these areas are so likely to be struck by storms such as Andrew as to make them “actuarially unsound” risks is a matter for the insurers and the property owners. Government will only, through the lawfully established court system, do its best to see to it that any contracts between these private parties are honored.
“If a prospective property owner is unable to secure private insurance against these calamitous eventualities, he or she had better reevaluate his or her position. If a prospective owner cannot bear the financial loss which would flow from the destruction of an uninsured home in one of these high risk areas, he or she is well advised to purchase in an area where such insurance is available. It is not, nor can it ever be, the government’s place to levy a compulsory tax on citizens who do not live in these high risk beach areas to subsidize the folly of those who choose to do so! It would be criminal to force citizens who themselves already pay hundreds of dollars each year to protect their homes from
normal hazards such as fire and the occasional tornado to also pay for the beach front lifestyle of others! To increase their taxes so that some of their less responsible fellows may enjoy the benefits of living in these normally
beautiful — but statistically periodically dangerous — surroundings is unconscionable.
“As much as our hearts go out to those who have lost so much, I must remind them that just as it has happened in the past, it will happen again. If you chose to remain there, you do so at your peril. This is an election year and the temptation is great for me to obligate the already strapped taxpayers of the entire nation to pay for the rebuilding of these damaged areas.
“Though it may cost me another term as President, I must, because of the dangerous precedent it would set, resist it. To do otherwise would be the grossest unfairness to, say, a citizen in Kansas whose roof might be blown off during a tornado. Would that citizen not have the right to ask the federal government to do the same for him? Multiply that by the numbers of isolated, individual-but equally calamitous disasters each year and you will come to see that the treasury of even the richest nation on earth (which, thanks to decades of such nonsense, we no longer are) would soon collapse under the load.
“On a technical level, I would also remind you that expert analysis of the destruction of these homes quickly disclosed that it was government and the building codes — rather the false security of their enforcement — which led to the loss of nearly 85,000 dwellings. You who now look to government to solve your problem ought to consider that it was the failure of the government mandated building code enforcement that reduced your home to a pile of rubble. Your reliance upon government enforcement of these codes and their assiduous observance has proven to be an error.
“In that connection, I would point out that engineers who surveyed the damage discovered a number of structures which survived. It was found that these buildings had been built under an older, ostensibly less stringent code and/or were constructed using a number of proven, but more costly, techniques designed to improve survival.
“If you do plan to rebuild in one of these uninsurable sections, please, in order to minimize the destruction the next time another killer storm comes ashore, employ these construction techniques.
“Let me now turn to what we must now do to help those in such desperate need at this moment.
“I submit that we should continue and intensify what we’ve been doing thus far: The volunteer activities many of you have undertaken as individuals, small businesses and large corporations are doing exactly what I envisioned when I
launched my “Thousand Points of Light” campaign. What we need now are millions of such points. And, if the response continues to swell as in the past few days, we’ll get there.
“Let me also remind you that the first folks into the area with meaningful relief were not government people. As we have seen, these huge bureaucracies possess equally huge levels of static inertia. They lack the flexibility and
sensitivity to function efficiently. People helping people is the highest embodiment of the faith our forefathers brought to these shores over 300 years ago.
“America was — and, I fervently believe, still is – a nation of people who understand this basic concept. It is time we remembered that government’s role is to only do for citizens those few constitutionally limited things we cannot
individually do for ourselves. I’d remind you what George Washington said about government: “Government is not reason. It is not eloquence. It is force! And like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”
“It is also time for us all to remember that we must take individual responsibility for ourselves. We must remember, for example, that we cannot construct our homes in places where the forces of nature periodically rage against us without adequate preparation for those periodic rampages.
“To be more specific, if we must build in those areas, we must take personal responsibility for the soundness of construction and/or insure against the certain eventuality that these natural assaults will occur. The days when
individuals can look to a government to force the rest of us to underwrite the folly of the few are gone! I urge those of you now digging out from the destruction in Florida and Louisiana to remember that as you consider your future. I pledge that if you grant me another term in office, I shall devote my next 4 years to bringing government back under the United States Constitution in order to ensure that it does only those few things we cannot do for ourselves and does them as efficiently and effectively as possible.
“Let me again urge us to continue the enormous volunteer efforts we have already begun until this tragedy is behind us.
“Thank you and good night!”
With the damage the pictures show, I don’t know if I would rebuild.
273 pictures here.
http://www.statesman.com/news/mediahub/media/slideshow/index.jsp?tId=119336
Many more here.
http://www.tpicks.com/pictures_people_have_sent_me.htm
I remember down in Galveston
when storm winds swept the town,
the high tide from the ocean, Lord, put water all around!
(chorus)
Wasn't that a mighty day, a mighty day,
a mighty day, great God, that mornin' when the storm winds swept the town!
The rain began a' fallin, the wind began to blow,
the lightnin' shafts were cracklin', Lord, and thunder started to roll!
(chorus)
Oh death, your hands are icy, you've got them on my knee,
you took away my mother, now you're comin' after me!
(chorus)
I don't recall the rest well enough to do it justice, but I last heard the song back in th 60's, by the Chad Mitchell Trio IIRC.
A CNN newsbabe called the people in Bolivar stupid for not evacuating. Never did hear that said about those who refused to evacuate New Orleans (and there were those with money like Fats Domino who also decided to stay home, it was not a “rich”/”poor” thing).
Crystal Beach before and after
At least New Orleans isn’t a barrier island.
“... folly of those who choose to do so!”
It’s not all peaches and cream on the island as some weekenders might imagine. There is industry there and people have to live somewhere.
Do you like oil? Shrimp?
Outside the US, its common to build with concrete and rebar, or cement block and rebar, for residential construction. Those homes may look run down sometimes, but they can stand up to about anything. They seem to last forever.
Inside the US, that kind of construction has never become popular, but I wonder if, in a hurricane zone it might be more appropriate than building with 2x4’s the way we typically do.
I know there are a lot of people here who know construction, I’m curious if changing the kind of construction techniques would make these homes more survivable.
"Take the money and run!"
If it were me, I would take the insurance money and:
M O V E to a new, safer location. Otherwise all you are doing is rebuilding so it can be destroyed again down the road.
What a perfectly charming way to put it.
The homeowners paid for the old infrastructure and they'll pay for the new infrastructure with their property tax payments -and they pay for a lot of the officials' salaries to boot.
They'll be allowed to rebuild but the local and state officials will try and get the Fed to foot it if they can. It's money in their pocket so to speak.
The gubermint should rebuild AIG and Lehman Bros HQ in N.O.
After all, it’s free money.
I was of the opinion that most of the residental-type stuctures there were vacation homes.
Does anyone know if there are numbers on that?
The last Census shows that Bolivar Peninsula had a population of 3,853 people in 2000.
Bolivar Peninsula had 5,425 Housing Units at the time of the 2000 Census.
http://www.roadsidethoughts.com/tx/bolivar-peninsula-census.htm#fn1
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