This one is for Texas --IKE

[txdon]

Redneckford, No, only those who do not have the ability to care for them selves or call for help. Those who make the decision to stay after they are told they will face certain death are different, Bird was talking about those who "do not have the ability".

 

[Bird]

Bird, here is where the problem lies.

Where a person decides to live is an important decision. Their first concern should be safety according to their abilities.

I'll agree with the idea, but the part of the country a person lives in is frequently decided by (1) where that person was born, (2) where that person's family lives, or (3) where that person can find employment.

If a person cannot walk down a flight of stairs he should not live in a high rise building.

I agree, but we're assuming that other affordable housing is available, and as you know, assumptions are not always correct.

If a person cannot drive (or have the mental ability to call for help before) out of an area that may be evacuated several times a year they should think of moving to assisted living, before they die or cause the death of first responders.

Have you priced any of the assisted living options available? The idea sounds good, but the reality is that it's far too expensive for a lot of people. Conditions are very good in some of those facilities and very bad in others.

For the hurricane party dudes, under mandatory evacuation , they should reimburse the state for their rescue.

Yes, they should have to do that.

This may sound harsh but if people don't do it on their own ......well, you know what happened with seat belts.

I decided to see how it would look to respond in the quote.

 

[tallyho8]

I wish all the people in the devastated areas the best of luck in repairing or rebuilding and getting on with their lives. I am very concerned that now you will face one of the worst scenarios that we had to face in Southeast Louisiana when the insurance companies decided to pack their bags and move out of town.

If your insurance companies drop your policies like they did ours then many people will not be able to afford to rebuild or to live in those areas anymore because many insurance rates that were only about $800 a year for a medium priced home will rise to $8000 to $15,000 a year like they did here.

Houston is a much larger and much more politically powerful city than New Orleans is and I don't believe that the people there will put up with the insurance companies moving out and letting the city's economy stifle due to people not being able to rebuild. This may result in a federal windstorm insurance policy being enacted similar to the federal flood insurance program that will allow people to buy affordable insurance and rebuild and stay.

I know there are many who are against any type of federal intervention however I see no other means to end our insurance crisis.

 

[Bird]

Houston is a much larger and much more politically powerful city than New Orleans is and I don't believe that the people there will put up with the insurance companies moving out

I don't have the statistics to either prove or disprove it, but everything I've seen in the news indicated that Texans are already paying the highest homeowner insurance rates in the country. As to what they'll do in the future . . ., I don't even have a guess.

 

[redneckford]

Thanks Bird---For your straight foreward answer to the post in a post!!!!

 

[MossRoad]

SO we just move 1/3 of the population of southwest Louisiana and East Texas to Dallas into assisted living housing---what a great life----I would rather Die trying----Than have some rich kid tell me how to live----If all those rich non tax paying folks(Vacation Homes) would get off the road we could leave before the storm and return after it----its all those people that are entitled because they got a high paying job----I know that is the capitalist system---but you can help those folks on wall street but cause I lost some cows it is just tuff luck---Take your 401k loss like a grown person and go on!!!!!! If you don't grow it or make it, you are living off someone else period!!!!! That includes insurance agents and lawyers!!!!!! Doctors,nurses and teachers are a different story!!!!!!

Penalty for overuse of punctuation!

Please tone it down a bit.

 

[txdon]

I decided to see how it would look to respond in the quote.

Bird that was really neat the way you did the quote inside the quote answer.

I guess when I think of a person that does not have the ability to call for a free ride to a safe area, OR DIE, that person should not be living alone.

The person that does not have the ability to evacuate would not be employed, for example an invalid that cannot use a phone.

If this is the house he was born in and he is at a point in his life when he cannot evacuate it will probably be the house he dies in sooner or later depending on the height of the surge.

I guess I'm confused? I was hearing on Austin News that if someone could not make it to the evacuation busses in Galveston call the city and they would come and get you. What type of person were you referring to that did not have the ability to evacuate?

 

[Bird]

I guess I'm confused? I was hearing on Austin News that if someone could not make it to the evacuation busses in Galveston call the city and they would come and get you. What type of person were you referring to that did not have the ability to evacuate?

Don, maybe I'm wrong in my thinking. Yes, in a life or death situation, you just go (or should). But put yourself in their position. Would you be willing to leave everything you own and worked for to get on a bus to go to a destination you are entirely unfamiliar with (don't even know what that destination will be) and have no idea what you're going to do when you get there, or when, or how you'll get back. How will you decide what to take with you and what to leave?

Of course, the ones I was thinking of that did not have the ability to evacuate are those without their own reliable transportation, the money for motels and restaurants, or friends or family in a safe place they could go visit. Yep, they had the ability to get on one of those busses. And in this day and age, we assume (there's that pesky word again) that they all have TVs and watch the news, etc.; i.e., that they actually did receive the warnings. But I don't know that to be the case.

There's also another small problem for which I have no solution. I believe (might be wrong again) that our weather forecasters usually (not all the time) forecast worse conditions than actually occur. That seems understandable to me. If a real disaster occurs that they did not forecast, they'll be severely criticized, so they have to do that. But of course, one result of that is the old story of crying wolf too often. I suspect that people often don't really believe it's going to be as bad as the forecast. In many cases, they're right, but when they're wrong . . . well, we have the situation that we're seeing now.

But as you know, there will always be people willing to run risks that some others think (whether right or wrong) are foolish. To me (but obviously not to some others) the so called "mountain climbers" are lunatics, and when they have to be rescued, I think they should pay the full cost of that service, just as I think those who stayed to party during a hurricane should pay any costs associated with their rescue.

On the other hand, if I'd stayed there, I might have wanted to be drunk, too. Sure wouldn't want to go through a hurricane sober.

 

[txdon]

Thanks Bird for the explanation.

Mike when your forecasters took to the field did they also survey the people on the reliance of the forecast?

The term "Mandatory Evacuation" needs to be changed since it's apparently not mandatory.

 

[RobJ]

SO we just move 1/3 of the population of southwest Louisiana and East Texas to Dallas into assisted living housing---what a great life----I would rather Die trying----Than have some rich kid tell me how to live----If all those rich non tax paying folks(Vacation Homes) would get off the road we could leave before the storm and return after it----its all those people that are entitled because they got a high paying job----I know that is the capitalist system---but you can help those folks on wall street but cause I lost some cows it is just tuff luck---Take your 401k loss like a grown person and go on!!!!!! If you don't grow it or make it, you are living off someone else period!!!!! That includes insurance agents and lawyers!!!!!! Doctors,nurses and teachers are a different story!!!!!!

WOW!! On that last sentence...well maybe 2 out of 3 huh.

 

[RobJ]

I don't have the statistics to either prove or disprove it, but everything I've seen in the news indicated that Texans are already paying the highest homeowner insurance rates in the country. As to what they'll do in the future . . ., I don't even have a guess.

Correct Bird. Several places around Houston the feds have stopped writing flood insurance. No more building in some cases, bought out homes, or you are on your own.

And yes we have the highest homeowners rates in the country(if not the highest). We also pay more for power than about all of the country.

 

[RobJ]

Also remember hindsight is 20/20.

 

[MossRoad]

...

There's also another small problem for which I have no solution. I believe (might be wrong again) that our weather forecasters usually (not all the time) forecast worse conditions than actually occur. That seems understandable to me. If a real disaster occurs that they did not forecast, they'll be severely criticized, so they have to do that. But of course, one result of that is the old story of crying wolf too often. I suspect that people often don't really believe it's going to be as bad as the forecast....

My wife does not believe the weather forecasters any more. Even when we have heavy thunder storms and tornado warnings, she is reluctant to go down to the basement because we never have any damage. Only one branch off of a tree in 12 years here. She's heard the hype so many times that she just doesn't believe them any more. I make her go with me and the kids to the basement when it starts getting close. One time all the pipes in the basement lit up with sparks from a lightning strike. I'd feel pretty foolish if I had the advanced warning and failed to take action in any emergency situation, but you are on to something about them hyping the situation too often to the point that the public does not believe them any more.

 

[RobJ]

here is another lucky Texas insurance bonus. The deductable on my insurance goes from 1% of coverage to 2% for any "named" storm. I don't want to name anymore hurricanes. We'll call them, that one, it, or the other one.

 

[tallyho8]

here is another lucky Texas insurance bonus. The deductable on my insurance goes from 1% of coverage to 2% for any "named" storm. I don't want to name anymore hurricanes. We'll call them, that one, it, or the other one.

I think that you have discovered the answer to our insurance crisis!

If anyone has lost any livestock in the hurricane this info might help: The USDA Farm Service Agency has a Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) available to compensate producers for lost livestock. To participate, producers may be asked for verifiable records or certifications. The USDA Farm Service Agency may be reached at 1-866-680-6069 for more information.

 

[redneckford]

Thanks Guys----weather man is the only job i know that you can be wrong 60% of time,stay in business and get a weekly pay check!!!!! 30% chance of rain and it hadn't rained in two months----how can you believe 'em

 

[Bird]

Thanks Guys----weather man is the only job i know that you can be wrong 60% of time,stay in business and get a weekly pay check!!!!! 30% chance of rain and it hadn't rained in two months----how can you believe 'em

It's not an exact science, but it's sure better than what they had when the hurricance hit Galveston in 1900, isn't it? And a 30% chance of rain? That's still better than a 2 to 1 chance that it won't rain, so they were right, weren't they?

 

[RobertN]

Since I am active in volunteer Fire out here, wondered if any of you in Texas know how the local, Galveston, Houston etc, fire stations/apparatus made it through everything? Did they evacuate engine companies to minimze the impact and then send them back in post storm?

 

[firedog]

Since I am active in volunteer Fire out here, wondered if any of you in Texas know how the local, Galveston, Houston etc, fire stations/apparatus made it through everything? Did they evacuate engine companies to minimze the impact and then send them back in post storm?

Not sure about any of the smaller volunteer depts in the area, but as far as I know Houston & Galveston sheltered in place. I have not heard of any damage other than somebody broke into the local VFD here and stole two generators.

sidenote: Galveston's EOC was setup in a hotel that was built on top of some old WWII big gun bunkers. I believe a substantial portion of their responders were housed there.

 

[RobJ]

Power is a beautiful thing. They were working on a main line near our house, when it went hot most of us got power. Luckly the breaker off the main dod not pop during the storm. If it had we would be SOL. This crew was not doing house to house. We cleared a tree on the line near our house, thank goodness. Our zip code is not set to get power back until after Thursday. Still a couple streets up and down that do not have power.


Rob