Will Republicans call for the abandonment of Galveston?

[edhopper]

The way the said New Orleans shouldn't be saved after Katrina due to it's precarious location in the face of hurricanes. Doesn't Galveston fit that description more than N.O.? The storm of 1900 comes to mind. So when will we hear that Galveston shouldn't be rebuilt? Holding my breath now :-)

[samplegirl]

1. You will never hear that. However you might hear that its

the democrats fault though.

[alarimer]

2. Ignoring the reality of barrier islands is not going to help anyone.

And we need to have that conversation someday. Barrier islands move, even without big storms. Fortunately Texas has the Open Beaches Act that prevents people from building houses in front of the dunes. If the dunes move, and their house ends up in front (technically they use the vegetation line), they will not be allowed to rebuild it. Some houses were already there, even before the storm, and were condemned. I certainly hope that any such houses will not be allowed to be rebuilt now either.

And certainly we need to plan for these events in the future at all barrier island. No more development should occur than actually exists right now because these storms are going to get bigger and worse. That's just reality. Eventually low-lying areas should be left alone to flood as they will.