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["Andrew Kester, P.E." <akester(--nospam--at)cfl.rr.com>]

Well Bill, at least nobody can blame the destruction from Ike on a government conspiracy. Last I checked there is no alternative to forming a hurricane other than hot dry air coming off the Sahara and moving out over open and warm water in the Atlantic….

 

The other thing that bothers me about storm and earthquake coverage (and my list is long), and I don’t mean using the term cement instead of concrete, is they act like these things are just acts of God and we can do nothing about it. This is a pre-enlightenment view of the world around us that is ridiculous. How about we can build homes and buildings to withstand ANY hurricane, it comes down to MONEY. We have built facilities that can withstand a nuclear strike, pretty sure we can do something about 110mph winds… And it seems for a long time codes and enforcement of codes were limited by money, until insurance companies started trying to minimize their risk (money), and fought against builders who would prefer the old way (money).

 

I have seen our insurance industry in Florida change to minimize their risk, they now offer discounts if your home is newer (conforming to newer codes);  and you can have an engineer/architect/GC fill out a survey form of your house and get discounts for your roof type, connections, lack of gable or proper gable bracing, storm shudders, etc.

 

They can design and build oil rigs to sit in the middle of the ocean. The big high rise hotels, commercial buildings, bridges, etc. probably came through with little structural damage unless they were right on the beach (my experience from Katrina and hurricanes in FL also). But stick frame houses on the beach, who would have guessed they would not survive? It is too bad the average person assumes if something was built with plans and a permit, it must be built properly.

 

Andrew Kester, PE