Fodder for Hurricanes

I was at Galveston, the erstwhile primary port of Texas until a hurricane in 1900 delivered a deathblow that the town never recovered from. Of course, I relished the fresh sea food from one of the many restaurants on the seawall or the historic district. But as I drove westwards on the road along seawall, I noticed this new development bang on the seashore.

The brightly-painted houses stood out prominently but notice the high stilts they are on. Probably built to withstand the storm surge that a hurricane brings in its wake. But the important question is, would it be able to withstand the 100+ winds that a Cat 4 or 5 hurricane blows on the land. Galveston evaded Hurricane Rita last season but the next one might be around the corner. But then some people never learn.

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Tweet This“Fodder for Hurricanes” [Short URL: http://www.ipatrix.com/?p=1759] was published Sunday, December 3rd, 2006 at 3:51 pm by Patrix, filed under Environment, Mother Nature, Sustainability, Travel, United States, and tagged as , , , , , , , , , . Both comments and linkbacks are closed.

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  • Amit

    Are you sure its not an investment? Do people get compensated by the government if their house is blown away by hurricane.

  • http://twilightfairy.rediffblogs.com Twilight Fairy

    P, at times I miss the patrix from rediff.. his posts were personal at times too :p :p :p.

  • http://blogita.blogspot.com sqrlta

    P, did you know me when I was a rediffer?

  • http://ipatrix.com Patrix

    Amit, it might be an investment; most likely is. But the fact that the insurance is subsidized [and regulated] by the government thus not letting the market decide that such properties are virtually un-insurable. Also, note the materials of the buildings; absolutely no mitigation measures adopted.

    Twilight, so you mean my posts are no longer personal? I mean the recent ones?

    Sqrl, actually nope. Did you? What was your nick?

  • http://twilightfairy.rediffblogs.com Twilight Fairy

    haan :p

  • http://ipatrix.com Patrix

    Twilight, hmmm…trying to change that :) But not so easy when trying not to give away too much, random news and opinion rants are easier to write.

  • http://blogita.blogspot.com sqrlnt

    I used to be ‘shweta rao’ dont know where i got that name from. I remember your typepad blog (early 04 se..).. cant remember rediff

  • http://ipatrix.com Patrix

    Sqrl, shweta rao? Why the fetish to be a Southie? Isn’t being Maharashtrian perfect enough for you? Or was it something like Bajirao? Heh. But sorry, I don’t recall that Rao.

  • http://a.blogs.com a

    sorry to spam

  • http://bvndiaries.blogspot.com/ bvn

    Me too was at Galveston the week before :-) what a lousy place ..hehe
    people are ready to pay the high insurance and build houses right by the sea side….364 days of the year you wake up hearing the waves and one day wilma comes :)
    then…civilization is still there in florida


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