Bahamas before and after Hurricane Dorian

Like I keep saying, when you CHOOSE to live next to an ocean, you had better take things like hurricanes into account! Ultimately, YOU are responsible for YOU. If you live in an island nation, that is frequently at 'ground-zero' for hurricanes, out in the middle of the ocean, you need to THINK about things that MATTER, and make contingency plans before hurricane 'season' even begins. If people don't bother to do that, then they run the very real risk, however horrible it may be, that things may indeed be disastrous!

 

Why do private charities of your common neighbors not count then?

 

A friend of mine was deployed to Haiti just after the quake there 10 years back or so.

They blamed the US for the quake-they thought we were testing a weapon on them that caused earthquakes.

 

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The US and other countries has publicly and privately spent over $13.5 billion on earthquake relief in Haiti with very little to show. No one seems to know where the money went.

Part of the problems associated with disaster relief is corruption. In the case of the Bahamas, the commonwealth ministers and local officials will need to be held accountable for the aid money they will receive and hiring of contractors to rebuild infrastructure and housing. It is likely that beyond the beach front properties where the worst slums exist, not much or no money will be spent there if funds are not properly supervised. These are the areas where no one cares because it is out of sight to most tourists.

If we give them what may be billions to rebuild, it should be under the supervision of the US Army Corp of Engineers. We have done that in foreign countries where very large amounts are to be spent and there is no single contracting agency capable of handling large scale multiple contract construction projects needed rebuild entire towns, cities, airports, etc.

 

They aren't the U.S. government.

 

Yes, @TBLee , I 'get' it. The hurricane caused the gigantic rainstorm, and the rainstorm caused the flooding... probably a lot like Hurricane Harvey caused so much unsurpassed rainstorm flooding in the Houston area a couple of years ago.

It is a terrible tragedy, but, honestly, what is your point? If people don't carry flood insurance, but they have a flood anyway, whose fault is that?

Hint: as I said, here in Colorado, my house is over 6,000 feet above sea level. Still -- OF COURSE I carry flood insurance on my home, and yes, we have flooding all along the "Front Range" area of Denver - Pueblo with nearly every wave of 'monsoon' thunderstorms which occur much more frequently up here than hurricanes do in the coastal areas.

Thus, why would anyone NOT have flood insurance, in addition to fire, wind, etc., etc.? Hell, they even have floods in the desert portions of Arizona! It may not involve thirty-inch flooding, but flooding is flooding if it damages or destroys your home.

 

Honestly, most of the people I know who do not live in a flood zone, or an area that has been known to flood in the past do not carry flood insurance. In the perfect world everyone would be mandated by mortgage companies to carry flood insurance, but that is not the case. If within certain areas, mortgage companies do require wind and hail coverage. Having coverage does not always mean complete protection.

 

Shouldn't the big-mouthed mayor of London be helping?

 

You CHOSE to live near water!
You CHOSE to live in a high crime area
You CHOSE to live in a dry area with a high chance of fire
You CHOSE to live in an area that has blizzards
You CHOSE to live in an area that has droughts
You CHOSE to live in an area that sees tornandos
You CHOSE to live in an area that has bad T-storm
You CHOSE to live in an area that has earthquakes..

Need i go on? We see eye to eye on a lot but i cant agree with you here.

 

How strange... you have stated exactly the same thoughts that I did.

Each of us makes CHOICES in life, and the most elemental choice we make is WHERE we CHOOSE to live.... But you disagree with me about all this hurricane business...? Why? It's the very same principle! We all face risk on this planet, and each of us must choose what our chosen assortment of potential 'dangers' might be! My roof might cave in after some gigantic Colorado blizzard in winter, but it won't be due to a hurricane -- because of where I CHOSE to live. It's ok if you disagree with me, but I'd kind of like to know why....

Oh, and one other point -- and it's a valid one. Insurance companies write their coverage with lots of little 'escapes' built into them. They have exclusions and deductions, and they 'pro-rate' things over time that reduce the payout, etc. It's all part of why you have to be razor-sharp when you negotiate with any insurance company BEFORE a problem occurs.

But the main point is that you need to have money in savings to pay for all the deductibles, etc., that an insurance company doesn't pay for. Imagine a turtle's life without his shell -- THAT'S what a person is when they don't built up any savings, and, doesn't have any insurance either!

. "My mama didn't raise no fool!"

 

A lot of people who have houses in the Bahamas don't have mortgages and many don't have any insurance. Almost all Americans who buy there pay cash. Mortgages are usually not even available. Buying flood insurance there may be available but it would be expensive, if available. Flood insurance in the US is only required if you have a mortgage and then only if you live below a 100 year flood elevation determined by FEMA maps. It is not part of normal home owner insurance. Flood insurance is purchased separately by the Federal government.



Coastal areas are naturally higher risk areas but so are river valleys and other areas that at close to sea level elevations.

 

What's Canada and the UK doing to assist their commonwealth partner, shouldn't they be leading the efforts?

 

One comment:


For those who ignored evacuation directives:

NO RESCUE, NO one risks their lives to save you or bring you food and water.

Smart people first.....and pets and stubborn people LAST.

 

You just described the US...

 

You are repeating much of what I stated in the post you replied to. I was explaining my personal experience with hurricane Florence last year. The neighborhood I lived in was hit very hard with flooding from the rivers and streams. We were not in a flood zone so the majority of families did not carry flood insurance and many lost everything from the flooding. It was a very eye opening experience for me. Nothing changes your perspective of the power of water like having to Kayak to get out of your own backyard, and seeing what was once a street, now resembling a river.

 

Yes, there is poverty in the US also. But I suspect the ratios of rich / middle class / poor are quite different. Feel free to provide statistics/demographics to prove me wrong, as I'm going purely on observation.

I would also be curious about information regarding the demographics of home owners, because I suspect the more valuable homes are owned by a disproportionate # of foreigners.

The Bahamas is really a unique situation because it is so beautiful and so easily accessible for Americans. I'm not the only American to view it as a home away from home.

Take away the foreign property owners and the tourism and what would the Bahamas have left.......

 

Why Canada?
The commonwealth was imposed on us. We never voted on it. And we already helped with Haiti. We also helped you during Katrina and other disaster that you had.

 

The Bahamas were freed in 1973. Not sure what their responsibility is.

 

They are still part of the Commonwealth and Queen Elizabeth is their Queen. Why would the United States have more responsibility or any at all.

 

You are still part of the Commonwealth, we are not, why us? What aid did you send to me after Katrina, all my aid came from MY government especially state and local and you certainly did pay for my new roof. There was a small contengent of search and rescue and some aid getting navigational bouys and waterways cleared. I don't recall BILLIONS of dollars in aid as we spend in other countries. The Bahamians as YOUR fellow Commmonwealther's onus is on you to lead the efforts and rebuilding not the United States.

 

The first aid you got was from a RCN ship that was patrolling close by.
As I said, the commonwealth was imposed on us and frankly in 2019 is pretty much dead. The Bahamas are in your backyard. If it was St-Pierre-et-Miquellon, even though they're a part of France, we'd be helping them as they're in our backyard so to speak.

And you're getting tiresome with all that "it's our money gna gna gna". You only rich because the rest of the world plays along. Keep in mind that you've way more to lose in this silly game. Beside the USA isn't the industrial powerhouse it was. Even your R&D and tech company are more and more filled with non native born who don't really have any attachment to the USA beside the money, which they could very well take with them and move out, depriving you of your last money cow.

 

The Bahama's are in YOUR COMMONWEALTH under YOUR QUEEN. Why are we responsible for billions in aid that will be necessary. You guys pony up especially if you are going to demand we do it while you try to hurl snarky insults at us.

 

We don't care about the commonwealth or the queen! They were imposed on us. The Bahamas are you problem. You won't get one cent from me though girly Trudeau will probably write a check while crying on stage. You can also have him as a bonus since it's his father fault that we're still stuck with that british nonsense.

PS: I'll insult you at my leasure, freedom of expression and all...

 

Places like Alabama would be failed states if they didn't have the Feds pumping money into their economies and welfare states. Most of the US is 3rd World (which is why I roll my eyes when politicians go on about being the richest nation), places like California and Texas just prop them up.