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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.
Technorati Tags: hurricane, seaside construction, Galveston, Texas
by Patrix | on Sunday, December 3rd, 2006 at 3:51 pm | 
Environment, Mother Nature, Sustainability, Travel, United States . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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December 6th, 2006 at 8:41 pm reply
Are you sure its not an investment? Do people get compensated by the government if their house is blown away by hurricane.
December 9th, 2006 at 6:46 am reply
P, at times I miss the patrix from rediff.. his posts were personal at times too :p :p :p.
December 9th, 2006 at 5:41 pm reply
P, did you know me when I was a rediffer?
December 10th, 2006 at 4:06 pm reply
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?
December 10th, 2006 at 11:46 pm reply
haan :p
December 11th, 2006 at 9:39 am reply
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.
December 11th, 2006 at 9:58 am reply
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
December 11th, 2006 at 10:00 am reply
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.
December 11th, 2006 at 10:03 am reply
sorry to spam
December 11th, 2006 at 1:22 pm reply
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