Gulf Coast Hurricane: Why are the Effects so Catastrophic?

firecat69

Re: Gulf Coast Hurricane: Why are the Effects so Catastrophic?

Post by firecat69 »

fountainhall wrote:
As for China having the second largest military, what is so surprising in that? It happens to be the second largest economic power in the world! What else would you expect? The US can unilaterally expand its military and nuclear might whilst everyone else bows down? Remember that the USA has been a far more expansionist power than ever has been China!
Now you are just plain ridiculous . First it is not China that somehow has cleansed itself from the real name of Communist China. Sure they have changed their economic model in order to stay in power but they rule with an Iron Hand . Their is little dissension allowed and everything they do is aimed at keeping power.

They have lost the battle about the Islands in every International Forum but just ignore the findings. Ask Vietnam if they are happy with Communist China and their attempts at what they view as aggression ? Vietnam has moved much closer to the USA then Communist China

Calling USA an expansionist power is just idiotic. The USA after saving the World in WW11 rebuilt Europe and continued to support Germany etc while Communist Soviet Union tried to expand its territory. After the sneak attack by the Japanese , what did the USA do after defeating Japan. They helped to rebuild them in to the 2nd biggest economic power in Asia and for quite some time in the World until China woke up and decided to embrace capitalism economics in order to survive

Tiananmen is not so long ago that many have not forgotten what a despot Regime rules China. Also I still remember the Beijing Olympics where afterwards when Chinese residents asked to be paid for their land as promised that was taken for building out the games, they were thrown in jail.

Anyone who thinks Communist China is a benevolent friend risks its freedom!
fountainhall

Re: Gulf Coast Hurricane: Why are the Effects so Catastrophic?

Post by fountainhall »

I am starting a new thread as this is largely a new topic - one that is dividing opinion but certainly worthy of further discussion -

http://gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php? ... 316#p84316
fountainhall

Re: Gulf Coast Hurricane: Why are the Effects so Catastrophic?

Post by fountainhall »

Pattayamale wrote:Why don't all cities have better planning for disasters? My belief is that doing so costs a lot of money that developers won't pay. The United States is a collection of independent States with independent counties with independent cities. Each has different ordinances and political councils that are elected and devided by 2 major parties; Democrats and Republicans who have not worked together very well for years. The USA is no longer a problem solving country.
Returning to the topic of hurricanes, I find the continuing coverage of the latest one Irma quite amazing. It's not just the fact that this is one of the worst in history. Florida has hurricanes every year and each leaves in its wake masses of damage. As I write parts of Miami are already being flooded, power is out in some places and no-one knows how long this slow moving system will last or what the bill for damage at the end of the day will be - for it has not reached landfall yet! $100 billion seems very much at the low end.

There was an 'expert' on CNN yesterday. He made the point that the actual cost of such events is not just the reconstruction and the insurance. It is the monstrous disruption to lives and the major loss of productivity. He also made the point that building regulations have been significantly improved in recent years but people still elect to live on low-lying land close to the ocean and even the builders of skyscrapers may not have sufficiently strong windows and window frames in their constructions to withstand the strongest hurricanes. I recall during one of Hong Kong's major typhoons hearing on the radio coverage of one skyscraper close to Repulse Bay which had enclosed balconies - i.e. they did not jut out from the walls but were recessed and so only had one side open to the elements. 150 - 200 kph typhoon winds blowing across such spaces create a major vacuum that effectively sucks the french windows outward. In this building, many of the windows were quite literally blown out as a result, quickly followed by all the furniture. But that was a one-off. I recall no other such serious damage as a result of any monster typhoon.

Once again I fail to understand why the US federal government has not mandated building regulations that will enable the construction of housing to withstand most hurricanes without the vision of homeowners desperately trying to put up flimsy plywood covering to their windows. I guess little can be done about 6 meter and higher storm surges. In that case sea-walls as in the Netherlands and Male in the Maldives is about the only defence.

Interestingly, earlier in the week there was another flood expert from the Netherlands on tv talking about the absolute need for much greater thought to be given to city planning and to erecting sea defences as the Netherlands has done very effectively, given that much of the country is under sea level. Re Houston he blamed city planning for concreting over such a huge area so that there is absolutely nowhere for heavy rainfall to be absorbed in streams, parks, forest areas etc. That would not have solved all the problems in what was a unique downpour, but he claimed it would certainly have avoided some of the damage.
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21457
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1305 times

Re: Gulf Coast Hurricane: Why are the Effects so Catastrophic?

Post by Gaybutton »

If you're interested, you can watch live 24/7 coverage from WSVN TV, Miami.

http://wsvn.com/on-air-live-stream/
Post Reply