Houston is flooding!

"If my taxes have to go in to rebuilding homes, I want these homes to last for more than a season."

The City of Houston is flooding! This rainfall is almost historic in the amount of rain falling on this coastal town. The rainfall is being measured in the hundreds of billions of gallons. Five or more are dead, many houses are flooded, and thousands of people are out of power. This storm dumped anywhere from 9 to 16 inches of rain on this very vulnerable town!

Right now you are thinking, "Wait a minute Bird! First off, that is not new news, and second, your facts are wrong!" Guilty on the first charge, innocent on the second. Why do I say that? The other night on the Weather Channel I watched a special on "The 10 Greatest Floods in America". Surprisingly, one of the floods which was mentioned was the great flood of Houston. Not this year, but in 2016. 

Yes, it has happen before, and it will happen again. A person of normal sanity would ask, "If this has happened two years in a row, the second really being a game changer, why in the world would Houston rebuild in the same area?" Good question - bad answer. The Mayor of Houston was on the news this morning saying the total cost to repair Houston might be just south of $200B. And he wants the federal government to pony up for most of it. Just so we can do this dance again in a few years.

One of my biggest complaints about government (all levels) is that government does not do smart things. Just as after Katrina, where we rebuilt houses in an area below sea level, we are going to do the same in Houston. We are going to rebuild in an area which has been overbuilt, and under serviced for water drainage. Can these floods happen again? Oh, yea. We can do this dance again, and we might do it again in New Orleans.

What would smart government do? Lay out the city better. Further away from the numerous rivers which congregate on their journey down to the Gulf. And then lay out the refineries better. Good flipping grief! Over 45% of all our gasoline comes from refineries in an area which is vulnerable to tropical storms? Dumb and dumber. 

According to the global warming alarmists, we are going to have many more of these super storms in the near future. Okay - let's suppose for a minute this is true. Then let's prepare. DON"T BUILD ON A FLOOD PLAIN!!!. If my taxes have to go in to rebuilding homes, I want these homes to last for more than a season.