June 1st was the official kick off of to the 2005 hurricane season. For me the 2004 hurricane season was the most similar of an experience I have had of being in a 'war-torn' type envrionment (without actually being IN one). Hoarding, stockpiling, price gouging, empty shelves, no plywood, gas lines, evacuations, fear of looting, loss of work, and anxiety; multiplied by four times!. I remember mostly Charlie, as I rode my bike to and fro, to conserve the last fill-up one could find in town, to find spare batteries. I looked up and down the empty streets and demurred to myself that if mother nature can impose a small burden of sacrifice (the altering of my SSDD) upon me for a few days, why in the hell are we purposely doing it to the Iraqis year on end?
Lessons from old and busted 2004 to the new hotness 2005, around the corner...
Lesson #1
Take refuge in big buildings (non warehouse style). Oops! Ivan has taught us that bigger is not better. A presentation from Coastal Group of the USGS showed that some buildings that are 5 stories or more, failed. Not due to wind stress, which they are engineered to withstand, but from storm surge scouring of the beach face. Some of these pics were the first recorded failures of buildings over 5 stories for a landfalling U.S. hurricane ever. Incidentally, most of the failures came from buildings that were more recently built.
Lesson #2
If you owned a marina you got wallopped in 2004. Lobby hard in 2005 and viola. We don't want the upper class to be hampered with insurance droppage of their toys. HB 1121 allows for marinas to charge the owner of the boat the damages the boat does to the marina and releases the marinas from damages incurred to boats under their watch. Another marina-related legislation that went through was the lax-ing of claiming and selling derelict vessels, no doubt the ones that incurred damages to their marinas.
Lesson #3
2005 is gonna be as bumpy as 2004
Lesson #4
We experienced a lull in hurricane activity from the 60's to the 90's. A period in our nation's history where unprecedented growth sprawled along our coasts. And now we are entering a particularly busy period of intense activity that could last for a decade or two.