[Coco] Eye of Ike approaching my home

[Frank Swygert]

Glad you got your power back! Good point about building codes, but they 
are nowhere near strict enough in coastal areas. I lived on Okinawa 
(Japan) for just under three years and weathered several typhoons bigger 
than that one. I recall one that took two hours just for the eye to pass 
over the island! Local shops opened up shortly after the winds stopped 
then closed when it started blowing again. How can they do that? The few 
big supermarkets didn't, just the many mom-n-pop markets in town. The 
buildings are nearly all poured concrete and have roll-up curtains over 
all the windows (like mini roll-up doors). They know they're going to 
get hit by 3-4 typhoons a year and build accordingly. Can't evacuate the 
island, even though it's "just" 463 square miles (15 miles at the widest 
point, 70 miles at the longest, but only 5 miles at the narrowest... 
roughly). Too far to go anywhere else! Never had a lot of damage when 
cat 4 hurricanes hit, mostly superficial. Almost all homes are poured 
concrete shells. It only makes sense, but the coastal towns on the US 
won't buckle down and demand permanent construction, would cost too 
much. A wood house is going to eventually blow away or be damaged beyond 
practical repair, and will suffer lots of damage in most heavy storms. A 
big one (cat 4-5) hits every 10 years, with a smaller cat 2-3 every 5 or 
less. the repair/replacement and insurance bills would more than make up 
the added cost! ---------- Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:17:14 -0500 From: 
Dave Kelly <daveekelly1 at embarqmail.com> Power came back on at 1:30. I 
don't know if the pictures that I saw in the Houston chronicle got up 
your way or not.

The town of  Gilcrest on the Bolivar point across the bay from
Galveston was wiped clean. Entire town nothing but slabs left.
EXCEPT for this one red and white new house looks as if it had been 
built after the  storm  passed thru.  A good example of building by the 
building codes.

Lots of people on the coast have lost land. The State of Texas has an 
open  beach law. Every thing from the natural grass line to the water is 
publicly owned. The wind and wave action in a storm of this magnitude 
can drastically alter the shore line. What was a house built on stilts 
and 200 feet from the waters edge and 150 behind the grass line may now 
be a set of stilts at the water line or even off shore a ways. Unless 
they have land behind the grass line they can not rebuild.

-- 
Frank Swygert
Publisher, "American Motors Cars" 
Magazine (AMC)
For all AMC enthusiasts
http://farna.home.att.net/AMC.html
(free download available!)