When does it end?

[FX]

Leaving politics, global warming theories, and that stuff out of it, I have a question.
We now have the most powerful hurricane ever recorded possible heading towards the Florida coastline.  Every couple of years it seems Florida gets pounded by these things, costing billions of dollars in damage and cleanup/repairs.  We all know what went on with Katrina and the 60 plus billion in aid already from the government to help with that.  When does it end?  When does the government say enough is enough and declare these certain areas as off limits as far as the taxpayers go for footing the clean-up costs.  Or do we just keep spending hundreds of billions of dollars rebuilding Florida every 10 years?

 

[edjunior]

Interesting.  And not an easy answer.  Should we also include the midwest for the tornados?  How about the west coast for earthquakes?  Everywhere when droughts happen.  How about the northeast and their flooding?  I just don't ever see it ending.  And then you have all the foreign aid everytime a huge natural disaster happens (the big earthquake, the tsunami, etc.).  Kinda make you wonder what insurance is for?!!  If everyone had insurance, would there be any need for government aid?  Too many questions, and not enough answers.

 

[Phil]

Leaving politics, global warming theories, and that stuff out of it, I have a question.
We now have the most powerful hurricane ever recorded possible heading towards the Florida coastline.  Every couple of years it seems Florida gets pounded by these things, costing billions of dollars in damage and cleanup/repairs.  We all know what went on with Katrina and the 60 plus billion in aid already from the government to help with that.  When does it end?  When does the government say enough is enough and declare these certain areas as off limits as far as the taxpayers go for footing the clean-up costs.  Or do we just keep spending hundreds of billions of dollars rebuilding Florida every 10 years?

FX,

Take two asprin, get some rest and take your RV on a trip.  You will feel better in the morning.

Phil

 

[Ron]

Sounds like good sound advise  DR. Phil. ;D

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Phil gives good advice! 

And just for the record, the US gov't has not yet spent a total of  100 billon on "rebuilding Florida" after ALL the hurricanes put together, since there ever was a US gov't.  Credible numbers are hard to come by, but all estimates are well short of 100 billon.

And the massive damage from Katrina was in Louisianna and Mississippi, not Florida. 

 

[FX]

Phil-  Thanks to hurricane Katrina and the high price of gas, I can't afford to take the RV at 8 mpg!

RV Roamer-  Your right.  I kind of threw in total damage estimates with government assistance.  Heard on Fox that the damage by the large hurricane that hit Florida a few years back (can't think of the name) ran over 54 billion in damage alone.  Add up the total damage for the last 10 years and I'm sure we are well over 100 B.
As far as government assistance, didn't the US give over 60 billion so far to help with Katrina?  I watch a lot of news, but I may be wrong.
We have people from Louisiana and Mississippi who are now living in trailers purchased by F.I.M.A.  Many of these people lived in very sub-standard housing and are now living in trailers nicer than what many on this forum own. 
And as far as the natural disasters all over the rest of the US, I don't think that is comparable.  The earthquakes in Ca. are not as frequent, nor do they do as much damage as the hurricanes (yet!!!)
Tornados?  Flooding?  Thats hit and miss.  I think we can always count on Florida and the neighboring states to be pounded by Hurricanes.  There is not one thing we can do to stop it.  So, why keep spending the money?

 

[Carl L]

Kinda make you wonder what insurance is for?!!  If everyone had insurance, would there be any need for government aid? 

Insurance works on the basis of pooled risk.  You can pool automobile risk but hurricanes (or quakes) are hard to pool.  Consider that Katrina decimated some 90,000 square miles.  That is almost as big as Great Britain.  Only something the size of the national government can pool the risk with an area of that size.  In California, the state government has been forced to create the pool for earthquake damage.  Private firms could not handle the risk.  The 1989 Loma Prieta and the 1994 Northridge pretty will tapped private resources.

As far as flood insurance goes, the feds run the pool and they have a policy of not reinsuring in flood plains after a flood.  They will move wiped out towns to high ground.  Of course in FL there aint much high ground.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Heard on Fox that the damage by the large hurricane that hit Florida a few years back (can't think of the name) ran over 54 billion in damage alone.  Add up the total damage for the last 10 years and I'm sure we are well over 100 B.

I believe that was Andrew you refer to. Total damages were around $25 billon, of which insurance covered a litle over half.  However, the US gov't did not pick up the tab for the entire other half - some people just lost out.  A billion dollars covers an awful lot of emergency disaster relief checks, FMA trailers and such.

Andrew was 1992 and Florida did not get hit real hard again until 2004, which was indeed a banner year. 2005 has [so far] caused almost no damage in Florida, but maybe Wilma will change that. It could be a nasty one.  Prior to Andrew, there had not been major hurricane damage in Florida since the bad seasons of the late 50's.

After Andrew, the Florida building codes were substantially modified to provide greater safey in winds over 120 mph. That's not the same as moving Florida's 16 milion people to Wyoming, but it is an attempt to deal with the realities of tropical storms.

 

[wilde]

Where I live places like New Orleans are called wetlands and you are not allowed to build on them. I think they should, if I have to pay for it, move New Orleans up to sea level. Its one thing to rebuild but constantly having to bail water from your streets is crazy!

 

[Carl L]

That's not the same as moving Florida's 16 milion people to Wyoming, but it is an attempt to deal with the realities of tropical storms.

Shoot Wyoming in common with its neighboring states has a weather phenomenon that kills more per capita population than any series of hurricanes since Galveston.  Happens every year.  It is called winter. 

 

[Ron]

Shoot Wyoming in common with its neighboring states has a weather phenomenon that kills more per capita population than any series of hurricanes since Galveston.  Happens every year.  It is called winter

I don't know where you got your statistics but they are wrong.  Why they kill probably  more people in California during execution of crimes than they do in Wyoming. the Dakotas, or Idaho form any other causes. ;D

 

[Carl L]

Why they kill probably? more people in California during execution of crimes than they do in Wyoming. ...

No doubt.? But remember I was talking per capita.?  Four people freezing to death in Wyoming on a per capita basis would beat the LA homicide rate, the San Francisco OD rate, and you could throw in the Palm Springs boredom rate for good measure.?  ;D

 

[Ron]

Four people freezing to death in Wyoming on a per capita basis would beat the LA homicide rate, the San Francisco OD rate, and you could throw in the Palm Springs boredom rate for good measure.

Maybe but just barely.  Besides I haven't heard of that many Wyoming residents freezing to death in years.  Maybe tourists from out of state that don't have the sense enough to carry supplies in case of being stranded when traveling winter conditions. Same goes for traveling in any state that is prone to snow closed roads.

 

[FX]

Carl - I'm not going to argue the point you made about the winters in Wyoming killing people, but it's not what I was originally talking about. 
So lets say 34 people in the surrounding states die this year due to the cold winter.  What does that cost the taxpayers?
Now on the other hand, look at katrina and what that is costing taxpayers.  Roads need to be rebuilt, unemployement for city/county/state workers, purchasing of trailers for these people to live in, food and supplies, cost for National Guard...and that doesn't even make a dent in the list.  And this whole thing could happen again next year. 
Look at it this way, if San Fransisco had earthquakes every year or so, and each one caused millions (or billions) of $$$ to taxpayers, would we keep rebuilding? 

 

[Ron]

Look at it this way, if San Fransisco had earthquakes every year or so, and each one caused millions (or billions) of $$$ to taxpayers, would we keep rebuilding? 

Unfortunately they probably would just like they do Florida.  However, we lived not too far from Rapid City So Dakota when city creek flooded for the first and last time but the government declared the properties along the creek a flood zone and as of the last time we were there a few years ago there has been no building in the declared flood zone.  New Orleans is a Flood zone why spend millions rebuilding there.