The desire and greed of land developers over the decades and even the centuries have caused people to build in areas they should not build homes and businesses. Many towns and cities were built on flood plains which flooded every spring until they were protected by levees. When the levees break they blame the governments and plead for financial help to rebuild time after time. FEMA got tired of rebuilding a small town on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River and rebuilt on the bluff where it cannot flood.

            Hurricane Ian just hit North Carolina wrecking houses and businesses on the coast. It hit at high tide so the surge went inland and into homes and stores. A sculpted levee would have absorbed the surge and kept out the flooding. Why no levee? It would end the ground floor views of the ocean. We know the Atlantic is raising and floods will be common with future tides. The rise is the result of glacial melting and the expansion of warming water but developers insisted a law be passed in North Carolina and Florida making it illegal to consider that event in any way.

            Ian just destroyed much of Florida and the Governor and President say money will be available to rebuild again. Flood maps say do not build here but owners get expensive insurance from governments and keep rebuilding. By definition building on a barrier island is stupid but Florida developers were allowed to put thousands of people in danger.

People build towns over and over in fire prone areas in California and other Western states. Governments pay out billions of tax dollars over and over. The ultimate lunacy is New Orleans which is protected by levees because it is below the Mississippi River and sea level. Some structures were abandoned after Katrina hit but rebuilding is starting again. Flood insurance should require hatches and boats on the roof for use during floods.

            Hurricane Ian brings up several questions that won’t be answered or adjustments made. Greed and politics will win out over commonsense and the lives of people.

            Most of the people who died and most of the homes destroyed were mobile homes. In most states mobile homes must be anchored to the pad so it will not blow over. I noticed many of the mobile homes in Fort Meyers were either not anchored strongly enough or not at all. Some rolled over and over while others were blown apart. The first question is, should zoning restrict mobile homes from coastal areas in Florida and other Gulf states? The Fort Meyers homes were older. Some appeared to be decades old. New ones can cost as much as a hundred thousand or more. Closing parks and keeping them off a private lot would be a legal nightmare and probably political suicide.

            Another question is, should FEMA and other agencies continue to pay for storm damage over and over. Barrier Islands are called that for a reason, so why were a few thousands apartments, condos, houses, and hotels allowed to be built on them. New Orleans is a bowl lower than the Mississippi River and sea level. Why should we keep footing the bill every time these areas are hit by a hurricane?

            Global warming is making the Atlantic, Caribbean and the Gulf warmer. This makes hurricanes stronger. Harvey and Ian dumped 20 – 50 inches of rain causing historic floods. Category 4 and 5 winds are said to occur once in a thousand years but those are becoming common because of the warm water. Ian was over 88 degree water when it hit Fort Meyers.

            Another question is, why can’t we spend billions on protection of reduced population coastal communities and not on replacing damaged homes?