IKE

We subscribe to DirecTV. Right now we have a live feed from Channel 11 in Houston, Texas. They have been broadcasting 24/7, no commercials, since the start of Hurricane Ike. My heart goes out to all citizens of the Houston area. This storm has been horrible. As someone on the low end of the economic scale, I can't for the life of me understand why someone would want to build a multimillion dollar house right on the beach, when they know that it can be gone in a flash by a storm. The devastation on Galveston Island is horrific. And if these people have insurance, the price that everyone else is going to pay for them to rebuild is going to be astronomical. I really wish that all governments, local, county, state and federal, would not allow anyone to build on the beach. When you have to build your house on stilts, that should be an eye opener right there. I live in South Florida. We have hurricanes here too. We might have some very large condos built on the beach, but as far as I know, we do not have any houses built on stilts on the beach. I know there is a place called Stiltsville out near Miami, but those house are built not on the beach, but in the ocean. And when the last one is demolished by any kind of storm, they are not allowed to rebuild. State Farm wanted to have an increase in premiums here in Florida of almost 50%. Thank goodness the Florida legislature turned them down. And when they tell you that you better evacuate or you're gonna die, got the heck out of there. There are thousands of people who didn't listen and now they are being rescued and then shipped out of the area. This is so devastating, whole communities have been wiped off the map. The area looks like a pile of rubble. I don't know if it is even worth it to rebuild these places. The whole infrastructure of the communities have been compromised. Water is everywhere, houses have been blown or swept onto the roads. There is no phone service, no electricity, no sewage, no nothing. Complete and utter devastation. If anyone remembers what South Dade looked like after Andrew, this is worse. Much worse. This is going to be a really interesting development. Let's see how long it takes for this to be rebuilt. To me, this is worse than Katrina. Katrina left the buildings standing. This storm took the buildings and everything else with it. Even the streets. This is horrible, just horrible. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted by this storm. Renée