So, aren't hurricane susceptible areas like "pre-existing conditions"?
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For those of you who are adamant about not having pre-existing conditions covered by health insurance, are you also up in arms about people who build in areas that are susceptible to hurricanes like the Gulf or eastern coasts if the larger pool (i.e. rest of the nation) invariably winds up footing the bill for disaster recovery?
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Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: good at drinking water
It is my understanding that
It is my understanding that the developments exacerbating the flooding did not neccessarily flood...instead the runoff that used to soak into the ground in those areas now runs off into the creeks and bayous, making other, older areas flood more.
So that seems to me to be a failure of regional zoning.
Houston is proud of its total lack of zoning, but a lot of that development is in areas outside of Houston.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Alias
It really starts with the
It really starts with the fact that it rained like holy jesus for days and days and much of houston is a swamp. Absolutely the zoning and poor urban planning contributed, but it should really be considered as "things people should consider in urban planning" rather than suggesting that this would not have happened but for the poor planning. It would have been a disaster no matter what. So, learn from all this how to build better, how to drain better, how to plan better, but don't say it was all your fault because you had insufficient regulation.
Yes, living in swamps is a pre-existing condition. I think that the good people of Colorado understand this and are trying to encourage 5 million broke ass texans to move there.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Ken D.
I was shocked to hear Houston
I was shocked to hear Houston has no zoning. Really? Let people build anything anywhere and fucked up shit is going to happen.
But its a good question about whether federally subsidized insurance should be available for people who build in shitty locations and keep rebuilding every time mother nature does her business. Perhaps they should jack the rates each time the place floods out until it becomes prohibitively expensive. It might also encourage state and local governments to take climate change more seriously and start planning for rising seas and more and more extreme weather events.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: skifurthur
I see a major difference
I see a major difference between the two.
One can choose to live in areas that don't flood, etc.
One does not choose to get health issues.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: good at drinking water
backing up botb: https://www
backing up botb (my point too, as I read more of it): https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/08/31/zoning-saved-ho...
(link is a bit misleading, headline is "Zoning would not have saved Houston"
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: El Nino
Water Knife is a good near
Water Knife is a good near fiction book that deals with this topic. Of course we are willing to help this year, but how much are we going to be willing to help in ten years after the eighth flood like this. It will be interesting to see how the US deals with 11 million refugees from Texas.
http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-paolo-bacigalupi-201505...
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Briank
I live in a flood zone and I
I live in a flood zone and I pay dearly for the insurance to cover my pre-existing condition. It is what it is.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Johnny D
^This.
^This.
Earthquake insurance is prohibitively expensive in Bay Area, CA. So, you'd better hope that your collapsed home burns down after the Big ONE.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Highnote
Insurance savvy
Insurance savvy
When you don't have flood insurance, but you do have fire insurance
https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/6xl6u4/when_you_dont_have_flood_i...
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Briank
My neighbors and I all joked
My neighbors and I all joked that if it happens again, someone needs to light a match. Flood insurance doesn't cover any belongings, while fire insurance covers it all.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mark
I live next to a river in a
I live next to a river in a 100 year flood plain ... When I bought the house 15 years ago , the (mandatory w/a mortgage) flood insurance was around $800.00 . This year it's around $2800.00 , and has to be paid in one lump sum - which for me is in a couple weeks and it's a big hit .
As it's federal insurance , it doesn't matter where the property is regionally . I'll be paying a lot more next year I'm sure ...
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Briank
That's the way it goes, Mark.
That's the way it goes, Mark. They are phasing out the subsidized NFIP plans because the system is broke. Rates will go up every year, up to 25%, until they hit unsubsidized rates.
There's some weird shit around that. For instance, if you sell your house and there's NFIP, the rates can immediately jump 50%. The way around is for the buyers to pick up the Plan in their name as soon as they go under contract, and for some reason they don't get the huge hit.
If there's a house that didn't have NFIP (no mortgage) and it sells to someone with a mortgage, they jump in at the unsubsidized rates. A house down the road from me sold a few months ago, and their NFIP is around $7,000.