And every year at these times, we watch the governors of these flooded states clamor for a microphone and a camera to issue a declaration of a disaster area. In this way, the federal government will send floods of U.S. taxpayer dollars to them, so that they can pass out relief funds to those unfortunate souls stricken so severely in their time of need, as tears flow from their red eyes nearly as much as the river that caused these tears.
In Illinois in particular (my temporary state of residence, I have vowed not to die here), the floods along the Mississippi happen virtually every year. My first year in this area was 1993, and they tell me that the flooding that year was a 'one in 500 year event.' Now, only 23 years later, I am being told that this flood is a 'one in 500 year event.'
If this pattern holds up, we will be hearing in a few years about yet another 'one in 500 year event,' as those poor wretches along the Mississippi are standing hip deep in water in their living rooms.
I can't understand why people who build their homes in flood plains are upset when floods happen (in flood plains). They truly seem puzzled that their homes are suddenly full of water....again. I am guessing that the costs of this real estate are dirt cheap. And that it pays off in the long run to simply rebuild every 10 years or so when the river comes along and sweeps their belongings away.
Do not under any circumstances, however, expect even a tiny bit of sympathy from me for these fools. They are on the TV each and every year, tears running down their cheeks after their homes are destroyed by a flooding river. I am not buying it anymore. These tears are probably just part of their long term plans: build in flood plains on the cheap, get flooded out, and then stick your hand out as tears run down your face so that the governor can lay some money on you. I am not falling for that anymore.
News to people who build their homes in flood plains (namely along the Mississippi): your home will be flooded, either this year, or next year, or perhaps in 10 years. But it WILL flood. That's why they call the flood plain you built your home in a flood plain. IT FLOODS.
If you don't want to get your home flooded, don't build in flood plains.
Duh.
.jpg)
17 comments:
I too, have seen these same (or similar) roofs every couple of years, surrounded by brown water and pathetic people who claim that they never thought that the Mississippi would flood. It's not unlike the people in California who build in the forests which burn predictably or on stilts on hillsides, supported geologically unstable ground in the Hollywood Hills, that turns into mud.
It's not a 500 year flood in the Mississippi River flood plain. It's at best every 5 years. And any insurance underwriter who issues a policy is going to have his hat handed to him/her/it.
I feel the same way for people in the Middle East who live in a desert. It's been a desert for the past 5,000 years at least (Biblical history), and they can't raise enough food to feed themselves. Though this year, they're moving to Europe like locusts, so maybe their problem is solved.
Ageed.
It's a form of subsidized housing.
We wonder the same thing out here in Arizona where our floods are few and far between. The Phoenix airport is built on the river bed. One broken dam and no more airport. It doesn't make a lick of sense.
I was just having this conversation with my wife when I decided to search for "why do people build homes in the Mississippi flood plains" and stumbled into your blog.
It is simply ridiculous that the government reimburses these "victims" for their stupidity; over, and over, again. Given that the home is collateral for mortgages, it implies mortgage company underwriters account for government enablement within the risk assessment. Mortgage companies also require the home owners to purchase homeowners insurance. Which insurance companies cover these homes? Aside from watching the government borrow against the future earnings of my decedents, I certainly, I certainly do not want to purchase a homeowners policy which is included in this risk pool.
LL: I am also amazed at the people in LA who build their homes in what essentially is a fire place full of tinder. And then it catches fire, they are burnt out of their homes, and then someone sticks a camera in their tear stained face to get their tearful reaction. Yes, it's the same thing as building in a flood plain. Typically, though, these homes in the hills surrounding LA are much nicer than the trailers along the Mississippi.
Adrienne: Actually, dues paying, card carrying 'idiots' are smarter than those dufuses (dufi?) that build near that levee near Pigs Eye.
Ed: you see clearly this transfer of wealth, I see it clearly as such. Is everyone else just dumber than a bag of hammers? Are you and I the only ones with brains? Why does everyone continually put up with this idiocy?
(well, LL has brains, too).
Michael Haugen:
Yes, there is a conspiracy between the insurance companies, mortgage bankers and the U.S. government to overlook this obvious, reliably certain hazzard of building on flood plains. There can be no other conclusion.
And yet billions are transferred to these flooded out dopes every dang year. What's the deal, Michael? How do we opt out of this scam?
And you now have joined the four other guys that have stumbled onto this blog. And there's a few gals, too. One or two.
Euripides: the Phoenix airport authority knows that once the dam breaks, the feds will fly over the flooded area, drop zillions of tons of dollar bills on the area to soak up the moisture. If I'm lyin', I'm dyin.' So to speak.
Just like unmarried females with no means of support.. 2nd time you get squat. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero.
PS, people build or live in frequent flood zones because they Stoopid.
Kid: Yes, stoopid or dirt poor and have no Plan B. And when the water comes and washes away their lives, they know that the government will swoop in and lay greenbacks on them to rebuild.
Maybe they are not all that stoopid.
We all need water to survive.
Odie:
You got me there.
Why do "we" build levees at the edge of the river in draught years, and not on the edge of the river in flood years? Too much "wasted" land?
Guys fYI all flood insurance is underwritten by the federal Goverment.... and the premiums people pay for flood insurance no way cover the cost or expense of rebuilding ......
Post a Comment