I believe you all know the story about the three little pigs two of whom were too lazy to built their houses with bricks. The result is well-known. If they hadn't had the third hardworking brother, they would have become a delicious dinner for a hungry wolf. But the third brother who had made his house with bricks managed to serve them the cooked wolf for desert.
The present situation on the Florida Keys and other Caribbean islands reminds me of that tale. I can't help wondering why people construct their houses of wood or even plasterboard if they live in the area where storms and hurricanes are a regular 
event! Such constructions can hardly be insured and as a result, many people may become homeless after such hurricanes like Irma, Catherine, Andrew or even much weaker ones. Sure, I undersatand that people may have too little money, but to construct such houses in our area is the same as to place them on a volcano slope. People who work can always get a mortgage or a loan, especially in emergency situations. But I am almost sure that most of Floridians will start constructing wooden houses again.
I'd like to ask what people do in your countries to avoid the sequences of such disasters.
Comments
Well, to put all dots above "i"s, I'd like to say that despite our houses' being brick, they were damaged. First of all, the basements were flooded, some windows were broken, parts of the roofs were destroyed. Our boat looks like a heap of trash, one of our cars is badly damaged by the ceiling beam that didn't stand such strong wind and fell down together with a part of the garage roof. And I'd like to tell you when lady Irma reached our place, it had calmed down a little and it was the storm of the second category while it was 4-5th category on the Caribbean Islands and in Miami area. I have no idea what made that lady so angry! So, not to get as angree, I asked my husband to go to Florida to take care of all financial, legal and other procedures.
Dear SNR, thanks for your comment. Sure, people have to built their houses brick or (ferro)concret (not cement) in any climate. It is much smarter to invest in constructing a house once than to do it all life long
Rose, I also wonder we have the same sayings as Germans are not Slavs. Europe seems to be a small village on the globe where all folks know everything about their neighbors. Of course, we all are very sorry about people who became homeless. We have already invested what we could to Irma Charity Fund but it is the government that ought to do with the situation.
Dear Tanya, I am always surprised because we always speak the same language in terms of sayings. As you wrote, we have exactly the same saying in German. I just wanted not write it in my comment ... I did not want to seem tactless face of the enormous suffering of the people over there.
Dear Luci, let me tell you that many secured people live in wooden houses, too and it is really surprising. Most of our neighbors in Crystal River are not poor at all but at least half of them have wooden houses. Yes, of course, our part of Florida is rarely hit by hurricanes, but they are unpredictable. Irma changed its path a few times and as a result, the West coast suffered more significant damages than the East one. So, caution is the parent of safety
Dear Rose, I feel exactly like you. I have already written one of the famous Ukrainian sayings today:" A stingy person pays twice, a greedy one pays three times, but a short-sighted one (not to say more) pays all his life"
Roman, what we consider to be a heavy storm in Ukraine is just a light rain in the storm zone. But if you like to see wooden houses, welcome to America!
Hi, everyone! Thanks for your nice comments. I didn't know that Josef had started the same discussion. I wouldn't have posted mine.
Dear Rosemary, a very nice and learning comment. Yes, we should learn from our mistakes. And to built ferroconcrete structures in a desert is much more farsighted than to construct them from wood in the huricane zone.
However when it comes to the USA where things are a bit different I don't understand it too ... it is really like to build house of the cards and then to be surprised when wind starts blowing...
I personally feel sorry for all the victims and especially those who must take loans to build their new wooden houses as they don't have money to purchase sth better :(
You speak to me from my heart, dear Tanya. Exactly so I argue when I have to see the destroyed houses in regions where hurricanes are very often. To build houses from stone is always more secure and at the end is it cheaper than to build a new house made from lightweight construction again and again. This system is at the end much more expensive.
Nevertheless, I feel pity for all the people which became and become homeless through such hurricanes.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next