Bunko.T Loc: Western Australia.

It is amazing how we all become experts after the event. It happens after every bisaster.
After every tornado that rips through your country, "Tornado Alley" I believe you call it, the path of destruction left behind, of matchwood sticks, amazes me. When ppl interviewed say we'll rebuild, this won't drive me away!!!?
Has that part of America not heard of Bricks & Mortar.
We have a cyclone prone region in the north of our country, building regulation specify ratings of structure to withstand such forces. After such events, damage is generally restricted to external infrastructure.

CaptainBobBrown

There is a common misconception that the "one in x" years (days, weeks, months?) notion relates to probabilities of an event happening at any given time when it really is just a historic reference. i.e. under conditions of the past x intervals such an event happened 1 time as far as is known now. However, it doesn't really relate to current probabilities. The "1 in x" trope is often used to imply the severity of a forthcoming weather event but we've seen how people fail to respond. We've had lots of "1 in 100 year storms" in the last few years and many react: "Lived through the last one so I'll tough it out and live through this one too."... and then they don't. Consider how many more might have given serious thought and action in response to Harvey if instead of vague descriptions or even specific forecasts such as "50 inches of rain" the mayor of Houston had gotten on TV next to a mockup of a doorway with an average 10 year old child child standing in front of it and showed how far under water the child's head would be when the door way flooded with 50" of water.

htbrown Loc: San Francisco Bay Area

Many people living in flood-prone areas cannot afford to live anywhere else.

Mick_E_C

As Bob states, "one needs to keep the city gov't, developers, and lawyers in light of ...." It all begins with that triad. Houston is built on a flood plain, a "natural" repository for water to collect and disperse. Cover that with concrete, steel, and 6.4 million people (in the Metro area) and it seems reasonable -for the average 7th grader- that major problems -catastrophes- are surely in the making.

I believe much of Texas has little if any regulations regarding development, land-use, and in my opinion, common sense for the general population, especially when a small subset (see gov't, developers, lawyers) can make $$$$ from the lack of regulations and oversight.

As an example, in 2013, in West, Texas (a dozen miles north of Waco), an explosion occurred at a fertilizer plant. 15 killed, 160+ injured, most of the town leveled. The plant, last inspeced by OSHA in 1985, and -here's the absolute craziness that is bred with no or little regulations to invoke common sense over $$$$$, the freakin plant was next-door to a middle school and closeby was a 2-story apt. building. "Furthermore, according to The Dallas Morning News, Texas law allows fertilizer storage facilities to operate without any liability insurance at all, even when they store hazardous materials."

Indeed, hearts out to all in Houston and environs ... it certainly isn't their fault they suffer the plight they do now. However, it will be fascinating to watch the dance of the triad (gov't, developers, lawyers)

andesbill

What about the people who live in "tornado alley", or along earthquake fault lines? Or people who live in rural, areas where they can easily be cut off in a bad storm? Or in forested areas where fires are a persistent threat? Etc.
I'm for helping all Americans, and hope they help me when I need it.
I can't see stuffing us all in physically safe zones to save us from potential, threats-too PC for me.

SteveLew Loc: Sugar Land, TX

The greater Houston area is comprised of five counties. Two of these counties, Galveston and Brozoria are within 30 minutes of the Gulf of Mexico are more prone to have major issues when a Hurricane or Tropical storm hits the city of Galveston. These two counties probably have near a million people. The other three counties have other issues like rivers or reservoirs just like most of you at the Hog both in the US, Europe and other continents. This storm Harvey was a category 4 hurricane and hit 160 miles south of the greater Houston area in Rockport, Texas. This was the first category 4 hurricane to hit the Texas coast in over half a century.

So when you ask why don't people relocated or build in another area it is difficult for over seven million people to get out of harms way when you have major weather events.

whitewolfowner

First consider the intelligence level of this country. Now, need you ask this question? It's called insanity; keep doing the same thing and expecting different results.

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

You are not in a flood prone area until you flood. Then you move to one that is prone to tornados, then to a wildfire area. So tell me where do you end up living???

I was not in a flood prone area to our home took on water twice!!

Don

CaltechNerd Loc: Whittier, CA, USA

Actually, this is a common misconception and helps to explain why they live there. A rating of 1 in 800 flood means that in each year there is a 1/800 chance of that size flood. Houston had a 1 in 500 year flood just a few years ago. People assumed they were safe for 500 years. Wrong! And a 1 in 800 year flood could happen again next year, or even next month. Then there's the issue that the surface water in the Gulf of Mexico seems to be warmer every year that goes by. Warmer ocean surface temps mean that any given storm will pick up more water. Which is exactly what Harvey did. So as the Gulf surface temperatures continue to rise, 1 in 800 year floods will become quite commonplace. Flood frequency needs to be recalculated.

Sirsnapalot Loc: Hammond, Louisiana

Hurricane Harvey did not pick up any more water from the gulf than any other this time of year! The only difference is Harvey did not have steering currants to keep it moving when it came ashore, as most other hurricanes. Instead it remained stationary and acted as a huge pump dumping water on the same spots over and over.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

2003-06 we lived in a tiny town in the middle of Kansas. Shortly after we moved into the house, the bank informed us that federal bank regulators were requiring that we get flood insurance .... so we did. A year after we left the area, my wife and older daughter went back there for a wedding - the Arkansas River {pronounced Ar-Kansas there} had risen out of its banks, and of the four roads into town, three were blocked by flood waters. Our former house was dry, but ...

Lowrider Loc: Kennesaw, GA

Latest numbers are the Federal Flood Program, prior to Harvey, is $25 BILLION in debt. If this storm doesn't break the program then nothing can or will. Our politicians cant agree on anything except when it coms to giving money away and bailing out businesses and programs.