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And the owner of that house has probably been looking down his nose at all those New Orleans residents because they stupidly buy houses below sea level.

Rick "the biter bit" Denney

Happens all the time on this coast.

A house can get built on a hillside (I know the hillside in question--Bridgeview is a pretty major drag)--and nothing happens for decades. Then new development moves in, trees and vegetation get removed and then a really wet year that seems to happen every 20 years or so and roads, houses, you name it, come sliding down.

Building on a 30% grade seems to be no special thing, even in an area where the soil geology is uncertain. Eh, the next big shaker would've probably taken the house anyway.

At least my tax dollars won't have to rebuild this one!

I don't know just how "risky" this is -- after all, this is one house out of how many built in similar locations? Besides, all houses come with certain inherent risks. I know of a fellow who's moving into a house built entirely of a material that's flammable, vulnerable to insects, and prone to swelling and shrinking with the seasons!

Besides, I don't care if people want to do risky or foolish stuff with their own money.
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Joe Baker, who lives in a place where just about every house is built on a steep grade, and drives a car with no airbags or shoulder belts and a metal dash.

Rick Denney wrote:And the owner of that house has probably been looking down his nose at all those New Orleans residents because they stupidly buy houses below sea level.

The big difference, of course, Rick is that this fellow didn't have Federal Disaster aid or Federally-underwritten flood insurance to bail him out. It seems when those are present, people continue to stupidly build in the paths of hurricaines, below sea level, on offshore atolls only a few feet above sea level and in the path of wildfires.

Nor have I heard of a Federally-subsidized plan for the Army Corps of Engineers to come and stabilize the Marin Headlands.

The people who built this house where he did took a gamble and lost. I hope their (non-Federally-subsidized) insurance covered it.

what is everyone complaining about? It looks like he just lost a bench or maybe a porch down the hill.

Seriously though, people do really stupid things when building houses and putting up developments. Around here in western Minnesota, the thing to do is build on flood planes. Since the ground is relatively flat, Rivers overflow their banks and wet the feet of houses and their owners pretty much every year. (I remember two or three bad floods in the last five years I think) Now I could understand living somewhere the river floods every 20 or fifty years, but in places surrounding Fargo, ND you are just asking for it. The odds are way too high, and if I was an insurance company, I sure as heck would NOT give those people insurance. What makes this area good farmland also makes this area good floodland. That I believe is also why the soil is so rich.

Why do people act so damn surprised when the water laps at their doorsteps??? Then they cry and say that no one saw it coming, and say "why god, why?" CAUSE AND EFFECT!!!!! grr.

adam0408 wrote:...The odds are way too high, and if I was an insurance company, I sure as heck would NOT give those people insurance...

You'd better sit down. I have some bad news for you: you ARE an insurance company, and this is the only kind of insurance you DO sell. What's more, you practically give it away.

So who is the sucker, here?
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Joe "sucker" Baker

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EDIT: I just re-read this and realized I never explained why this is true. The National Flood Insurance Program, operated by your rich uncle Sam, is the ONLY source of flood insurance in the U.S. Private companies may "sell" it, but they are really acting as a middleman through the "Write Your Own" program. A little Google will give you more than you'll ever want to know about the program -- but have a barf-bag handy, 'cuz it'll probably make you feel a bit ill.
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We have a number of houses on eroding cliffs on the Eastern edge of Mobile Bay. What is interesting is the way various homeowners try to staunch erosion and deal with hurricane damage.
One fellow built a series of sea walls (had a dozer going for six months)from the bay 200 feet up the red clay cliff to his yard and lost a lot of his barriers in recent hurricanes.
Another spent $50 and planted Kudzu vines that climbed the cliff and secured the soil much better than the guy with the sea walls.

Chuck(G) wrote:The big difference, of course, Rick is that this fellow didn't have Federal Disaster aid or Federally-underwritten flood insurance to bail him out. It seems when those are present, people continue to stupidly build in the paths of hurricaines, below sea level, on offshore atolls only a few feet above sea level and in the path of wildfires.

I just want to scream when I hear this all-to-frequent conversation on the evening news:

Reporter: "This is the third time your home has been destroyed by a flood. What are you going to do now?"

Homeowner: "Well, shucks, I guess we'll rebuild right here on the same spot."

Mark wrote: I just want to scream when I hear this all-to-frequent conversation on the evening news:

Reporter: "This is the third time your home has been destroyed by a flood. What are you going to do now?"

Homeowner: "Well, shucks, I guess we'll rebuild right here on the same spot."

I have problem whatsoever with this, unless of course, you are expecting tax money to help rebuild it. I don't really mind sharing space in this world with idiots. They help make me look like I have some sense every now and then. At least that's my hope.

TubaRay wrote:

Mark wrote: I just want to scream when I hear this all-to-frequent conversation on the evening news:

Reporter: "This is the third time your home has been destroyed by a flood. What are you going to do now?"

Homeowner: "Well, shucks, I guess we'll rebuild right here on the same spot."

I have problem whatsoever with this, unless of course, you are expecting tax money to help rebuild it. I don't really mind sharing space in this world with idiots. They help make me look like I have some sense every now and then. At least that's my hope.

But, the government (i.e we) does pay for this.

TubaRay wrote:I don't really mind sharing space in this world with idiots. They help make me look like I have some sense every now and then. At least that's my hope.

Mark wrote:the government (i.e we) does pay for this

Unfortunately, the people referred to by Mark are the same ones that are often making TubaRay look good...