[StBernard] why rebuild

[Westley Annis]

DDK,
 
  Louisiana has always been the red headed stepchild of the South. Please,
the Santa Ana winds onl destroyed 3500 homes...there were 3500 homes, or
more, in just Violet. Fire is a "covered" peril that they couldn't get out
of, flood is something they could duck and hide.

Wendy


-----Original Message-----
Remember the months of controversy about whether or not to allow residents
to rebuild New Orleans east and Broadmoor and Lakeview and St. Bernard?
Yet, while I was in San Diego in November soon after their fires, the local
people who had their homes burned to the slabs looked quite confused when I
asked if FEMA or anyone else questioned the wisdom of building again in the
canyons where the Santa Ana winds blow so hard each year that the power
lines break and start fires.  And now, some insurance companies doing
business there announce (see today's T-P) that they will pay not only for
them to rebuild, but will exceed their policy limits if they rebuild
"green." Tell me how having solar panels or straw insulation in the walls
and bamboo floors lowers the insurance risk for fire to the insurance
companies. It doesn't. It is a publicity stunt to show that they will pay in
excess of the claim to give people the opportunity to rebuild in an
environmentally friendly way. That's really nice, because in CA people are
very concerned about the environment and it makes for good business to
support what the customers want. Here, we have to fight for every dollar for
legitimate damages and we have to endure high deductibles if it was caused
by a hurricane.  I'd like to see the probability of a wildfire destroying a
San Diego area house in the canyons compared to a Chalmette home being
flooded with 12 feet of water. Did anyone hear about Louisiana insurance
companies who did pay off on a homeowner's policy offering  paying more so
they could have solar panels, tankless water heaters, and the like? 
Also, I was in Baltimore last week and they have a historic neighborhood
near the harbor with cobbled streets and buildings that are like an Early
American version of the French Quarter. Hurricane Ivan in 1993 brought in a
tide surge that flooded Fells  Point about 6 to 8 feet. You would  never
know it today if not for a plaque with pictures of the flood. Again, no one
talked about returning this area of Baltimore to the sea, although it could
happen again since there is no floodwall or levee of any kind, even now,and
no one dared require that they elevated these buildings. ddk