One of the great things about living in Miami is that you get a hurricane every few years to keep you on your toes. I was here for Andrew in 1992 and Irene in 1999. Now I can add Katrina to the list of stories for future generations. One of the things you learn about hurricanes is that you have to maintain a happy-go-lucky attitude or you end up crying.
Don’t underestimate the despair that people in the delta will be going through this week.
My primary memory from Andrew is the sound of the doors on the house I was huddled in shaking and rattling as if an elephant were trying to break them down. I had friends who went from room to room as the roof of each room was torn off by the wind. They ended up huddling in a closet with a mattress over themselves. Tens of thousands were left homeless and without power for months. Irene brought flood waters so high we literally had to get out of our house in a canoe.
Katrina was only a category one hurricane when it hit Miami on Thursday night. But of course we were expecting it to be a relatively minor tropical storm. Winds above 90 mph were recorded just a few blocks from my house.
My family is fine: we suffered roof damage and lost some trees. We were without power for a day. Overall, no big deal.
But there are still hundreds of thousands in the Miami area without power. To get an idea of how uncomfortable this is, imagine going to sleep every night in a sauna. You don’t sleep. You toss and turn in a pool of sweat. Your kids are cranky and unhappy and bored. There is nothing cold in the house because your refrigerator stopped working five days ago. No milk, no ice, no cheese, no fruits and vegetables (a lot of the food that is left is covered with fruit flies, mold and worms). There is no garbage pickup because all garbage trucks are busy elsewhere, so your front yard is filled with rotting rubbish.
You would go shopping, but most of the grocery stores are closed. You would get gas for your car but most of the gas stations are closed.
And think about the bugs. You have to leave the windows open so you can get a breeze, but of course many air-conditioned homes don’t have screens. Your house fills with mosquitoes, cockroaches and flies.
So, you basically sit around your house trying to find the energy to clean up the garbage around you. Forget about going to work. Your work is finding food and/or ice for your family or gas for your car.
The situation for people in the delta will be hundreds of times worse. Katrina is a category 4 hurricane, which is the same as Andrew. Count on massive destruction.
So, what can you do to help?
1. Pray
2. Pay your tithing. The Church is usually one of the first humanitarian groups to respond. The Church has 18-wheelers filled with relief supplies that are on their way to New Orleans as you read this. The assistance goes directly to the people who need it.
3. Think about volunteering your time for hurricane cleanup in the delta in the weeks ahead. It is difficult to overestimate how much this is appreciated by the people sitting in what used to be their homes surrounded by garbage. The Church organizes parties of people who travel to areas affected by hurricanes. Last year I volunteered for cleanup after the hurricanes in Florida and it was very worthwhile. Bring your chainsaws and camping equipment. And your bug spray.
Pay tithing? Don’t you mean fast offering?
Rusty: agreed. Pay both.
A somewhat related question for Geoff:
I’m interested the mentality of those who live in “Hurricane Alley” along the Gulf coast. A big hurricane blows through there every few years, completely devastating the region, and yet people continue to rebuild time after time.
I suppose it wouldn’t bother me so much (people can live wherever they want, AFAIC) except that the rebuilding is always done with federal money extracted from U.S. taxpayers, most of whom don’t live in the area. Should we not require people who live in the coastal South to get their own insurance to cover such losses?
I fully disclose that I live in Southern California, and that “the Big One” could hit at any moment. But I have done what I think is the right thing and obtained earthquake insurance. If/when the Big One hits, much of my loss is covered. But I have no doubt that FEMA will be rolling in, handing out money, and I will probably be in line for some of it.
I’m interested in the propriety of the current situation, though: I have no problem with the government stepping in to help people who have been affected by natural disasters. I do have a problem when they act as enablers for people to continually rebuild in the face certain future recurrence.
Mike, you may be interested to know that it is virtually impossible to get windstorm or flood insurance in some areas of Florida, especially where I live. The only insurance available is a state-run insurance company that has horrible service, high rates and makes it nearly impossible to process claims. So, many people go without insurance because the alternative (state insurance) is sub-standard.
Having said that, it’s also worth recognizing the following:
–Hurricanes can hit probably one-third of the land mass of the United States, everywhere from Texas up to New Jersey and Hawaii (although certain states like Florida are statistically much more likely to be hit by a hurricane than others such as New Jersey).
–Tornadoes, blizzards, hail, earthquakes — all covered by FEMA — strike elsewhere.
–I’m opposed to a lot of federal government spending, but FEMA may be one area of funding I support. I don’t know how you deny people money when they’ve lost everything. Do you only give it to them if they move to North Dakota (and then they get caught in a nasty blizzard)?
But at the same time I sympathize with your concern. It is certainly frustrating to see all of the barrier island building that takes place even when hurricanes hit every few years. It’s a real dilemma.
A related question: Why do people live on land that is below the ocean and only prevented from being flooded by an elaborate system of dikes, levees and pumps?
Historic reasons and because there hasn’t been a massive hurricane hit them. I taught the head of disaster planning for Louisiana on my mission. His answer to what would happen if a cat 4 or cat 5 hurricane directly hits New Orleans: everyone dies.
There are only two roads out of New Orleans. One goes through a swamp for miles and the other goes across a large lake for many miles.
Not an idea situation.
It’s bound to happen eventually. And when it does tens of thousands will die. Needlessly because people just ought not be living below sea level in between an ocean, a swamp and a large lake in hurricane country.
Boy, my heart goes out to you and your fellow citizens of the south. Oh, I feel so bad for all of you.
We’ll add to our donations this month.
Clark: Exactly. Which is why I want to know where the firestorm of controversy is? Frankly, these folks lucked out because the Hurricane shifted…slightly, at the last minute. The city is still basically destroyed via flooding.
Of course, everything will be rebuilt and now they will wait for the next hurricane to kills thousands.
Where is the outrage? The whole city out to be condemned as unfit for habitation.
Geoff: I’m opposed to a lot of federal government spending, but FEMA may be one area of funding I support. I don’t know how you deny people money when they’ve lost everything. Do you only give it to them if they move to North Dakota (and then they get caught in a nasty blizzard)?
It’s not government aid to victims of disaster that I question, it’s government aid to victims of the same recurring disaster who insist on rebuilding in the same spot. When do we get to the point where we say, “Look, you live in an area that’s been wiped out by three major hurricanes in the last twelve years, so we’re not going to give you any more money”?
Why can’t people get private storm insurance in Florida? Because private insurers know that it’s a bad idea to provide such insurance in the face of the certainty of major claims in the near future. (FWIW, the same is true of earthquake insurance in California — it’s only available through a state-run program, is very expensive, and has a high deductible and a low maximum insurable amount.)
I don’t know what the answer is … or if there is an answer. Maybe a “three strikes and you’re out” policy for FEMA claims?
Lyle and Mike, I understand your frustration. I don’t see a scenario where any government steps in and tells people they can’t live on land they’ve bought. But maybe it will happen. Personally, I believe that many Atlantic barrier island areas should be declared government parks. Those are the areas that are most affected by hurricanes. But keep in mind that barrier islands hold literally millions of people — the city of Miami Beach, for example, is on one. It’s only a matter of time until the entire city is destroyed by a hurricane.
It’s worth pointing out that FEMA is changing its policies in South Florida because of fraud last year. FEMA will give money to local governments but not individuals for now.
Mike: I like your three strikes idea.
Geoff: Giving money to local governments will probably only result in _less_ money being received by those needing it. Fraud probably losses some money; but not as much as government regulation.
I guess it boils down to this:
Do the folks in Barrier Islands and New Orleans pay taxes for the dikes, levees, pumps, etc. that keep their land above water? I really have no knowledge of barrier islands. Point being: if they aren’t paying for the infrastructure that makes the land they bought usable…they shouldn’t have it. Period.
Also, seems like a classic public use of eminent domain to me.
Geoff: I don’t see a scenario where any government steps in and tells people they can’t live on land they’ve bought.
I’m not proposing that. I am proposing that people who own land should be responsible themselves for recurring weather-related damage to that land.
If you live in a place where there is a mathematical certainty that a natural disaster will strike repeatedly over the course of your ownership, then you should accept that fact and find ways to mitigate your loss through insurance. If the insurance is too expensive, that’s probably a good indicator that you’ve bought land in the wrong place and that the government is not going to bail you out just because you happen to live there.
Lyle, Mike, I love it. You guys have created your own little corner of basic common sense on the internet. It’s a beautiful thing. Not that anybody is going to listen to you…
You also may be interested in this article on the supposed links between global warming and hurricanes.
Money graph:
Oddly, North Dakota has a serious flood problem–the Red River overflows every few years, and floods cities and croplands, which then results in (surprise!) FEMA stepping in…Grand Forks flooded in 1997 and the city has yet to fully recover. But there are now flood control measures in place to protect the city, built by the Army Corps of Engineers.
My feelings about
government-fundedtaxpayer-funded disaster relief aside, I’ve been following the news from Louisiana, and my heart goes out to those affected by the hurricane. This is certainly one of the worst—perhaps the worst—natural disasters in U.S. history. We should all give generously this coming fast Sunday.I’m pretty sure FEMA has bought out homeowners along the Mississippi and turned their land into parks for just this very reason. I can’t find a reference for it, but I remember seeing it on the news and also saw someone else mention in on /. today. They’re also having the (rebuilding in a hurricane prone area = not smart) discussion.
If you want to donate money to folks affected by the hurricane, give money to a charity that you can direct where the money goes and gives you an accounting of how the money was spent…like the Red Cross. Both tithing and fast offerings offer neither of these two common-sense checks.