This is something that needs to be said.

[dhweather]

I agree ericinmia,

I think also we should make it a law that no building past 50 miles from the coast for the Gulf states in the Southeastern States. We should make it parks where people could go to the beach. But no building. We would save alot of money.

50 miles? I am only between 25-30 miles from the coast. And I don't live in Florida. I live in southeast Louisiana where we are even more vunerable.

We've got enough geography/terrain problems to begin with down here.

In the winter, if a strong ridge builds in with a stong easterly flow,
the water just builds and builds, resulting in coastal flood warnings.
Hancock MS, St. Tammany LA, Placquemines LA take the brunt of it.

When a tropical system comes in, all of SE LA takes it on the chin -
look how far inland Baton Rouge is on a map, and realize that
they are usually covered in every hurricane watch/warning
that affects SE LA.

[tailgater]

In my opinion insurance companies should write a clause in the policies that states you will be paid for X amount for damages 1 time with no renewals in the highest risk locations. Sorry but, if you want to live on the edge I don't want to pay for it. There people in my own parish that prosper from flooding, by insurance premiums we all pay.

[skysummit]

This is what my wife is worried about. She's from Cali and she rathers earthquakes than hurricanes. I'm originally from SE La., but for the past 2 1/2 years, we lived in SE Alabama, just north of P.C., Florida. For Ivan, even being 150 miles east of the center, we experienced 60mph winds and that scared my wife to death. Now, we're back in Houma, La., and she's worried to death. She has already re-packed all her valuables for the season. IMO, SE La., with all the swamps and marshland, and NOLA being below sea level, is the most vulnerable area along the coast.

[HurryKane]

I get the gist from the original post, but this a risk folks are willing to
live with. If you build a new home on or close to the beach/coast , you know what can happen.

Everyone in the US takes risks no matter where they build: near a coast, in earthquake-prone areas, in a river flood plain, where northeasters hit, where tornadoes hit, where blizzards hit, etc.

You picks yer plot and you takes yer chances.

[GalvestonDuck]

I get the gist from the original post, but this a risk folks are willing to
live with. If you build a new home on or close to the beach/coast , you know what can happen.

Everyone in the US takes risks no matter where they build: near a coast, in earthquake-prone areas, in a river flood plain, where northeasters hit, where tornadoes hit, where blizzards hit, etc.

You picks yer plot and you takes yer chances.

Thank you!

[dhweather]

I guess we should all live in Maine then, huh?

[skysummit]

I guess we should all live in Maine then, huh?

Then we'd be battling Noreasters. No matter where you go, there's always something to worry about.

[HurryKane]

I guess we should all live in Maine then, huh?

I hear they have tasty crustaceans. And Northeasters.

Thank you!

You're welcome

[mitchell]

Here I go again with my "living on a barrier island" defense rant....


~Barrier-island-living Duck and proud of it

Do you actually live in Galvestion and say this? (i.e. "no more dangerous than inland tornado areas or fire") Pretty amazing. Considering the entire town was resurrected from ruin and protected by a public seawall project that cost BILLIONS of dollars in todays money. many if not most permanent barrier island communities would be at tremendous risk without HUGE publicly funded protection. Not exactly comparible to inland tornado risk or fire which is covered PRIVATELY by insurance. Sorry for the caps I'm annoyed.

[BayouVenteux]

You picks yer plot and you takes yer chances.

Well said. 'Nuff said.

[GalvestonDuck]

Here I go again with my "living on a barrier island" defense rant....


~Barrier-island-living Duck and proud of it

Do you actually live in Galvestion and say this? (i.e. "no more dangerous than inland tornado areas or fire") Pretty amazing. Considering the entire town was resurrected from ruin and protected by a public seawall project that cost BILLIONS of dollars in todays money. many if not most permanent barrier island communities would be at tremendous risk without HUGE publicly funded protection. Not exactly comparible to inland tornado risk or fire which is covered PRIVATELY by insurance. Sorry for the caps I'm annoyed.

Actually, the entire town was not destroyed and there are several pre-1900 landmarks still here to illustrate that. Furthermore, the Seawall project would not have happened without the consent of the citizens who voted FOR it and agreed to a tax levy. They wanted to rebuild their town and they did...and many of their relatives are proud of that accomplishment.

And yes, I actually live in the city of Galveston and work in the city of Galveston ON Galveston Island.

[HurryKane]

Not exactly comparible to inland tornado risk or fire which is covered PRIVATELY by insurance.

But don't many governors declare tornado-wrecked portions of their states as disaster areas so they can get federal funding for repairs?

[dhweather]

Not exactly comparible to inland tornado risk or fire which is covered PRIVATELY by insurance.

But don't many governors declare tornado-wrecked portions of their states as disaster areas so they can get federal funding for repairs?

Yes, and they do it for major flood events as well.

[GalvestonDuck]

Stats on fires:

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/applications/n ... ss_out.cfm

State Average Property Loss per Fire
Alabama $3,805.00
Alaska $16,207.00
Arizona $1,667.00
Arkansas $7,922.00
California (state did not report NFIRS data for this period)
Colorado $5,149.00
Connecticut $3,896.00
Delaware $1,245.00
Florida $5,711.00
Georgia $5,984.00
Hawaii $4,962.00
Idaho $5,020.00
Illinois $7,835.00
Indiana $4,848.00
Iowa $12,603.00
Kansas $5,896.00
Kentucky $6,791.00
Louisiana $5,830.00
Maine $1,755.00
Maryland $5,407.00
Massachusetts $7,590.00
Michigan $37,306.00
Minnesota $17,777.00
Mississippi $7,880.00
Missouri $6,320.00
Montana $14,353.00
Nebraska $5,764.00
Nevada $1,747.00
New Hampshire $29,512.00
New Jersey $2,642.00
New Mexico $851.00
New York $16,103.00
North Carolina $3,542.00
North Dakota $3,903.00
Ohio $1,512.00
Oklahoma $6,000.00
Oregon $9,628.00
Pennsylvania $22,609.00
Rhode Island $2,964.00
South Carolina $2,988.00
South Dakota $5,718.00
Tennessee $6,407.00
Texas $5,323.00
Utah $6,972.00
Vermont $5,999.00
Virginia $5,444.00
Washington $5,431.00
West Virginia $24,540.00
Wisconsin $5,031.00
Wyoming $5,528.00

[GalvestonDuck]

Disaster declarations so far this year, just to show it's not just about hurricanes:

http://www.fema.gov/news/disasters.fema

Code: Select all

Major Disaster DeclarationsNumber Date State Title DFRNs Designated Counties
1589 04/19 New York Severe Storms and Flooding   
 
1588 04/19 New Jersey Severe Storms and Flooding   
 
1587 04/14 Pennsylvania Severe Storms and Flooding   
 
1586 04/14 Arizona Severe Storms and Flooding   
 
1585 04/14 California Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mud and Debris Flows   
 
1584 03/14 Alaska Severe Winter Storm   
 
1583 03/07 Nevada Heavy Rains and Flooding   
 
1582 02/18 American Samoa Tropical Cyclone Olaf, including High Winds, High Surf, and Heavy Rainfall   
 
1581 02/17 Arizona Severe Storms and Flooding   
 
1580 02/15 Ohio Severe Winter Storms, Flooding and Mudslides   
 
1579 02/08 Kansas Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and Flooding   
 
1578 02/08 Kentucky Severe Winter Storm and Record Snow   
 
1577 02/04 California Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides   
 
1576 02/01 Utah Severe Storms and Flooding   
 
1575 02/01 Hawaii Severe Storms and Flash Flooding   
 
1574 02/01 West Virginia Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides   
 
1573 01/21 Indiana Severe Winter Storms and Flooding   

Code: Select all

Emergency DeclarationsNumber Date State Title DFRNs Declared Counties
3211 04/28 New Hampshire Snow   
 
3210 04/21 Maine Snow   
 
3209 04/01 Maine Snow   
 
3208 03/30 New Hampshire Snow   
 
3207 03/30 New Hampshire Snow   
 
3206 03/14 Maine Snow   
 
3205 03/14 Maine Snow   
 
3204 02/23 Nevada Snow   
 
3203 02/17 Rhode Island Snow   
 
3202 02/17 Nevada Snow   
 
3201 02/17 Massachusetts Snow   
 
3200 02/17 Connecticut Snow   
 
3199 02/01 Illinois Snow   
 
3198 01/11 Ohio Snow   
 
3197 01/11 Indiana Snow   

Code: Select all

Fire Management Assistance DeclarationsNumber
Date State Incident
2557 04/19 South Dakota Camp Five Fire
 

[HurryKane]

Great info, GalvestonDuck, thanks!

[mitchell]

Not exactly comparible to inland tornado risk or fire which is covered PRIVATELY by insurance.

But don't many governors declare tornado-wrecked portions of their states as disaster areas so they can get federal funding for repairs?

Yes disaster relief for publicly-owned facilities. Not for insured private property damage...uninsured tornado damage to private homes is a low interest loan of up to $15K roughly) I've worked on many disasters and this is a major area of misconception.

Galveston - good reply on the funding...back then towns (even of barrier island variety) financed their own protection. Today, barrier islands are generally more vulnerable to damage than their nearby inland counterparts and generally more receiving of Federal dollars. That was the only point i was trying to make.

[Scorpion]

I agree that barrier islands should never have been built on. As mean as it sounds, it will take a Cat 5 hit to a highly populated area(such as S FL) to make people realize that barrier islands are not supposed to be built on.

[kevin]

People are not supposed to write words with electricity, live in the arctic or even temperate climes, or drink cow milk. Technology means we can do a lot of things which are either vain, strange, or wonderful.