On 9/13/17 8:32 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/13/2017 8:22 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 9/13/17 7:58 AM, justan wrote:


Governor Rick Scott has been getting high marks for his efforts to
* prepare Florida for the disaster.


Does that make up for the huge criminal enterprise Scott ran prior to
being governor? You know, the one that earned a $1.7 billion fine for
Medicare fraud?

Florida is not prepared. If Scott really were concerned about Florida,
he'd be spearheading a statewide effort to stop development in
low-lying coastal areas, and begin a process of condemning and tearing
down susceptible structures in those areas, outlawing mobile homes,
and slowing growth generally. Florida is going to get hit again and
again and again by these large summer and fall hurricanes, and
everyone is going to pace the price for them.

We have a low-lying area a few miles north of here, called Chesapeake
Beach, a quaint little nameplace full of old cottages and a growing
amount of new construction. Nice place, except when Chesapeake Bay
overflows and floods homes and businesses for four blocks up from the
high water line. That area is a foot or two above sea level. Maybe.
Why construction in these places is allowed is beyond my comprehension.

I think the national flood insurance program ought to be dropped and
replaced by a state-by-state funded program for those states that want
it. Let Floridians, Texas, Louisianians, et cetera, pay the price for
their folly of never-ending construction along low-lying waterfronts,
typically built on "reclaimed" land. Alternately, if the states won't
provide flood insurance and mortage companies won't finance homes
without flood insurance, well, that eventually will solve the problem.

Oh, we're close to the Bay, but...we're about 115' above sea level
here. If the Bay floods us, it is the end of the world.


You won't flood but a direct hit of a Cat 4 or 5 hurricane would do some
serious damage to your famous red barn.



Flooding of low-lying seashore areas during a hurricane from Florida to
Texas is pretty much inevitable. Cat 4 or 5 hurricane winds up here
would be a rarity, but a possibility. We have some large trees that if
uprooted could certainly smash through the roof. We've had a few storms
with high winds...70-90 mph...but so far our big trees have survived.
I've had a few cut down over the years, but we still have a few that
make me nervous.

The point is, federal flood insurance should NOT be available to
property owners in shore areas that keep getting hit. The states should
be restricting growth in those areas and funding state flood insurance.
Building a home in the Keys, for example, is the height of arrogance and
stupidity.