Government at work: tornado area can't have basements

[babylonsister]

Rules force many in Chapman, Kan., to rebuild without basements
By DAVID KLEPPER
The Star’s Topeka correspondent


CHAPMAN, Kan. | Tell a town of Kansas tornado survivors that they can’t have a basement? Amy Bemis has a word for talk like that.

“Insane,” she says.

Like most residents of Chapman, Kan., Bemis huddled in her basement the night of June 11, when a tornado destroyed scores of homes in this town of 1,250.

Recovery efforts are in full swing, and residents say they will remake Chapman better than it was before.

But the efforts to rebuild the community now face an obstacle townspeople did not expect: Federal reconstruction rules are forcing many residents to rebuild without the basements that sheltered them through the storm.

more...


http://www.kansascity.com/703/story/724447.html

[Warpy]

1. Slab houses are cheaper, which is why the Feds want them rebuilt

that way. That's the way to do it in hurricane country, any way.

However, they typically have their heads up their butts when it comes to confronting rebuilding in completely different areas.

This desperately needs to be changed. Foundations/basements should be intact. People should be able to rebuild on top of them.

[Crazy Dave]

2. The way the government sees it...

The next time a big one hits they want less survivors to collect aid and assistance. Pretty much the way American health-care helps sustain social security by denying preventive care that leads to a longer and healthier life. Have a system where people die before they can collect or where their health is so bad they won't be collecting long.

[Firespirit]

20. It worked pretty well for New Orleans.

Levees still aren't repaired, and I am convinced it is absolutely intentional.

[Crazy Dave]

28. That is a perfect example

And the repairs that are being made are not what was recommended.

[LiberalFighter]

3. What is the Kansas Congressional delegation doing about this?

Their Senators: Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback

Their Representative: 1st District - Jerry Moran


All three are Republicans.

[hedgehog]

4. It's a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Do you rebuild the houses to provide shelter in the event of another tornado, or do you rebuild them to limit flood damage? Surely there is a way to build a safe room above ground. I would think a flood is more likely to occur than that a future tornado would take the same path as the first.

[ManiacJoe]

16. Nice to see someone who actually the article. (n/t)

[Strelnikov_]

23. The Reg sounds reasonable to me

I'm sure that inclusion of a safe room is eligible for reimbursement.

Last thing we should be spending taxpayer dollars on is building structures in a floodplain that are not 'flood-proof'.

[lame54]

5. That's the matter with Kansas

[asdjrocky]

12. Great book. nt

[kestrel91316]

6. I don't think the feds can prohibit them from building one of these:

http://www.tornadoproject.com/safety/shelters.htm

[intheflow]

11. But with what money?

The problem here is that people are relying on government grants to help them rebuild, which is why the government gets to say no to basements. Basements haven't been outlawed in Kansas, and people who can afford to rebuild with basements or storm shelters will. The rest of the folks are just SOOL.

[kestrel91316]

13. Heck, I'd dig me a little hole in the back yard and rig up some sort of lid.

No basements. That's insane.

[BOSSHOG]

7. My wonderful In-laws lived in North Kansas

(both now deceased) and more then once we went to their fully furnished and very comfortable full basement when some really funky clouds were seen on the horizon. And thats a common site in Kansas. Next thing ya know the "feds" won't allow levies on industrial canals.

[Wizard777]

8. I wonder if they will do what the people NOLA do? They can't have basements either because of ground

water. You dig a hole and it fills up with water. So they build their basements above ground and bury it. The house looks like it's setting on top of a hill. But it's just the dirt that surrounds the basement which is actually the first floor because it's actually above ground.

[RB TexLa]

22. What?????

What houses have you seen in Louisiana with an above ground "basement" surrounded by dirt? I'm sorry but that's one of the funniest things I've ever heard. :spray:

[uppityperson]

25. Well, that's what they turned into low income apartments.

The soil washed away, knock a few holes in the walls for windows and viola! :sarcasm: (and I'm away I misspelled voila)

[uppityperson]

24. And where in New Orleans would those houses on hills (buried basements) be?

I never saw such a thing down there.

[Wizard777]

27. I've only seen a few houses in NOLA with basements. I asked them how they did it.

That's what they said. The basement is actually built above ground and buried.

[donco6]

9. I grew up near Chapman

Can't imagine having a house without a basement. We used ours for storm shelter several times a year.

[Leftist Agitator]

10. I'm certain that the Kansans Republican congressfolk will rectify this egregious travesty.

:rofl:

[barbtries]

14. some comments left at the article:

Sounds like the best thing to do is act like animals. Murder, develop a gang, steal, do everything but help your neighbor. That's how New Orleans gets what it wants. Being able to throw out the race card at your convenience probably doesn't hurt either.

The gummit should just flat out QUIT insuring any of these people.
If your bulding in a flood plain, thats your problem. Not mine or the gummit's.

Well, for everyone who kept Bill Clinton in office for two terms, thank his administration. These rules were passed in 1995.These are administered by a bunch of fat-bottomed beaurocrats in Washington who push paper all day, go home and waste away the rest of the night,and amble in the next day, with nary a thought to the concerns of the average person, until it's time to hold us hostage for more pay. Bah! on all of them.

We're from the government and we're here to help. LOL

[intheflow]

15. Oh, more compassionate conservatism, I see.

x(

[barbtries]

18. yep.

i was struck by that as well. a hella lot of ignorance, intolerance, and hatred out there.

[damntexdem]

17. There are NO basements here in this part of North Texas.

Despite tornadoes, the ground is not amenable to basements.

When we moved here, we saw one house with an outdoor tornado shelter -- which was collapsing because of the soil.

I asked the realtor what people did when they had a tornado. Her answer: "We try not to have them."

We had moved from Kansas, where we had not considered any house without a basement -- and where we had spent many frightened hours huddling in the basement during tornado warnings.

Oh how I miss California and its earthquakes!

[crimsonblue]

19. Fuck FEMA

I have a friend from chapman, and his families' house was badly damaged and had to be razed. They had adequate insurance but since FEMA is being douches about this, their insurance won't cover the rebuild if it includes a basement. There is virtually no risk of severe flooding there, bc the river that runs by town is essentially impossible to breach it's banks. Many many rivers in the state are at low levels and have been for years. The federal govt has no right determining local zoning and construction ordinances. Fuck off, FEMA.

[ColbertWatcher]

21. I'm glad FEMA hasn't taken over CA's building codes.

I've heard it said several times today that the reason there has been a little damage is due to California's building codes and California always updating those codes.

Fuck you FEMA. What happened to letting the states decide?

[uppityperson]

26. Houses built in flood plains can't rebuild with basements?

I can see the point of that, but they need to be built with some sort of safe room instead then. And have the "safe room" be funded by the gvt too.